1. Global supply chain challenges and responsible sourcing in the Varner Group
April 13th 2005
Camilla Stang, CSR Manager, Varner-Gruppen AS

2. The Varner Group – in brief
Family company
9 different chain concepts – together the largest clothing retailer in Norway
No factories of our own
Production in over 400 factories in 25 countries
Own puchasing offices in Turkey and Hong Kong/China – design and product development in Norway

3. The Varner Group Code of Conduct
Member of IEH (Ethical Trading Initiative) since 2002
Code of Conduct launched in 2003
CoC mapping of supply chain started in 2003
Risk assessment through supplier profiling and database tool
2005: Monitoring and identifying needs for improvement -> corrective action

4. Asian challenges Traceability – complexity of supply chain
CSR efforts = Often trust based
Cultural and regulatory issues
Leverage
Inspection approaches
Dealing with non-compliances
Non-compliances are inevitable
Carrot or stick?
Pass/fail or gradual improvement?

5. Working towards improvement
Identifying and involving resources for driving improvement
Co-operation vs. Competition
Buyer practices
Consolidating CoC practices throughout the company
Involving stakeholders