With the increasing global distribution of activities for the production and commercialisation of products and services, the scope of corporate responsibility (CR) for companies is increasingly extending to their supply chains. This is particularly true for companies that operate in countries with low legal standards to protect social and environmental concerns.

Many companies are already striving for integrity in their supply chains, and are increasingly confronted with the stakeholders' expectations to develop solutions for the complex social and ecological challenges along the international value chains. At the same time, they have recognised that for a single company using traditional CR approaches addressing these challenges sustainably is hardly possible. Effective and sustainable change can only be achieved in close cooperation with stakeholders, especially suppliers. However, businesses are struggling to put the abstract concept of collective action into practice.

This is where the project comes in:

The Collective Action (CoAct) Toolkit is an innovative tool to successfully initiate and implement integrity collaboration in the international supply chain. It enables companies in an intercultural context to prepare, implement and communicate targeted collective action.

The following elements will be created:

• Successful Practices Handbook

Evidence-based instructions for the successful preparation, implementation, follow-up and communication of integrity collaboration in an intercultural context, including the necessary process steps in the form of a roadmap as well as a toolbox containing good practices, models, checklists etc. for the implementation of the process steps.

• Train-the-Trainer concept

Training concept for the independent use of the CoAct Toolkit.

The CoAct Toolkit will be developed and tested with the help of the four companies involved in the project. It will support the companies in improving the collaboration with their suppliers in the area of integrity and in creating innovations together

The project was also supported by the following individual:

• Ilian Milchev