Improving Social Sustainability in Supply Chains

New research conducted by Professor Jette Steen Knudsen and by The Regulation of International Supply Chains (RISC) examines how social sustainability issues are governed in the Bangladeshi garment industry.
Women working with mask

New research from The Regulation of International Supply Chains (RISC), an academic research project funded
by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark, sheds light on how social sustainability issues — such as working conditions, occupational health, and safety — are governed in the Bangladesh ready made garment (RMG) industry. By looking at the many initiatives set in place in the aftermath of the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which housed five garment factories, killed at least 1,132 people and injured more than 2,500, the report seeks to understand the landscape and scope of organizations and governance initiatives for social sustainability and their interactions.

Based on this understanding, the project aims to explore different forms of governance and their perceived effectiveness in the specific context and whether these are applicable for other supply chains.

The research was conducted by, and the report written by:

Tufts University: Jette Steen Knudsen, Ava Durant, Lyndon Sam, Marie Gray

Copenhagen Business School: Erin Leitheiser, Jeremy Moon, Markus Bernhart Tang, Jakob Winkler

BRAC University: Sharmin Shabnam Rahman, Shuvro Sen, Farhat Zaman, Gulfam Tasnim, Syeda Nusaiba Hossain, Sabrina Nourin

Danish Ethical Trading Initiative: Sarah Dieckmann, Malene Skensved.

Download the Report