About the competition
To be truly sustainable, impact-driven businesses want to ensure that throughout the supply chain, all business practices adhere to constant environmental, social and governance principles. The supply chain includes the full lifecycle of a product or process, including material sourcing, production, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal/recycling processes.
This can be challenging when your business is working:
- To include suppliers or distributors from vulnerable groups and/or minorities that have been disadvantaged or are difficult to reach;
- In supply chains where there is little collaboration or transparency;
- In contexts that suffer from climate change, environmental degradation, increasing economic volatility, inflation and unsupportive regulatory frameworks.
At the same time, introducing fair and sustainable business practices across the supply chain provides an enormous opportunity to accelerate impact throughout communities.
Therefore, through the competition, Oxfam seeks to support impact-driven businesses that have innovative ideas to introduce fair and sustainable business practices across their supply chain and are collaborating with suppliers, financial service providers, off-takers and/or logistic providers to implement these practices.
Fair and sustainable business practices include (but are not limited to):
Engaging in Circular Business Models | For example, your business partners with another business to reuse or repurpose each other’s waste and to convert those waste streams into inputs or new products. |
Introducing renewable sources of energy | For example, your business partners with a logistical provider or processor to introduce vehicles and machines that run on renewable energy sources. |
Prioritizing human (and labor) rights | For example, your business works with informal suppliers and wants to increase their well-being through providing access to (health) insurance, child care and/or safe working practices |
Investing in feminist economic justice, women and youth economic empowerment and inclusion | For example, your business sets up collaboration with women- or youth-led suppliers and/or distributors in the supply chain to improve their livelihoods and access to markets. |
Redistributing benefits fairly and creating fair income and employment opportunities | For example, your business partners with a large off-taker and a financial service provider to collaborate to ensure a living income for smallholder suppliers. |
Regenerating natural resources and preventing harm to ecological systems and the climate | For example, your business partners with agricultural suppliers to introduce regenerative farming practices or practices that prevent deforestation. |
Considering the voices, (traditional) knowledge and practices of indigenous and local communities | For example, your business partners with a community conserve or re-introduce indigenous practices. |
Increasing the climate resilience of affected communities | For example, your business partners with suppliers and a financial service provider to invest in new irrigation equipment to make the community more climate resilient. |
Oxfam aims to get better insights into the needs of businesses in introducing fair and sustainable practices in their supply chains and inspire investors and policymakers in recognizing the importance and potential of supporting and investing in impact businesses.