Positioning Ethical Supply Chain Program as a global leader in ethical practice

F ounded in 2004, Ethical Supply Chain Program (ESCP) is a global non-profit that aims to create a better life for supply chain workers worldwide.

It does this by providing assurance and support to companies who commit to protecting and respecting workers.

It champions integrity and sustainability across multiple industries and its programs serve a broad range of needs related to ethical sourcing practices and worker wellbeing – from implementing effective grievance mechanisms to improving childcare support. ESCP’s Family-Friendly Factory Program, for example, is on track to benefit over 30,000 children through 50 factories by the end of 2025.

Its members include The Walt Disney Co., DHL Group, Walmart, Target, The LEGO Group, Penguin Random House and more.

The challenge

ESCP’s roots are in the toy industry, but in 2024 the organisation rebranded from the ICTI Ethical Toy Program to the Ethical Supply Chain Program, to reflect the changing, diverse needs of its members and the broad range of sectors it now supports.

Fourth Day had four objectives. To:

• Communicate the rebrand
• Increase visibility of ESCP beyond the toy sector
• Highlight the full spectrum of what ESCP offers
• Raise awareness of the impact and importance of ESCP’s programs

The solution

Working alongside ESCP’s global marketing and comms team, Fourth Day used a combination of thought leadership and issues hi-jacking to secure media exposure across key verticals.

By developing content and commentary that showcased ESCP’s understanding of the challenges facing global retail, industrial and manufacturing supply chains, we were able to position the organisation as a leader in promoting and enabling ethical practice.

This resulted in coverage across the licensing, supply chain and procurement media – including an 11-page feature in Procurement featuring interviews with ESCP and two of its members.

Beyond media relations

The retail industry was also a key audience for ESCP. Fourth Day negotiated an opportunity at Retail Week’s Sustainability Summit, where the organisation’s chief executive met with ESG leaders from across the sector, as well as contributing a thought leadership piece to the publication’s Retail Voices section.

Fourth Day has also offered ESCP a full crisis advisory service and out of-hours media support, to ensure that the organisation is equipped to swiftly and effectively respond to any contentious media inquiries.

“We have been really impressed with the entire team at Fourth Day. They took time to get to know us and our organisation and have made great progress against our key communications objectives. Our work is complex and critically important so finding ways to communicate this to key stakeholders in digestible and relevant ways can be a challenge. Fourth Day have achieved this.’’

Carmel Giblin CEO and President, Ethical Supply Chain Program