Making the world a bit fairer with smart digital technology: that’s what we love at us. That’s why we’re so happy with clients like IDH, who have been challenging us as a digital partner for years to come up with the very best digital tools. Tools that IDH uses to encourage retailers worldwide to make international supply chains more sustainable.
closing the gap
A key focus for IDH is closing the ’living wage gap’: the difference between the actual wages of workers in developing countries and the minimum wage needed for a decent standard of living. To understand the extent of that living wage gap, identify changes, and ultimately close the gap (so that even Carlos gets a living wage), you need to start by measuring. Smart measuring. So in 2021, our developers built the IDH Salary Matrix tool. In close collaboration with our partner IDH, of course. You can read more about it here..
towards living wages
As a digital technology partner, we keep ‘our’ IDH Salary Matrix tool constantly updated with new features, and we’re deeply involved in the success of this unique instrument. And successful it is; by 2024, the Salary Matrix tool has become the go-to instrument for more and more sectors on the road to transparent chains with living wages.
collaborating in the banana sector
An important step on this journey was taken last year with the signing of the ‘UK retail commitment on living wages in the banana sector’. This collaboration agreement, coordinated by IDH, brings together nine major British retailers to work with their supply chain partners and supporting organizations. The joint goal: a living wage for all workers in their banana supply chains by 2027.
collecting data first
A crucial aspect of implementing the UK retail commitment is collecting data to understand the living wage gap and measure progress annually. Naturally, the Salary Matrix tool was also used here to measure wage disparities among around 85,000 workers. It turned out that over 30% of them were not receiving a living wage. In 2024, British retailers will translate the data from the matrix - along with lessons, examples, and guidelines for strategies to narrow the gap - into concrete improvement plans.
improving lives
Meanwhile, partnerships have also been initiated across the rest of Europe between retailers who believe it’s time to pay banana sector workers a living wage. Thanks to Joost’s efforts (and his colleagues at us and IDH), they too can reach solutions more quickly and effectively. Solutions that make Carlos’s (and millions of other workers’) lives a little better.