A majority of respondents to an online survey across 12 countries say they want to buy responsibly sourced, sustainable products — and this share may have risen during the pandemic, according to OpenText.
“The results highlight the growing importance companies need to place on ensuring their entire supply chain operates ethically,” according to OpenText‘s related report.
The cloud content management software provider hired marketing company 3Gem to quiz consumers in UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, India, Australia and Singapore — attracting 27,000 responses.
Although the questions asked were not revealed, most respondents indicated a desire for “ethically sourced” goods — described as products sourced “in a responsible and sustainable way”.
Some eight in ten maintained they would pay more for goods that had been ethically produced, according to OpenText, which also says the shares who say this are now higher than pre-pandemic.
Lou Blatt, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at OpenText, added that the key to building an ethical supply chain is information that can track products and materials back to source.
“Organisations need tools and technologies to access data from not only their suppliers but their suppliers’ suppliers, and make that information accessible to partners and customers,” Blatt said.
Organisations that can achieve full visibility of their supply chain are better able to demonstrate corporate responsibility, accountability and environmental sustainability to potential customers.
OpenText positions itself as able to assist, with solutions such as its Business Network Cloud platform and core SaaS offerings for document management and digital collaboration across different industries.
Chris Cunnane, research director for supply chain management at ARC Advisory Group, said the OpenText research indicates that many consumers believe governments should legislate to hold businesses more accountable for responsible sourcing.
“To fully earn the trust of customers, organisations must take a much more proactive stance to demonstrating their ethical credentials,” Cunnane said.
( Photo by the blowup on Unsplash )
