Business Research - clear and actionable supply chain insights
Expectations for responsible sourcing are on the rise. Your customers, regulators, partners in civil society and staff all want to know more about what’s going on in your supply chain. The information is out there, but it’s unstructured. The need is out there, but its fulfilment is elusive. There’s no clear path to take. TDI can help to shine a light ahead.
We work with the people who shape expectations for responsible sourcing worldwide, the people who formalise and structure those expectations, and the people in business whose job it is to try to meet those expectations. We know what’s needed and how to deliver it, and we know what’s around the next corner too.
We offer a range of off-the-shelf analytic products, alongside bespoke reports and consultancy. Our suite of mutually complementary products approach the themes of responsibility, due diligence and reputation risk management from multiple angles, for all supply chain participants.
Let us apply our global experience – and global standing – to your business. We draw together skills and experience in responsible sourcing from across the natural resource industries, and we understand each facet of this global trend. Through our work with standards-setting organisations we know what’s expected and how to achieve it. Through our work with industry associations we know how major sectors of global industry are responding to the evolving responsible sourcing narrative. And, through our work with individual companies, we know how those in the thick of global supply chains can take responsible sourcing forward without sacrificing commercial competitiveness.
Our service is comprehensive and includes:
Materials Matrices: A proven way to compare at a glance the sustainability impacts and business risks associated with multiple materials in global supply chains.
Material Profiles: Detailed overviews of individual materials, including descriptions of key sustainability issues, active civil society advocacy campaigns, and the principal responsible sourcing initiatives for the material.
Company Profiles: Using custom software to monitor the web for allegations associated with material producing companies, we present structured analyses and clear appraisals of risk significance for procurement departments.
Responsible Sourcing Indices: We publish the TDI Country Governance Effectiveness Index for Responsible Sourcing offering a rounded view of a county’s level of risk for supply chain issues, and the TDI Conflict Affected and High Risk Index, a “red flag” tool measuring risks associated with OECD Annex II.
Country Reports: TDI researches and writes in-depth country reports weaving together open source information and insights from expert and stakeholder interviews to gauge 13 dimensions of country level risk to inform corporate decision-makers.
We have been, and continue to be, involved in many initiatives leading the path to responsible sourcing:
| Initiative | involvement | TDI Team Member Role | |
| Current | Former | ||
| Responsible Jewellery Council |  |
Technical Committee Member | |
| Fair Trade Gold | |
Technical Advisory Group and Consultant | |
| Fairmined Entry Standard | |
Standards Committee Member | |
| Better Coal Initiative | |
Technical Advisory Committee and Consultant | |
| Accountability Standards | |
Board Chair | |
| Equitable Origin | |
Head Advisory Council and Technical Committee member | |
| Jewellery Ethics Committee, UK | |
Chair | |
| Gem A (U.K) | |
Lead, Ethics Committee | |
| Precious Stones Working Group | |
Participant | |
| CGWG | |
Facilitator and Technical Lead | |
| BSI Manufacturing Standards | |
Steering Committee | |
| Fair Jewelry Action | |
Steering Committee | |
| Fairgems Process | |
Advisor | |
| HCVN | |
Steering Committee | |
| IRMA & Vancouver Dialogue | |
Participant and Consultant Contract | |
| IIRC | |
Contributor | |
| Conflict Free Smelter Program | |
Informal Advisor / Stakeholder input | |
| SCS Recycled Gold and Silver | |
Co-Developer | |
| Energy and Biodiversity Initiative | |
Convener / Co-Developer | |
| SASB Natural Resources | |
Advisor / Stakeholder Input | |
| ICMM SD Framework | |
Advisor and Consultant | |
| Aluminium Stewardship Initiative | |
Advisor | |
| IFC PS | |
Advisor on PS 6 | |
| Wal-Mart LoveEarth supplier criteria | |
Convener / Co-Developer | |
| CASM (small scale mining) | |
Board member | |
| GRI | |
Author, biodiversity section | |
The TDI team brings a deep knowledge and fresh perspective to what is possible to help downstream businesses effectively incentivize improvements in social and environmental practices of upstream mining and mineral processing companies. They are a practical, solutions-driven company with the boldness to suggest new approaches. In my various roles, they have been a partner on which I can rely fully.
- Carrie George- Brilliant Earth
Responsible Supply Chain Director and Expert in materials sourcing across electronics and jewellery supply chains
Learn how our approach has worked for some of our clients below:
Due Diligence, Assessments and Monitoring
Major OEM Luxury Brand, USA
We have worked for over three years with the world’s largest OEM electronics and consumer goods company to review and analyse sustainability standards in their global metals supply chain and designed a management tool to set, monitor and train business partners in best in class environmental, health, safety and governance standards and practices. We perform due diligence checks on all their major suppliers of metals and mined minerals and conduct periodic field checks on critical mining partners in Africa, Asia and South America.
Value Chain Development and Supply Chain Programmes
Leading Jewellery Brand, Geneva and Multiple Materials (ASM gold, emeralds, rubies, opals and diamonds)
With a mandate from the company’s CEO and President, we developed a multi-year sourcing and supply chain management strategy to source mined materials from ethical sources and establish direct relationships and contracts with the minerals. We identified sources of artisanally mined gold in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia; completed in-depth site-based due diligence studies and reports to meet the company’s corporate and RJC commitments; analysed the operating practices at the mines to identify the gaps in their system that would need to be closed to meet Fairtrade/Fairmined certification; negotiated an agreement between the mine and offtaker including the need to make operating environmental and social improvements and production targets; engineered the value chain for a route to market to refinery in Europe and on to the brand’s workshops; facilitated the contract and long-term relationships between partnering NGO and the company; and, finally built the communications strategy and content enabling the company to win considerable PR benefits from their supply chain project. The relationships with the mines continue to provide a regular supply of gold to the brand. As is publicly recorded, this brand has also sourced opals, emeralds, diamonds and rubies from known responsible sources for which we identified the producing mines, completed the due diligence, and facilitated the non-commercial aspects of the agreement including logistics and CSR requirements.
Contact Assheton Carter acarter@TDIStrategies.com
or Emma Hague ehague@TDIStrategies.com
