Fair Labor in the Global Supply Chain and the Connection to ASU
Presentation Script
Slide 1: Intro
This presentation was created by the Fair Labor Solutions team, which is made up of six
Master’s of Sustainability Solutions students. Today we are going to be looking at Arizona State
University’s procurement processes and how they connect to fair labor practices in the global
supply chain.
Slide 2: Definitions
To create a strong foundation and common language for the presentation, let’s first define forced
and fair labor. Forced labor is defined as work that is involuntary, subject to penalty and is a
subset of modern slavery. The United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary initiative specific to
global corporations instilled by the United Nations, states that forced labor can take many forms
such as slavery, debt bondage, child labor, and unfortunately the list goes on. Fair labor, on the
other hand is voluntary, requires fair compensation, and is free from penalty.
Slide 3: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The United Nation has developed 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), also referred to as
global goals. All 17 goals embody aspects of sustainability and are interconnected. However
goals 1, 8, 10, 12, and 16 are highly relevant to this topic. The goal of SDG 1 is to end poverty in
all its forms, globally. The Covid-19 pandemic “has led to the first rise in extreme poverty in a
generation,” which means this SDG is even more important than ever. SDG 8 focuses on
promoting “sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment, and decent work. SDG 10 is about reducing inequality within and among countries.
Goal 12 focuses on being mindful and shifting consumption patterns, which is important because
“the global ‘material footprint’ increased by 70% between 2000 and 2017.” Finally, SDG 16
works towards peace, justice, and strong institutions, addressing the reality that “conflict,
insecurity, weak institutions and limited access to justice remain a great threat to sustainable
development.”
Slide 4: Problem Identification
How did this issue of labor come to be? There is both a global and local landscape which can be
explored to find some clarity to this complex issue. Because ASU is a global institution with
large purchasing power, it is important to highlight how our purchases connect to the global
supply chain. ASU proudly markets its ranking as “number one in innovation,” but its success
can be amplified even more by prioritizing fair labor in the supply chain.

Slide 5: Global Landscape
The lack of effective fair labor standards and enforcement is a sustainability problem which
includes social, environmental, and economic impacts that span continents and have
intergenerational repercussions. In 2016, the International Labor Organization estimated that 25
million people were victims of forced labor. Women and girls are disproportionately affected, as
they make up 58% of forced laborers. This issue falls largely into the social category when
looking at these three pillars, but forced labor and negative environmental impacts are linked. In
many instances, poor global standards across industries perpetuate the existence not only of
forced labor, but of environmental damage as well. When it comes to the economic aspect, when
workers are not paid a living wage, they do not experience economic opportunity. Forced labor is
a complex problem that affects all aspects of sustainability.
Slide 6: Complex Causes
This visual helps simply illustrate the root categories that perpetuate unfair labor.
- “Substandard working conditions are often related to poverty, inequality and
discrimination.” Global poverty, inquality, and discrimination represent upstream drivers
that effect the opportunities workers are presented with and the decisions they make. If a
person is experiencing poverty, they may agree to work a job that they otherwise would
not, because they feel they have no other choice. Businesses, such as textile
manufacturing factories, can recognize this and operate in a way that takes advantage of
workers.
- Improving workplaces for victims of forced labor must go far beyond standard legal
compliance. Increasing supply chain transparency and pushing companies to adopt labor
standards across their entire operations and value chain must be encouraged. Competition
due to capitalism results in suppliers wanting to provide products as efficiently and cost
effectively as possible. But, outsourcing to third parties creates even less certainty in
terms of fair labor compliance, as it is very difficult to visit and understand what is
happening at every supplier. Because ASU currently purchases from hundreds of
vendors, there is a high likelihood that not all suppliers adhere to fair labor standards.
- Purchasing demand at ASU has led to contracts with thousands of suppliers, thus a lack
of fair labor is likely present. Although it may be possible to hold primary suppliers
accountable for fair labor practices, those further down the supply chain tend to lack
transparency and monitoring becomes more difficult.
Slide 7: Negatively Affected Stakeholders
Who is currently negatively affected by forced labor? In 2012, the International Labour
Organization (ILO) performed a study on the global estimates of forced labor and found that the
largest number of forced labor victims, 11.7 million, were in the Asia-Pacific region. This is over
half (56 %), of the estimated total. The second largest region was in Africa with 3.7 million
(18%) laborers, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean with 1.8 million victims (9%).

The negative effects that forced labor victims are subject to include poor working and living
conditions, harassment, debt bondage, fear of physical punishment and ultimately, being unable
to leave the situation.
Slide 8: Benefits & Benefiting Stakeholders
Who are the benefiting stakeholders? In another study by the ILO on profits from forced labor, it
was found that the total annual profit worldwide amounts to an estimated $150 U.S. billion
dollars. A majority of the profits, $99 billion, came from commercial sexual exploitation, $34
billion from construction, manifacturing and mining, $9 billion from agriculture, and the
remaining $8 billion from private households that underpay or do not pay domestic workers.
A majority of the profits were generated in the Asia-Pacific region generating $51.8 million. The
U.S, Canada, and EU made the second most profits, an estimated $46.9 billion dollars, followed
by the central and south eastern EU, Africa, South america, and the middle east. This study
highlights the benefiting countries, however, the benefits are not distributed equally throughout
these regions. The suppliers that practice forced labor and the consumers of these businesses are
the true benefiting stakeholders. Although the most prevalent benefit of forced labor is profit,
cheap labor, cheap products, and convenience are other important benefits.
Slide 9: Big Picture Recap
There are three main points to recap from this presentation so far.
1. Forced labor is a complex global issue. There are social, environmental, and economic
determinants to forced labor activities that span across the world.
2. The root drivers of forced labor are multidimensional. This begins with poverty,
inequality, and discrimination. Later, legal requirements, operation norms, and market
competition perpetuates the issue. Finally, ASU's purchasing demand, driven by mass
consumption.
3. There are stakeholders that are negatively affected and those that benefit from forced
labor.
Slide 10: ASU Connectedness
ASU is a huge university that makes purchases from all around the globe. This connects us and
our choices to the global environment. For example, the map here shows all the countries where
Adidas, one of our largest suppliers, manufacturers. ASU’s purchasing structure is very
decentralized and is broken down by amount spent. Every purchase impacts ASU, but there are
very few guidelines in place to ensure that fair labor practices are adhered to throughout our vast
supply chain.
Slide 11: Areas of Opportunity

The Fair Labor Solutions team has identified three areas of opportunities that ASU can expand
upon to adhere to fair labor practices. These are in purchasing, awareness and collaboration, and
staff:
In purchasing:
Before making a purchase, refer to the approved vendors list for suppliers already verified by the
FLA. Specifically for “swag” items commonly used as giveaway prizes, refer to ASU’s
sustainable purchasing guidelines. It is important to purchase intentionally.
In awareness and collaboration:
Continue to educate yourself and begin to educate your peers on fair labor within the supply
chain. Listening to this presentation is a good place to start but doing your own research, raising
awareness, and forming a network of fair labor peers is highly encouraged.
In staff:
Encourage the university to create a dedicated team focused on ethical and sustainable
purchasing in ASU’s supply chain. This team should collaborate with other university groups and
help build capacities.
Further detailed opportunity actions can be found in the final report.
Slide 12: Questions
Thank you for listening. Below are additional resources to learn more about labor in the global
supply chain. We will take any questions you have at this time.

References
International Labour Organization. (2012). ILO 2012 global estimate of Forced Labour
Executive summary. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@declaration/documents/publicati
on/wcms_181953.pdf
International Labour Organization. (2014). Profits and poverty: The economics of forced labour.
Retrieved February 9, 2022, from
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents
/publication/wcms_243391.pdf
Principle 4: UN Global Compact. United Nations Global Compact. (n.d.). Retrieved February
21,2022,from
https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles/principle-4
SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment and decent work for all. SDG Compass. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2022,
from
https://sdgcompass.org/sdgs/sdg-8/#:~:text=Substandard%20working%20conditions%20
are%20often,be%20especially%20vulnerable%20to%20abuses.
‌United Nations. (n.d.). Home - United Nations Sustainable Development. United Nations.
Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act | U.S. Department of Labor. (2020). Dol.gov.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa#:~:text=The%20Fair%20Labor%20Standards%2
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