When it comes to trust, make sure to verify

The increasing efforts to fight modern slavery across the globe are getting a boost from European Union rules that require companies to track and report on the issue. But compliance executives can’t lean on easy databases and automated solutions, experts increasingly say, that supply chain companies may ignore or lie to.

Companies attending Compliance Week’s Ethics & Compliance Summit in Boston this week shared stories about how they’ve begun to tackle needs to uncover details about their supply chains, whether they be metals, clothing or food. Even tougher, though, the amount of data behind this type of effort can be staggering. Imagine having to identify details about a supply chain down to the raw materials for every part of a car, for example. Or for a piece of technology, down to the mine gathering lithium.