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Discover how procurement is shifting from cost to conscience as businesses tackle human rights risks and modern slavery across global supply chains.

From price to people: The procurement shift that’s reshaping business 

Written by 
Nick Dexter, Principal Consultant, Modern Slavery and Human Rights

In Aotearoa New Zealand, conversations about sustainability often start with carbon, land, and water. But another question is rising in urgency: What about people? 

That question was front and centre at a recent business forum in Tāmaki Makaurau, co-hosted by Eco Choice Aotearoa and Edge Impact. 

Leaders from industry, government, and civil society gathered to confront the uncomfortable truth: New Zealand is lagging behind its global trading partners in protecting people from modern slavery. 

“It’s as simple as this: New Zealand needs to get legislation,” said Gareth Marriott, Managing Director of OCS Group ANZ who featured on the panel. 

His statement landed echoes sobering facts: 

50 million people are estimated to be living in conditions of modern slavery worldwide - more than any other time in human history 

26 million of those people are in the Asia-Pacific region, where many New Zealand and Australian supply chains lead 

In New Zealand alone, nearly $8 billion in imported goods are linked to modern slavery 

71% of people in modern slavery are women and girls 

So how did we get here, and what’s shifting? 

For decades, procurement operated on a simple mantra: Get it fast. Get it cheap. Get it in spec. But quietly, the world has changed. Now, we ask procurement teams to: 

Procurement has evolved from a back-office function to the front line of ethics and business accountability. It’s no longer just a cost centre, it’s a conscience centre. Where business risk meets responsibility. 

As laws evolve and stakeholder expectations grow, procurement professionals are being asked to consider not just what is bought, but how it was made, who made it, and whether harm (environmentally or socially) occurred along the way. 

In this article we’ll unpack what this shift means for your teams - and what tools they need to be successful. 

Modern Slavery is an umbrella term for extreme forms of exploitation where people are controlled, coerced, or deceived and cannot leave. It includes: 

The legal definitions are grounded in frameworks like the Palermo Protocol, which centres on three key elements: 

Exploitation for the benefit of another 

As economist Thomas Sowell famously put it: 

“There are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in four centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.” 

There are no simple answers, but common contributing factors include: 

Complex root causes including poverty, conflict, and displacement 

Weak labour protections and patchy enforcement 

Unrealistic cost/time pressures on suppliers 

Long, opaque supply chains with little transparency 

Responsibility being passed down the line - “that’s the supplier’s problem” 

In short: when workers are invisible, unprotected, and under pressure, the risk of exploitation spikes. Especially when no one is watching. 

Most modern slavery legislation, including Australia’s Modern Slavery Act, began as transparency-based models. These laws require companies to report on risks, but not necessarily to act on them. 

This creates a paradox. A business can legally admit it has child labour in part of its supply chain, say it’s doing nothing about it, and still be technically compliant, so long as the board signs off on the statement. In a transparency-based model, regulators step back, and stakeholders (consumers, investors, civil society) are expected to step in as the accountability mechanism. 

In sectors like cleaning, security, or agriculture where exploitation is visible, stakeholders can apply pressure. But in complex global supply chains, that visibility can vanish. 

Around the world, there’s a growing push away from transparency alone, instead moving toward mandatory human rights due diligence. 

These new laws, particularly in the EU, require: 

Identification of actual and potential harms 

Demonstrable action to prevent and address them 

We’ve entered a new era of accountability where the question is no longer: Did you know? It’s: What did you do about it?

Building Accountability: From Responsibility to Consequence 

To build true accountability, organisations must move beyond vague good intentions.  

As political scientist Mark Bovens outlines, accountability requires: 

In other words: when everyone is responsible, no one is accountable. 

Organisations must map governance roles clearly, so procurement, legal, executive teams, and operations all understand who owns what. 

Procurement has undergone a quiet but profound transformation. 

It was once the domain of volume, cost, and spec sheets. Then came whole-of-life costing. Now, procurement is: 

Evaluating social and environmental risks 

Navigating global and subcontracted supply chains 

Aligning sourcing with ESG and sustainability targets 

Defending brand credibility and legal compliance 

As it’s often said: The fight for a sustainable future will be won or lost in the supply chain. 

Acknowledging the presence of modern slavery in supply chains is not a radical act. It's a statement of fact.

As businesses leaders we need to move on from the concern of admitting its existence, and shift to a conversation of how we will be perceived if we are seen to do nothing about it.

Tools for the Job: The Pathway to Respecting Human Rights 

To support procurement teams on this journey, Edge Impact, in partnership with the Property Council of Australia, developed the Pathway to Respecting Human Rights.  

This practical maturity framework helps organisations understand: 

How to improve systems, practices, and accountability over time 

It’s not a checklist. It’s a flexible tool designed to reflect different levels of organisational maturity and support continuous improvement in managing human rights risks.

A shared language 
The Pathway outlines ten clear steps businesses can take to respect human rights. It provides a consistent framework that teams can use to align internally and collaborate with others, no matter their size or sector. 

A focus for collaboration 
 From improving supply chain transparency to building grievance mechanisms, the Pathway helps identify shared goals and opportunities for joint action. 

A practical starting point 
It links to 58 free tools, case studies, and examples. A clear entry point for teams who are ready to move but unsure where to start. 

Accountability through partnership 
Regular check-ins with peers and partners build momentum. Progress is easier to track and harder to ignore when it's shared. 

Scalable impact 
The Pathway can be used beyond your organisation. Sharing it with suppliers, clients, and industry groups helps drive change across the value chain. 

Final thought: Turning commitment into action 

Respecting human rights isn't just a compliance task, it's a leadership responsibility. And procurement is where that responsibility becomes real. 

Whether you're just starting out or looking to strengthen your systems, the Pathway to Respecting Human Rights offers a practical way forward — and you're not alone in the journey. 

At Edge Impact, our team supports organisations across Aotearoa and Australia with: 

Modern slavery statement review and development 

Implementation support and policy development 

If you’re ready to take the next step, get in touch today. 

Edge Impact can support your team across Aotearoa to build ethical, resilient, and human-rights-aligned construction practices. Let’s start a conversation about building systems that deliver real impact. Feel free to connect directly with Nick Dexter, or get in touch today.

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Discover how Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) can boost your business's sustainability efforts. Learn about their benefits, including market differentiation, compliance with Green Star and NABERS, and improved decision-making for long-term value.

The Business Value of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for Sustainable Growth

Roanna Jones, Consultant, Lifecycle & Material Flow Assessments

The Business Value of Environmental Product Declarations for Sustainable Growth

In today’s competitive market, businesses are increasingly expected to not just talk about sustainability but to show their commitment through measurable actions.

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) provide a clear, independently verified way to communicate the environmental impact of your products.

By offering detailed, transparent data about a product’s lifecycle, EPDs allow companies to not only meet growing sustainability expectations but also gain a competitive edge, build trust with customers, and differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace.

Upcoming Workshops: Elevate Your Product Transparency

In line with the critical role of transparency in environmental claims, we’re hosting two upcoming workshops in New Zealand with Eco Choice Aotearoa.

These sessions will empower professionals in the built environment to deepen their understanding of product transparency and its real-world applications.

1. Product Transparency Unpacked: A Workshop for Leading Manufacturers

2. Transparency in Practice: A NZIA Approved Workshop for Architects and Specifiers

What is an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)? 

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a third-party verified document that offers transparent, comparable data on a product's environmental impact across its life cycle.

These documents enable engineers, architects, and procurement specialists to evaluate the embodied carbon of materials in their projects.

Additionally, EPDs help customers select products aligned with sustainability certifications, such as NABERS and Green Star ratings.

Commissioning an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for your product or service presents a range of benefits, such as: 

Leverage EPDs to set your products apart. By showcasing your verified sustainability efforts, you can attract clients who prioritise environmentally responsible partners and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

EPDs are recognised by major sustainability frameworks like Green Star, NABERS, and the Infrastructure Sustainability Council Rating Scheme. This recognition provides a strategic advantage in sectors where environmental performance is highly valued. 

EPDs provide comprehensive data on the environmental footprint of your products, offering full transparency. Demonstrating this level of disclosure not only builds trust but also enhances your corporate reputation by showcasing your commitment to responsible business practices. 

With EPDs, environmental claims are backed by third-party verified data. This helps reduce the risk of greenwashing, ensuring your sustainability claims are credible and reliable. 

5. Improved Decision-Making for Sustainability 

The business-specific data within EPDs helps identify environmental hotspots across the product life cycle. By leveraging these insights enables organisations to make data-driven decisions, optimise resources, and drive targeted sustainability improvements. 

By committing to environmental transparency through EPDs, businesses can elevate their brand image, positioning themselves as leaders in sustainability. This can also foster long-term loyalty with environmentally conscious clients.

Designing for Engagement: Create EPDs that promote your products' sustainability credentials. Use infographics and visualisations to make technical data digestible and accessible.

This approach highlights the environmental benefits of your products and fosters confidence in your communications, helping you avoid greenwashing. 

At Edge Impact, our creative team transforms complex sustainability data into visually engaging reports. From digital campaigns to brand strategy, we assist organisations in embedding sustainability authentically into their narratives. 

Learn more about our Brand and Communications Services here.

Unlocking Business Insights with Lifecycle Assessments (LCA) 

An EPD includes a detailed lifecycle assessment (LCA), offering insights that go beyond standard requirements.

The LCA reveals environmental hotspots and areas for optimisation, enabling better decision-making on where to allocate resources for maximum environmental impact. Additionally, it helps identify “quick wins” where sustainability improvements can be easily implemented within your product systems. 

Recent Regulatory Developments: Preparing for 2025 and Beyond 

From 2025, the Australian National Construction Code (NCC) will introduce voluntary reporting for embodied carbon in commercial buildings using the NABERS framework. 

By 2028, a mandatory minimum standard for embodied carbon may be introduced, covering both residential and non-residential buildings. Companies with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) will be better positioned to meet these evolving compliance requirements. 

Reference: Australian Government Industry News 

With growing regulatory pressure and consumer demand for sustainable practices, EPDs are more than just compliance tools—they are strategic assets for future-proofing your business.

By adopting EPDs now, companies can demonstrate leadership in sustainability, enhance product offerings, and prepare for future regulations that will demand increased transparency in environmental impact reporting. 

Edge Impact has supported leading organisations in maximising the value of their EPDs, turning technical documents into strategic assets that communicate sustainability effectively. 

Contact us to explore how our expertise can help you on your sustainability journey. 

As experts in the full spectrum of sustainability topics, we are here to guide you through the complexity. We combine global expertise with the knowledge and experience of the local Aotearoa NZ context. Our team includes specialists from across the globe; from strategists to economists, engineers to creatives. Since 2008, we have been helping businesses, organisations, industries and societies make transformation happen.

Our areas of expertise are focussed around the following areas:

Leadership and Transformation
ESG and Strategy
Decarbonisation and Climate Resilience
Circular Economy and Lifecycle Thinking
Procurement and Supply Chain
Built Environment
Nature and Biodiversity
Brand, Communications and Creative

This pathway is designed to give property and construction businesses and their suppliers practical and actionable steps for respecting human rights and tackling modern slavery, no matter the size of business or level of experience.

How to use the PCA Pathway document to drive industry-wide change

Nick Dexter, Principal, Human Rights & Social Impact

With the release of the "Pathway to Respecting Human Rights and Addressing Modern Slavery Risks," developed in partnership with the Property Council of Australia (PCA) and Edge Impact, there's a new blueprint for action. 

The Property Council of Australia is on a mission 

The Pathway document is not just a tool for internal use; it's a bridge for inter-business collaboration that amplifies collective capacity to make a difference.

The Pathway outlines ten clear steps towards respecting human rights, providing a common framework and language that all businesses, regardless of size or sector, can understand and rally around. This shared understanding is the first step towards effective collaboration. 

By discussing the various aspects of the Pathway, businesses can identify common goals and areas where joint efforts can lead to greater impact. Whether it's improving supply chain transparency, implementing grievance mechanisms, or enhancing worker conditions, the Pathway helps align efforts towards shared objectives. 

The document is rich with links to 58 free online resources, case studies, and practical examples. Businesses can come together to explore these resources, sharing insights and learning from each other's experiences. This collaborative learning approach accelerates progress and innovation. 

Regularly engaging with other businesses to discuss progress on the Pathway's steps creates a sense of accountability. These partnerships can drive continuous improvement and help maintain momentum towards respecting human rights and eliminating modern slavery. 

By sharing the Pathway with suppliers, clients, and the wider industry, they foster a culture of responsibility and ethical practice across the entire sector. 

Start by downloading the Pathway. See where you stand and where you can join forces with others. 

To discuss how we can support your journey towards respecting human rights and addressing modern slavery risks, get in touch with Nick Dexter at nick.dexter@edgeimpact.global. 

Here's how the Pathway document can serve as a tool for facilitating conversations between businesses: 

Download the Pathway to Respecting Human Rights and Addressing Modern Slavery Risks here

Eco Choice Aotearoa has partnered with Edge Impact to seamlessly integrate your ecolabel and EPD requirements, ensuring a smooth transition towards developing your EPD.

Eco Choice Aotearoa Expands Services Through Partnership with Edge Impact

Edge Impact, Australasia’s leading provider of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) is proud to announce a new partnership with Eco Choice Aotearoa, the official ecolabel trademarked by the Ministry for the Environment. 

This collaboration will enhance sustainability initiatives by offering comprehensive Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and EPDs to businesses across New Zealand.  

Eco Choice Aotearoa has been a pioneer in sustainability for over three decades, providing trusted ecolabel certifications. Now, in collaboration with Edge Impact, ECA is expanding its services to deliver deeper insights and actionable business intelligence through LCAs and EPDs. 

Edge Impact, known for completing 40% of Australasia’s EPDs, brings a wealth of expertise and a nuanced understanding of the opportunities and challenges within various industries. Their experience ensures that businesses receive robust, transparent, and credible environmental impact data. 

Transitioning to Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) builds on Eco Choice Aotearoa’s foundation by providing detailed, verified data on environmental impacts. This partnership with Edge Impact supports businesses in this transition, offering enhanced credibility and market differentiation. 

David Maucor, Regional Principal - New Zealand

Partnering with the Eco Choice label makes a lot of sense for us. We’re committed to helping product manufacturers understand their product impacts and communicate this effectively to their clients. 

Eco Choice already assists many New Zealand based businesses through its Eco-label program. Together, we can offer more options and guide them on their product certification and transparency journey.

The partnership combines the assurance of a Type 1 ecolabel, the detailed business intelligence of an LCA, and the transparency of an EPD, all under one trusted provider with a 30-year legacy. 

This integration will simplify the process for businesses striving for sustainability, who can build on the work already completed through their Eco-label certification with Eco Choice, to progress towards an LCA or EPD.

Eco Choice Aotearoa and Edge Impact are committed to helping organisations minimise their environmental impact, to ensure a thriving motu for future generations.

There’s no one-size fits all approach when it comes to sustainability, and by expanding our services, we’re now able to support businesses at each step of their journey - providing honest advice on what they need, and what they don’t.

To learn more about the partnership and how it can benefit your business today. Click here.

Edge Impact is a global impact consultancy that combines science, strategy, and storytelling to reimagine sustainability for positive impact. With a diverse team of specialists from strategists to economists, engineers to creatives, Edge Impact has been helping businesses, organisations, industries, and societies achieve transformative change since 2008. 

Eco Choice Aotearoa is the country’s official ecolabel for products and services, trademarked by the Ministry for the Environment. For the past 30 years, the ecolabel has provided comprehensive assurance of environmental preferability, ethical sourcing, health and safety and performance. Eco Choice Aotearoa is committed to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and draws inspiration from the concept of kaitiakitanga.

As experts in the full spectrum of sustainability topics, we are here to guide you through the complexity. We combine global expertise with the knowledge and experience of the local Aotearoa NZ context.

Our team includes specialists from across the globe; from strategists to economists, engineers to creatives. Since 2008, we have been helping businesses, organisations, industries and societies make transformation happen.

Our areas of expertise are focussed around the following areas:

Leadership and Transformation
ESG and Strategy
Decarbonisation and Climate Resilience
Circular Economy and Lifecycle Thinking
Procurement and Supply Chain
Built Environment
Nature and Biodiversity
Brand, Communications and Creative

Discover how brands can transition to greater transparency. Learn what defines a transparent brand, explore real-life examples, and uncover five effective strategies to enhance your brand's transparency.

From meaningful and purposeful, to brand transparency

Written by
Jordan Stokes, Creative Director

Most if not all brand professionals are guilty of encouraging the use of positive buzzwords when developing strategy, tone of voice or brand personality in whatever form for their clients. It was very much ‘purposeful’ or ‘meaningful’ for a long time with ‘impactful’ having it’s own moment right now.

All brands are always looking to be authentic, mean what they say and not try to be something they’re not; Even if that thing is big, garish and in your face. Lot’s of brands are honest in the way they engage with their audiences and it usually comes through in the way they talk about themselves or present themselves, maybe more as an aesthetic or tone. These traits are often nuanced and can depend on a whole host of factors.

I believe that honesty means that when asked you answer truthfully and authentic just means you’re true to who you are.

But what if a brand’s customers or audiences don’t know what to ask, or understand specialist areas of the business (like sustainability)? Does this mean that brands don’t feel obliged to communicate what they’re doing? Feels a bit murky, right?

Transparency on the other hand is much more open. It’s brands saying ‘come and see for yourself’.

As the world of sustainability, action and brands actually doing the right thing very quickly moves into the mainstream, are we about to move away from brands having ‘meaningful’ conversations with their audiences and into them being more transparent and forthcoming with how they act behind the scenes?

What brands are doing from a sustainability perspective; setting targets, managing their resources, production and responsibilities by working to reduce any negative impact (and even positively impact in some cases) can often be quite technical, littered with caveats and very specialist at times.

Currently, when we do see it filter into the mainstream it often appears as something so lofty that you’ve lost all detail and the connection to the evidence. I think of it a bit like hearing politicians answering questions.

The information and results can also not look or sound great either. A lot of businesses are worried that they won’t hit the targets they set, which as reported by Accenture in November 2022 is most likely true for a vast majority of the major businesses setting targets.

Sometimes organisations can’t actually do enough because the systems they are a part of and the technology they use isn’t ready to support them, so in most cases they shy away from communicating outwardly.

However; organisations that understand the need for brand transparency are making this narrative a part of how they communicate with their stakeholders and audiences.

A good example of this has played out recently with Lego.

A brand loved by all who have been a sustainability leader for forever, recently announcing that they were needing to abandon one of their key initiatives to reduce emissions and the impact of their product because they physically couldn’t re-imagine their entire production process in time.

They have been both commended by some and slammed by others, but this act of brand transparency is just what more brands need to embrace if we want to inspire collaboration and action from both industry and consumers.

Another favourite example is Nudie Denim.

The global denim manufacturer has a strong sustainability approach, actively reports on their strategy and targets and engages consumers to make better choices; but, it’s their supply chain transparency activation that excites me the most.

On any product on their website, you can discover their entire supply chain, where the producer or production house is located, whether it has been audited and even download those reports. It’s a simple, but really impressive digital content piece that gives customers the ability to look under the hood at how their clothes are made in lots of detail.

These examples really highlight the difference (from a brand and communications point of view) between transparency and honesty.

Our services include brand strategy, identity creation and refinement, product and service design, graphic design and art direction, digital, campaigns and experiential. 

I’ve spent the last 16 months in a new world when you compare the first 15 years of my career. 

We moved from a more general brand and creative agency to be more specialist as part of a global impact consultancy. This new world has seen us working with new types of clients; not only in the businesses we work with but also the people within those businesess we engage.

In this new world we’re supporting amazing people who are doing amazing things to solve some of businesses most fundamental issues; and our role is to help them actually share what they’re doing with the world and be confident to share as much as possible, knowing they have the evidence to back it all up.

It takes a lot for brands to completely open their doors and windows to the world and let everyone see what they’re doing (in some instances, where reporting is concerned they may not have a choice in the near future).

If brands want to build, engage and educate the kinds audiences of that we need, to make the better choices that the world needs they have to start being braver in the way they set goals (and why) then communicate how they’re tracking against them.

In doing our work we apply our brand mantra in how we approach each project and what we need to ask from our clients.

We call it the ‘Edge Way’ and it quite simply combines science, strategy and storytelling to build the foundations a brand needs to communicate their purpose, their sustainability goals and their actions effectively.

Here are 5 strategies for brands to effectively transition to greater transparency

Understand what you need to be able to back up the work you’re doing and the goals you want to set. This could be through recognised certifications, life cycle analysis or establishing a carbon footprint.

One of the most interesting parts of this process, is when we are able to use this evidence base to develop brand and ESG strategy that truly connects and embeds sustainability into a brand at it’s core.

Bringing your internal and external audiences on the journey with you not only builds momentum behind your goals and actions, but it also helps communicate what needs to be done and why in a way that’s engaging, inspiring and people can connect with. By activating sustainability, you can make it a part of everyone’s role and something they can be a part of.

Most brands aren’t actually set up to communicate complex data, scientific evidence or multi-level sustainability stories on top of their day-to-day. By bolstering your brand asset library across data visualisation, imagery and language; to allow greater flexibility and focus on sustainability topics you can ensure messages cut-through and stay clear of feeling too ‘greenwashy’ and throw away.

By connecting sustainability teams, with marketing and brand teams and empowering those teams to communicate sustainability effectively; brands can keep an open channel with their audiences to continuously update on their goals and actions. Our work sees this come to life through training, workshops and the development of tools or functions that build on a businesses existing processes.

Sustainability reporting has traditionally been seen and felt by some as a resource drain, resulting in a fluffy marketing document that doesn’t disclose detail or drive any action. But by re-thinking how your brand reports on your goals, action and the impact you’re having on the world you can create a more engaging experience around how you bring brand transparency (and dislosure) to life within your customer experience and directly to your audiences.

The Role of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Validating Green Claims

From price to people: The procurement shift that’s reshaping business

The Business Value of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for Sustainable Growth

How to use the PCA Pathway document to drive industry-wide change