When actions speak louder than words

Sadly tonight, yet again Newsnight gave a focus to procurement - this time under the spotlight were 2 Sisters Food Group. 2 Sisters Food Group have a commitment to sustainability, and that is supposed to include responsible business. From a procurement perspective, here's what they claim on their website:

Procurement

Our vision - We partner with our suppliers to our mutual benefit and engage in the development and implementation of responsible sourcing standardsOne of the great sustainability challenges of our generation will be feeding 9 billion people on the planet, many of whom will be achieving increase in wealth. The growing population and increasing middle class bring bigger demands on land, what is produced and how it is produced. The potential impact on sensitive ecosystems is huge, and we will work with suppliers to prevent this through use of responsible sourcing standards. We are already certified to RSPO, are members of RTRS and UTZ, and supply MCS fish. Where relevant we will continue to support and champion responsible sourcing standards and develop approaches where they do not exist in the market.

A big challenge we face sourcing from over 50 countries is ensuring we protect people from exploitation and abuse. This is a complicated area, with many different challenges across the world depending in the size of suppliers, cultural differences and ways sectors operate. As members of SEDEX we are championing this to our supply chains, and have made a commitment to use this system to assess, risk rate and take action where required.  We will provide support to suppliers to ensure we can implement effective solutions that ensure the sustainability of both supply chains and 2 Sisters.

- See more at: http://www.2sfg.com/sustainability/#procurement

Later this week, on Thursday, we have another BBC exposé related to procurement, Apple's Broken Promises:

Apple is the most valuable brand on the planet, making products that everyone wants - but how are its workers treated when the world isn't looking? Panorama goes undercover in China to show what life is like for the workers making the iPhone 6. And it's not just the factories. Reporter Richard Bilton travels to Indonesia to find children working in some of the most dangerous mines in the world. But is the tin they dig out by hand finding its way into Apple's products?

There's something ironic that the profession is celebrating a name change and the ability to award individual Chartered Status while the media is pouring shame on our peers, sorry highlighting the shame of our peers. What I also find strange is how CIPS are being left out of any of the media discussions - are they part of the solution?