Element 5: Monitoring, Verifying & Reporting
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Monitoring, verifying and reporting are ongoing processes that companies use to assess and demonstrate performance against their supply chain commitments. It is crucial not only to track progress and review goals and strategies, but also to verify the outcomes and to make sure both are communicated to internal and external stakeholders.
This element aims to:
· Consolidate best practices in the sector around monitoring, verifying and reporting
· Provide an overview of how companies in the beef supply chain can monitor the implementation of their commitments and suppliers’ performance, verify progress and compliance, and report internally and externally
· Guide the development of an aligned system for monitoring, verifying and reporting, as well as sharing existing knowledge and building the capacity of beef buyers to develop their own systems.
Five steps for a monitoring, verifying and reporting framework
1. Define purpose and scope of monitoring – The first step in monitoring is to define what will be monitored and what the monitoring is expected to deliver.
2. Develop indicators – Companies should develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor progress. These should be linked to the intended outcomes of the responsible sourcing policy, but also to the intermediary milestones defined in the implementation plan.
3. Design your monitoring system – Once monitoring indicators are identified, a monitoring system can be designed by defining datasets and collection methods.
4. Implementation of monitoring – the approach for this stage will vary depending on a company’s position in the supply chain. Upstream companies will be able to collect information directly from producers, whereas downstream companies will need to monitor the progress of their direct suppliers in order to cascade compliance up the supply chain.
5. Reporting – Reporting can take various forms such as annual reports, or on the company website via a public dashboard or similar. This is an important step to gain the trust of external stakeholders.
Key points
· Monitoring, verifying and reporting on progress should occur both internally and externally, in order to track progress and be transparent with stakeholders.
· There is no globally approved system to track and report on progress; however, there are already some processes developed in countries where beef is a major commodity, such as Brazil.
· Monitoring, verifying and reporting should be aligned across the supply chain, so that roles at different stages of the supply chain are clear and companies can benefit from their direct suppliers’ efforts and data.
More information is available in the briefing note below - BN05: Monitoring, Verifying & Reporting
The 5-element approach
