Kate Larsen a Chinese speaker, lived and worked in China many years assessing Supply Chains labour standards. Ms Larsen has spoken on BBC World News TV and radio on her experience regarding forced labour of Uyghurs in supply chains in China, and what companies are expected to and can do to manage this risk.

As a practitioner for over 17 years worked on what CSR, now captured under Business human rights due diligence (HRDD) for supply chain Social (labour) and Environmental, Ms Larsen is able to provide insights into emerging laws and standards that business improve their practises in due diligence for labour, safety and environmental conditions in their global value chains, and what business are expected to do.

These include the Modern Slavery Acts (UK, Australia, California, etc), laws in the USA banning imports of goods made under forced labour conditions, and emerging HRDD law in France, Germany, Switzerland, the EU, etc.

Ms Larsen first lived in China studying at Wuhan University winter 1996-97, then again in Beijing 1999-2000 running a non-profit, then 2004-6 as Senior Consulting in Social consulting (human rights) of Environmental Resources Management (ERM), the world's largest standalone Sustainability-ESG consultancy. Ms Larsen was a Principal Consultant Human Rights and ESG in ERM's London office 2016-18 advising PE, Bank, and other investors and FTSE100, FTSE250 and smaller businesses. She represented the firm in the UN Global Compact UK Modern Slavery workgroup and led development of ERM's first Modern Slavery statement and efforts towards a Modern Slavery statement, whilst advising other clients similarly.

Ms Larsen worked in Hong Kong 2007-13 visiting factories or attending meetings in China most weeks, then continued visits to China suppliers in later work 2014-2016. Ms Larsen is a Trustee Board member of UK Charity The Rights Practise TRP which supports primarily China civil society and human rights efforts. Ms Larsen studied in Masters Chinese language classes whilst undergraduate, and with classes at Berkeley and SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) of the University of London. She has delivered numerous workshops, trainings, speeches, and led numerous meetings in China in Chinese with support of Chinese colleagues, and in her time living in China would conduct her daily life in mandarin Chinese.

Advice provided is practitioner expert advice and is not legal advice nor should be construed as such. 

Advice and Insights provided on a call, zoom/video call, or workshop are based only on insights the expert practitioner is able to share and no reliance should be assumed. The advisor assumes no liability for how advice or insights provided are used.

• Sector Selection: Strategy
• Meeting Type: Web conference and Phone consultation

Kate Larsen is SupplyESChange Director Responsible Sourcing and ESG Advisory and training on supply chains Environmental and Social risks and impact potential.  Kate has worked in Sustainability, CSR, Ethical Trade, business human rights due diligence (HRDD), and ESG advisory for over 17 years.

Kate was the first Burberry Corporate Responsibility lead Asia from 2006-12, has been a lead Ethical Sourcing and Sustainability strategy advisor to Kering, and NEXT, WhiteStuff, and other Fashion companies, Director Responsible Sourcing for the USA’s largest children’s wear retailer, and has led Fashion industry supply chain labour conditions working groups, including on investigating and remediating modern slavery, especially in Asia. 

Kate also worked in Human Rights Watch and led World Bank projects engaging leading retail and apparel brands (Levis, VFCorp, Primark, Tesco, TCP, M&S, AE, etc) and stakeholders (ETI, ILO, Better Work, HERproject, Awaj, etc) on Bangladesh and Asia women workers empowerment, and has undertaken numerous other consulting projects across various sectors. For an apparel tech start-up funded by Humanity United Kate led creation of standards for assessing indicators of suppliers labour/social, modern slavery risk, and environmental management maturity from public data, and led strategy and outreach to retailers ASOS, M&S, Primark, NEXT.

Kate has also written for Drapers and Apparel Insider on what fashion can do about supply chain labour exploitation and modern slavery and been often quoted in VOGUE Business on Fashion supply chain labour conditions. In 2021 Kate speaks at the Drapers Sustainable Fashion Conference on emerging modern slavery risks in global supply chains, and has regular spoken on such issues for Sustainable Apparel and similar events for Innovation Forum, Ethical Corporation, and other events; Federated Hermes investment podcast on Sustainability in Fashion, and more.

Due to her 11 years China experience, Kate was featured on the BBC World Service and world news a number of times in 2020-21 on forced labour of Uyghur and others in China, and what fashion and other business can do. In her China and HK time Kate interviewed Uyghur workers in Chinese when playing an active role in a collaborative investigation of conditions across multiple south China factories which many USA and European fashion brands were buying from.

Kate was named a UK Top 100 corporate Modern Slavery influencer 2018. She is a Trustee for UK charity focussed on China The Rights Practise, an advisor to UK anti-slavery charity Unseen, Handshake worker helpline China and Asia providing voice for 10,000s workers, and Japanese NGO G-ASSC (Global Association for Sustainable Supply Chains) helpline for Chinese, Burmese, Vietnamese and other migrant workers in Japan and Asia at risk of modern slavery.

• Sector Selection: Strategy
• Meeting Type: Web conference and Phone consultation

Kate Larsen has for over 17 years worked on what CSR, now captured under Business human rights due diligence (HRDD) for supply chain Social (labour) and Environmental.

Ms Larsen is able to provide insights into emerging laws and standards that business improve their practises in due diligence for labour, safety and environmental conditions in their global value chains, and what business are expected to do.

These include the Modern Slavery Acts (UK, Australia, California, etc), laws in the USA banning imports of goods made under forced labour conditions, and emerging HRDD law in France, Germany, Switzerland, the EU, etc.

This is practitioner expert advice and is not legal advice nor should be construed as such. 

Advice and Insights provided on a call, zoom/video call, or workshop are based only on insights the expert practitioner is able to share and no reliance should be assumed. The advisor assumes no liability for how advice or insights provided are used.

• Sector Selection: Strategy
• Meeting Type: Web conference and Phone consultation

A 1hr webinar* a week for 5 weeks course, helping you Learn from an Experienced Trainer:

1. Why companies need to improve Responsible Sourcing: new Legislation:

-The UNGPs (UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) & expectations for human rights due diligence (deeper checking, engagement, internal improvement, and effort);

-For Ethical Trade, and to support Living Wage & via Fairer Purchasing Practises, and

-Of US Customs under UFLPA law & Tariff Act for no imports made by Uyghur or other forced labour conditions (definition updates),...& how these laws are expanding to UK, Europe & more.

2. How to improve Policies, Standards, & the importance of external Stakeholder Engagement for learning, intelligence, to get ahead, and as responsible business practise. How to do this in safe ways more likely to protect your brand (Leather, Cotton, Detox, ETI & more).

3. How to improve Risk Assessment, Tech, Tools, Tips & Tricks including legal collaborations:
-Where risks lie, and new risks (forced labour of Uyghurs, etc in China; modern slavery in UK, Italy, India, Taiwan, etc); Why modern slavery has been increasing;

-Living Wage challenges in Bangladesh, India, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey, etc & ways to stay up to date, and ethically trade;

-Opportunities for risk reduction, productivity, and profitability improvement worker respecting and welfare focussed engagements can generate. 

4. How to Verify conditions & do due diligence Influencing Improvements for Workers (People Who Make Our Things) & Our Environment;

-Differences between ILO Better Work programme, Fairwear, Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), SEDEX, Fair Labor Association, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Social Labour Convergence Programme, FairFactoriesClearinghouse, Ecovadis, etc.

-Tips from Trainer experience helping Factories Improve worker conditions & Reduce emissions; &

-Setting up collaborative grievance channels/Tech-based helplines for Worker Voice; 

5. Transparency of Environmental & Social Impact, How To Talk about efforts:

-Modern Slavery statements through to marketing claims and labelling (organic, fairwear, etc); avoiding greenwash.

Details of the Course:

If your Team would like a Team Tailored Training (online or inperson) please Email kate@supplyESChange.com. 

The Trainer: Kate A Larsen has worked the past 20 years in and with numerous leading Apparel and Consumer Goods Brands on Sustainability, Responsible Sourcing and Ethical Trade. She

She has trained numerous company execs, managers, teams and other audiences (more details available on request), and advised and supported many other companies and initiatives, some of which are mentioned in her Bio here http://www.linkedin.com/in/katelarsen

Her MSc Environmental Management engaged apparel brands on how to best reduce wastewater pollution from factories, her suppliers gained accolades for the Cleaner Production emissions programme she supported them into, and she was named a UK Top 100 Corporate (ending) Modern Slavery Influencer 2018. 

Optional Tailoring: 

-If review of Modern Slavery Statement or other Sustainability reports desired please enquire

-If Benchmark against key competitors of interest please enquire. 

*IN-PERSON/onsite option available for UK if travel & related paid separately. Similar for Singapore, Australia, & NZ from December 2022-late February 2023.