CASE STUDY
New due diligence requirements for Germany’s Green Button scheme
Overview
twentyfifty has been working with the German government-run certification scheme Green Button for sustainably manufactured textiles to develop an exciting new set of due diligence requirements. The aim is to create a measurable approach to assessing business performance in due diligence related to the social, environmental and integrity risks in their textile supply chain. The requirements are imperative for certifying garments sold in Germany and Europe with the ‘Green Button’ certification.
The challenge
Green Button needed a process that was both measurable, producing comparable results in assessment audits, but most importantly a process that defined a level of ambition that was challenging enough for businesses to be awarded the desirable ‘Green Button’ status.
Green Button is a government-run certification scheme with high public interest and there is a clear expectation from stakeholders that the scheme will be ambitious in its alignment with international standards on corporate human rights due diligence.
At the same time, it was important that the requirements were implementable and realistic enough to incentivise businesses to engage in the process. Balancing this was a challenge. twentyfifty delivered on that challenge whilst recommending the highest possible protection for rightsholders and the environment.
Our approach
twentyfifty engaged stakeholders and experts to create a stronger set of requirements, working very closely with the Green Button Secretariat to find the balance between the right level of human rights due diligence versus market take up and measurement.
Our approach included multiple internal stakeholder conversations, methodology workshops and reviews of other standards to deliver the new indicators. We also delivered two roundtables focused on living wages and grievance mechanisms. These provided the right level of engagement for civil society experts, companies, political actors and other standard institutions to give their input.
Results
We are delighted to have created a new set of Green Button due diligence requirements along with a suite of training and workshop materials for auditors and a guidance handbook to support the 50+ companies that are licensed with Green Button to understand the requirements in more detail.