Cost allocation and incentive mechanisms for environmental, climate protection and resource conservation along global supply chains | Umweltbundesamt

This report analyses the functioning, power structures and institutional framework of five global supply chains with high environmental and human rights risks: cotton for ready-made garments, tin for solder products, natural rubber for car tyres, coffee for consumption and iron ore for quality steel in the automotive industry. The report finds significant power imbalances in most of the supply chains examined, from the buyers at the end to the producers at the beginning of the chains. Overall, the current institutional framework currently provides hardly any incentives for environmental and climate protection. However, regulatory and market developments in the purchasing countries of the global North (including China) could change this in the future.