Rock Solid Compliance: IGEP and atlat improve standards for working conditions in the Indian gravestone sector

The pilot project with #IGEP and atlat aims to improve working conditions in India's tombstone industry by using digital tools to amplify employees' voices. The cooperation has been presented at the Stone+tec Nürnberg trade fair in Nuremberg.

There is a story behind every gravestone

Many gravestones sold in Germany come from India. This is a sector that is often associated with harsh working conditions. Despite well-functioning control and audit systems in the industry, processes in the area of human rights due diligence can always be improved. A central element of human rights risk management can be a grievance mechanism. Their purpose is to enable employees to raise concerns about a company's activities at suppliers, for example, and offer remedial measures for those affected.

The?German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (#LkSG) requires companies to manage the impact of their supply chains on human rights and the environment and, among other things, to set up complaint procedures for their supply chains. However, effective implementation poses challenges for many companies. This is where we from atlat come in with our digital complaint system.

Enhancing grievance processes with a digital system

While some companies find the German Supply Chain Act too burdensome due to bureaucratic challenges and neglect the complaints procedure, atlat offers a pragmatic digital approach to gradually improve complaints processes along the supply chain.

The atlat software enables people in global supply chains who are affected by grievances to submit complaints easily, anonymously, and securely. The appropriate communication material is written in simple language and reaches the often young workforce in global production where they are most easily reached: on their smartphones. The associated platform enables companies to more easily provide redress, improve collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, create automatic complaint reports, and carry out targeted data analyses. Insights from the complaint data can be used for strategic planning to identify areas of the supply chain that require more monitoring or support.

Our co-founder and CEO, Josua Andreas Ovari , adds: 'At atlat, we combine our expertise in digital software development with social impact. This project offers a great opportunity to make an impact in the tombstone sector.'

First step pilot project in the gravestone industry

#IGEP carries out audits and certifications in the gravestone industry, covering the entire value chain from quarrying to processing to shipping. IGEP also supports social projects to support disadvantaged children and young people. The IGEP audits are carried out by experienced IGEP employees. The first introductory visit is coordinated with manufacturers and buyers, and all subsequent inspection visits are unannounced. Learn more about IGEP: https://www.igeptrust.in/index.html

Complaints procedures are an ideal complement to audits, as they enable additional monitoring of working conditions that goes beyond insight into a specific point in time. In cooperation with atlat, the complaints procedure at IGEP is to be made more accessible and digitized from the ground up in order to identify human rights risks earlier.

Dr Dietrich Kebschull from IGEP highlights the importance of the digital aspect: "We are happy to present this collaboration at the Stone+tec trade fair in Nuremberg. The ability to digitize complaint processes is a turning point in ensuring compliance with new regulations."

The pilot project will be launched at five production sites in India and will include Hindi, English, and Tamil. In the next phase, additional languages will be integrated, additional production sites will be incorporated and the internal mechanisms on-site will be further strengthened to enable broader implementation in companies in the long term. atlat and IGEP are also in the process of planning collaborations in additional sectors.

Sharda Subramaniam from IGEP adds: "This project offers a great opportunity to use digital software to have a real impact on employees and to benefit as a company from the data and feedback collected beyond compliance."