As companies look to meet the demands of supply chain due diligence and ESG reporting legislation, one of the first and most difficult questions is: which tools, platforms and service providers can I use? As this sector matures and technology advances, the offerings are constantly changing and improving. It’s almost certain that no silver bullet solution will emerge. Instead, companies will have to determine the right “stack” of supply chain due diligence tools that fit their specific needs. In that stack, there may be a combination of free and paid-for platforms, and likely, using only free tools will not be the answer. But if you’re getting started and want to understand which tools you can put into practice right away—without having to make a budget request—here’s a list of free supply chain due diligence tools at your disposal.

This list is not exhaustive and not necessarily an endorsement of these tools, but rather meant to serve as a jumping-off place for organizations exploring due diligence and wanting to see where they can start: 

Due Diligence Tools for Mapping and Collaborating with Suppliers

1. Mapped in Bangladesh is a supply chain disclosure effort containing primary data of all the export-oriented RMG factories in Bangladesh with essential data and information.
2. Open Supply Hub shows where global production locations are and who is connected to them and makes that data easy for anyone to work with. In doing so, OS Hub is helping companies complete three key steps in the due diligence process: 1) Know & show your supply chain. 2) Make your data interoperable. 3) Find collaborators. 
3. Responsible Contracting Project develops and disseminates practical contractual tools to support more cooperative relations between supply chain firms and better human rights outcomes for workers.

Due Diligence Tools for Risk Assessment

1. CSR Risk Checker is aimed at companies that are importing from or have production facilities in foreign countries. Use this tool to find out which international CSR risks your business activities are exposed to and what you can do to manage them.
2. Supply Trace is an accessible, open platform that exposes potential risks in global supply chains. In its pilot phase, it focuses on the apparel sector and links between forced labor in the Uyghur Region of China and shipments to the US. 
3. WWF’s Risk Filter Suite – the Water Risk Filter and Biodiversity Risk Filter – enables companies and investors to assess and respond to nature-related risks to strengthen resilience.

Due Diligence Tools for Making Critical Data Accessible

1. Import Yeti searches through bills of lading, the documents that suppliers attach to shipments to their customers, to tell you where a retailer is getting its goods.
2. Open Contracting Partnership publishes and uses open, accessible and timely information on public contracting to engage citizens and businesses to fix problems and deliver results.
3. Open Corporates provides fresh, standardized, auditable information directly from official primary sources across 140+ jurisdictions — all underpinned by their Legal-Entity Data Principles and expertise in legal-entity data.
4. WikiRate is an open data platform powered by a global community that collects, analyzes and shares data on company commitments, actions and impacts on people and the planet.

Due Diligence Tools with Labor Focus

1. Sweat & Toil: Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Around the World is a comprehensive resource developed by ILAB documenting child labor and forced labor worldwide. Data and research in this app are taken from ILAB’s three flagship reports: Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor; List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor; and List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor. This app fits these three information-packed reports the size of a phone book in the palm of your hand.
2. WageIndicator collects, analyses and shares information on Actual Wages, Minimum Wages, Living Wages, Labour Laws, Gig and Platform Work, Collective Agreements and much more. To assist workers, their representatives, employers, and policymakers worldwide, WageIndicator provides coherent, independent and accessible labor market information for 206 countries (including territories and overseas areas) worldwide through 200+ websites in 50+ national languages. 

Due Diligence Tools with Climate/Environment Focus

1. Climate Trace makes climate action faster and easier by mobilizing the global tech community to track greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
2. Global Forest Watch offers the latest data, technology and tools that empower people everywhere to better protect forests.
3. Trase provides data and insight that empowers business, government and civil society to eliminate deforestation and transition towards more sustainable and equitable agricultural supply chains.

True due diligence that goes beyond a compliance exercise—to truly invest in shifts to safe and sustainable supply chains—will require an ecosystem of tools, stakeholders, and solutions. While just a piece of the puzzle, this free supply chain due diligence tool selection can lay the groundwork on which due diligence programs can grow.   

OS Hub is a non-profit platform that relies on philanthropic support to sustain the world’s most complete, open and accessible supply chain map. Join us in powering the transition to safe and sustainable supply chains by making a donation today. 

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