Darian McBain

Global Supply Chains of Coltan

The spot price for tantalum, a metal used in high‐performance consumer electronics, spiked in 2000, triggering a boom in artisanal mining of surface deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The profit from columbite‐tantalite ore, or coltan, is alleged to have funded militants during that countrys civil war. One warlord famously claimed that in 2000, coltan delivered a million dollars per month. While coltan mining was neither a necessary nor sufficient cause for the civil war, there is nevertheless a clear association between mining and conflict. In order to trace global flows of coltan out of the DRC, we used a high‐resolution multiregion input‐output (MRIO) table and a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to trace exports through international supply chains in order to estimate a “coltan footprint” for various products. In this case study, our aim is to highlight the power and utility of hybrid LCA analysis using high‐resolution global MRIO accounts. We estimate which supply chains, nations, and consumer goods carry the largest loads of embodied coltan. This hybrid LCA case study provides estimates on illicit flows of coltan, estimates a coltan footprint of consumption, and highlights the advantages and challenges of using hybrid monetary‐physical input‐output/LCA approaches to study and quantify a negative social impact as an input to production. If successful, the hybrid LCA approach could be a useful and expedient measurement tool for understanding flows of conflict minerals embodied in supply chains.

Quantitative accounting for social economic indicators

In this paper we consider the evolution of quantitative accounting of social indicators for measuring societal progress and sustainable development, with particular reference to economic analysis and social indicators. We examine the use of the System of National Accounts and introduce the concept of using input-output analysis for the development of social indicators. The use of satellite accounts for input-output analysis of environmental impacts and the development of environmental footprints has been well documented. The novelty of this paper is the use of a methodology frequently used to develop environmental indicators to quantify social impacts and to further the development of social footprints. We provide a case study of the use of social satellite accounts for labour, using multi-regional input-output analysis to develop a global inequality footprint for labour embodied in trade, and argue the case for the development of a system of social economic accounts, similar to the System of Environmental-Economic Accounts adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 2012. This work contributes to the development of social valuation metrics as a means for measuring societal progress and developing sustainability indicators for use in management and decision-making.

Advancements in Input-Output Models and Indicators for Consumption-Based Accounting: MRIO Models for Consumption-Based Accounting

The use of global, multiregional input‐output (MRIO) analysis for consumption‐based (footprint) accounting has expanded significantly over the last decade. Most of the global studies on environmental and social impacts associated with consumption or embodied in international trade would have been impossible without the rapid development of extended MRIO databases. We present an overview of the developments in the field of MRIO analysis, in particular as applied to consumption‐based environmental and social footprints. We first provide a discussion of research published on various global MRIO databases and the differences between them, before focusing on the virtual laboratory computing infrastructure for potentially making MRIO databases more accessible for collaborative research, and also for supporting greater sectoral and regional detail. We discuss work that includes a broader range of extensions, in particular the inclusion of social indicators in consumption‐based accounting. We conclude by discussing the need for the development of detailed nested MRIO tables for investigating linkages between regions of different countries, and the applications of the rapidly growing field of global MRIO analysis for assessing a countrys performance toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

A Social Footprint of Nations: A Comparative Study of the Social Impact of Work

Work is essential for most people to live a full and complete life. However, far from being an enjoyable pursuit, many people find work places them in vulnerable and even life threatening positions. More than half of the developing world’s workers (approximately 1.5 billion people) are classified as being in vulnerable employment, trapped in a cycle where low incomes limit the ability to invest in family and future generation’s health and education. No standard footprint methodology has yet been adopted to measure a nation’s social impact of work in a similar way to how environmental footprints measure a nation’s impact on the environment. Here we develop a method to measure the social footprint of nations by compiling eight indicators, ranging from employment to income to days lost due to accidents. We compare these data for the average worker across developed and developing nations. Our results demonstrate that as countries develop, work domestically has fewer negative social impacts and more benefits to individuals. However, as countries develop they also import more negative social impacts through global trade. This leads to developed nations having two very different social footprints of trade—one for domestic workers and one for international labour embedded in its imports. The development of a replicable and comparable social footprint methodology contributes to our understanding of issues surrounding inequality, the social impact of work, how to measure social impact and how we can communicate complex messages around embedded labour. More than half of the developing world’s workers are classified as being in vulnerable employment, trapped in a cycle where low incomes limit the ability to invest in family and future generations’ health and education. Empowering policy makers and business to make choices that mitigate some of these impacts through developing and communicating numerically sound information is a priority to address global inequality. Current measurement techniques vary and lessons learned from having divergent methodologies in environmental footprinting indicate that a robust social footprinting methodology is required. We introduce a methodology to create social footprints of nations measuring the social impact of work embedded in global trade. We show that as countries develop, problematic labour impacts are outsourced to developing countries.

Raising the International Poverty Line—A Comparison of Necessary Adjustments of Final Demand Spending in OECD and Non-OECD Countries

Using multi-regional input-output analysis, this chapter shows that the OECD countries would only need to spend about 0.36% more on final demand to ensure all workers’ earnings are at least as high as the international poverty line. Due to missing data for about 70 countries and the fact that the data only covers the workers and not their families and other people not participating in the workforce, this number is unfortunately only a lower bound. The poverty data used here includes about 25% of all people living in extreme poverty. Nonetheless, even if everyone living below the poverty line would be included, the additional spending on final demand by OECD countries would only need to be about 1.5% of the current (2010) spending on final demand in OECD countries.

Introduction to the Social Footprints of Global Trade

This chapter provides an introduction to social impacts in global supply chains. This introduction will examine state-of-the-art methods for accounting for social impacts in supply chains and explain in greater detail what MRIOA is.

Review of Social Accounting Methodologies

This chapter contrasts the MRIOA approach with popular methods for social supply chain analysis. Three popular methodologies used by business for social accounting in supply chains are identified—supplier social audits, third party verification or certification schemes, and procurement activities. The methodologies are not mutually exclusive, and often combinations of all three are used. All of these processes are used to assist business to maintain or promote certain social outcomes, generally relating to human rights and labour conditions, within multiple tiers of the supply chain.

Case Study—Assessing Social Impacts in the Seafood Industry

This chapter considers the need for fair and equitable information on social impacts and supply chains, so that scientific and evidence-based assessments of risk can be made.

Review of Social Metrics and Social Footprinting

In this study we used the Social Hotspot Database (SHDB) to investigating the social impact of trade in five countries (China, Brazil, India, Russia, and Madagascar). Five thematic areas have been covered in this chapter: Labour Rights and Decent Work; Health and Safety; Human Rights; Governance; and Community Infrastructure.