The Supply Chain Initiative (SCI) today announced that the number of companies signed up to its voluntary register has surpassed 1,000 registrations of national operating companies. The SCI is a joint initiative launched in September 2013 by 7 European associations[1] with the aim of increasing fairness in commercial relations along the food supply chain. Of the 227 groups and companies representing these 1,000 operating companies that have already signed up, more than half are small or medium size enterprises (55%).

The registration rate has been constantly growing since the SCI was launched. The establishment or adaptation of national platforms as well as the obligation to communicate to business partners are proving to have a strong multiplier effect.

Mella Frewen and Else Groen, co-Chairs of the Governance Group of the SCI, commented: “Today is really special; we now have just over 1,000 operating companies registered to our Supply Chain Initiative. These companies have committed to fair trading practices and have developed concrete measures aimed at integrating these into their day-to-day operations and ensuring that these are applied effectively throughout their organisations. Moreover, the respect of fair trading practices is monitored, controlled and reported.

This important "1,000" threshold marks a clear commitment by companies to the principles set out in the SCI, and paves the way for many more companies to follow, resulting in a true culture change for all players in the food supply chain. It is an important step."