If there is a consensus in the world of living wages and incomes, it is that this is a journey best walked together. Whether you are a company that works in direct collaboration with your supplier, or a research institute knee-deep in the subject, you will bump into obstacles that leave you feeling powerless.

Results will generally show when different expertises turn in the same direction. Yet, as collaboration becomes the word of the moment, it’s also common to see that no one ends up taking accountability if a project belongs to too many people. Expectations and responsibilities need to be clear from the outset.

The next Living Wage & Income Lab session will delve into the best ways to navigate such partnerships and get the most out of it. To do so, we take a step back to think about:

• What are the missing skills from your team that could be outsourced to an outside party?
• Where do you find partners who share the same values ​​and goals as you?
• And most importantly, how do you ensure everyone is giving it their best all along the way?

To answer these questions, we turn to managers of complex business partnerships. B Lab, a private certification of ESG performance of companies, will share the initial reactions around their recently implemented living wage guidance, setting the stage for different types of B Corps around the world. From the multi-stakeholder platform Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (ISCO), we will draw lessons from years of dealing with expectations and duties of companies, governments and civil society organisations in the fight against poverty in the cocoa sector. Lastly, we also bring you a concrete example from specialty coffee importer Trabocca, who is now working to set a new standard for Ethiopian coffee in partnership with Fairfood, Simon Lévelt and the Global Living Wage Coalition.

Bringing the old Change Lab back, we’ll discuss this on September 20, at the Social Impact Factory in Utrecht. After two virtual sessions, we go back to how it once began: a hands-on session with many opportunities to network.

Would you like to join the session? Register here, and we’ll confirm your presence before September 1st via email! For questions, reach out to mariana@fairfood.org.

This session won’t be broadcasted or recorded.