Frameworks and Industry Systems
Due Diligence
The ongoing cycle of spotting risk, deciding what needs attention first, acting on it, and checking whether the response worked.
Definition
Due diligence is not just supplier onboarding. In real program work, it looks like reviewing new supplier risk, checking grievance trends, escalating severe cases, tracking overdue corrective action plans (CAPs), and changing business decisions when the evidence shows the risk is rising.
The core idea is that the company keeps cycling through risk identification, action, follow-up, and communication instead of treating each issue as a disconnected event.
How this source informs this section
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct
OECD guidance is the clearest source for due diligence as a continuing process of identification, prevention, mitigation, tracking, and communication.
Why it matters
Many programs have audits, policies, and dashboards but still lack true due diligence because none of that information reliably changes what gets prioritized, supported, escalated, or stopped.
This is one of the most important terms in responsible sourcing because it separates occasional compliance activity from a system that actually manages risk over time.
How this source informs this section
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
The UN Guiding Principles reinforce that due diligence is about how a company addresses impacts over time, not just whether it has a policy.
Nuance
Due diligence does not mean every supplier receives the same treatment. It usually requires prioritization, which means some suppliers, issues, or tiers get deeper attention first.
It is also not the same as reporting. Public statements may describe due diligence, but the real test is whether the internal decisions and responses are changing.
How this source informs this section
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct
OECD guidance supports treating prioritization and changing response intensity as a core part of due diligence rather than a side process.
Sources
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct
OECD · guidance
OECD's core guidance on how companies identify risk, prioritize, respond, track follow-up, and communicate what changed.
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
OHCHR · framework
Used here for the baseline definition of human-rights due diligence, remedy, and grievance expectations.
