Australian supermarket giant Coles has appointed Mabel Wong to its ethical sourcing team.
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She takes on the role of ethical sourcing operations manager, and will be responsible for managing Coles’s responsible sourcing programme across goods not for resale and services. She will work to ensure suppliers meet the company’s standards on human rights, environment, health and safety, and business integrity.
Coles came under pressure from activist shareholders to protect workers from potential modern slavery in its supply chains in 2019. The company has an ethical sourcing policy that aims to weed out human rights violations and other abuses from its supply chain.
In a statement, Coles said it aims to become “Australia’s most sustainable supermarket” and responsible sourcing, including safeguarding animal welfare and minimising environmental impact, is at the heart of this ambition.
Wong joins the retailer after a four-year stint with Elevate, a Hong Kong-based supply chain auditing firm, where latterly she was senior director, sustainability consulting, Asia-Pacific, based in Sydney.
Wong spent more than eight years with CSR Asia until 2017, when the sustainability consultancy was acquired by Elevate and she took on a director role.
Before joining CSR Asia, Wong was Asia-Pacific programme manager for Child Helpline International, a civic society group that helps countries start up national child protection helplines.