Update on ELEVATE activities in Russia-Ukraine

ELEVATE has temporarily halted its auditing operations and in-country delivery in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, as the current situation prohibits our ability to deliver safe and robust audits for our teams and clients. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates as events unfold. Our focus at all times is on the safety of our colleagues and ensuring the integrity and quality of the audit process.

ELEVATE invites discussions and engagement with clients to help navigate the continued impact of this war on supply chain operations, social compliance commitments and the global market. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us here.

What businesses should know

Supply chains have already seen major disruptions due to Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war is further increasing shortages and price pressures on key commodities.

Both Russia and Ukraine are critical sources of supply for a variety of products, such as energy, metals and agricultural products. The ongoing war has cut off much of the world from this supply leading to growing shortages, inflation and visibility issues of second and third tier suppliers. Our recent 2022 Supply Chain ESG Risk Outlook webinar offers deeper insights into this subject.

Sanctions on Russia has further exacerbated the problem, as Russia is a major exporter of oil and gas, steel and iron, therefore severely impacting manufacturing companies and factories and global prices.

Ukraine is known as Europe’s “breadbasket,” with key exports being agricultural products such as corn and wheat. The US Department of Agriculture estimated this month that world wheat exports are down by 3.6 million tons as a result of the war. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has voted to ban all wheat exports as well as exports of oats and cattle.

Ukraine also currently accounts for 2% of migrant workers in the global supply chain, and this number is expected to rise as refugees continue to flee to other countries. This presents a new risk in global supply chains. Businesses should proactively prepare suppliers in neighboring countries to ensure migrant workers are receiving proper treatment and provided proper working conditions.

These changes have severely impacted supply chains globally and it is likely the situation will continue to have lasting effects and cascading impacts in the coming months.

How ELEVATE can help

End-to-end supply chain visibility, including over second and third tier suppliers, remains critical as shortages continue and knowledge of where raw materials are coming from become more limited.

Machine learning and digital solutions to enhance better visibility of supply chains are vital to combat transparency issues and enhance risk mitigation. ELEVATE’s EiQ platform and end-to-end ESG service ecosystem promotes this visibility by (a) increasing transparency and (b) enabling near-real time risk monitoring of global supply chains using the remote Sentinel service.

Our extensive, from-the-ground data, investor-grade analytics, and adverse media monitoring tools help reduce risk and can create a better sense of security during these trying times.

We acknowledge this conflict leads to uncertainty and apprehension with very tangible and unfortunate business and human impacts. ELEVATE is committed to being a source of support and solutions as we navigate this evolving situation together.

These blogs are written by ELEVATE staff members or associates and the views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of ELEVATE.