The Coop hosted 80 attendees at Food Network for Ethical Trade (FNET) All Members Day on 7th May 2025, which proved to be a productive and creative event. The day featured demonstrations of members artistic skills, updates on FNET working groups, and activities designed to help members connect and collaborate. Additionally, we delved into three key topics identified by our members as area they wanted help to progress: Collaborative Action Required (CAR) issues from SMETA audits, measuring impact, and remediation.
Since the introduction of SMETA 7 in the autumn of 2024, 84% of the CARs reported by FNET members have been related to Living Wages. Our session explored what auditors look for when assessing CARs and how to practically analyse the living wage gap with expert insights from auditor Peter Warbrick and Sonia Cordera from IDH. Members shared their experiences of managing CARs to date and discussed the further support needed.
Kate Robinson from The Outcome Gap presented the analysis of the 2025 FNET Annual Benchmarking data. Key learnings included that smaller businesses perform as well as larger ones, those who monitor their progress are more likely to improve performance, and there is evidence that engagement in FNET enhances responsible business practices. Clare Lissaman shared Oxfam’s experience on monitoring and evaluation, highlighting the pros and cons of benchmarking and how it can motivate companies and the C-suite. Discussions focused on practical tips for transitioning from measuring activities to outcomes and impact.
In our remediation session, Christine Mutshipay from the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre emphasized the importance of lived experience and involving survivors in policy and process development: “Nothing about us, without us.” Panellists shared case studies and discussed what constitutes effective remediation and how to measure its effectiveness.
Member feedback on the event was very positive:
“The networking and insights from all the speakers.”
“Meeting similar people in the industry who are facing the same challenges.”
“I appreciated that people were given tables and had time to get to know everyone first.”
If you find this interesting and would like to learn more about the benefits of FNET membership, please contact us at [email protected].
