Nine companies this month launched a process to test newly-developed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess reputational risks and operational shortcomings associated with labor and human rights factors in corporate supply chains. Collectively, these companies source goods from 1,755 factories that employ around 1.8 million workers in 62 countries. “Benchmarking Corporate Policies on Labor and Human Rights In Global Supply Chains” Developed with the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and Harvard Law School’s Pension and Capital Stewardship Project with funding from the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) Institute, the KPI initiative is the first effort to create a standardized method to assess such risks. Once tested, finalized, and implemented, these standardized KPIs could allow interested parties to assess companies’ progress toward reducing labor and human rights risks…Ongoing testing and dialogue will continue throughout 2012 at FLA events and stakeholder meetings.