The Ethics Economy1 has become essential for companies to understand in order to have sustainable growth and success. Consumers are paying attention to who is making a difference through trustworthy business practices. This phenomenon adds complexity to corporate social responsibility (CSR) putting trust at the core of what is important to consumers. As a result, the topic of ethics-as-a-business metric is already a debate in many industries.

According to an Accenture study, in order to successfully integrate this ethics metric into an organization, companies must address general mistrust associated with validating product information1. One place companies can make a difference for future impact is within supply chains. Verifying every step of a supply chain is essential to this effort. Consumers want the truth about where a product is sourced and how it is made. It is critical to verify product authenticity and condition as it changes hands between every partner in the supply chain in order to meet these standards. This concept is also referred to as product lineage or provenance.