The WE (Worldwide Enhancement of Social Quality) project is a public-private pilot project for improving working conditions in production facilities in Asia. It was initiated by Tchibo GmbH and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH in 2007 and is co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project features an innovative approach to improving working conditions: It emphasises dialogue between managers and workers at production facilities as well as between buyers and suppliers. Additional information on the project can be found at http://www.we-socialquality.com. Now, two years after its implementation, the project is in its final stage.

On 10 December 2009, the WE Stakeholder Conference China was conducted in Shenzhen. A total of 110 representatives from governments such as the China Ministry of Commerce, businesses, non-government organisations, consultancies and other CSR practitioners participated in the Conference.

The Conference’s main focus was on sharing experiences on how to create real change in the factories that will benefit managers and workers alike. Furthermore, participants identified  success factors for an optimized implementation of social standards and for strengthening the ownership of firms and ensuring their commitment to a continuous improvement process. Good practices from eight pilot Tchibo suppliers focusing on their wage systems, working hours, productivity, dialogue structures, anti-discrimination initiatives (including gender discrimination), occupational health and safety, etc. were presented. In the final session of the conference, various stakeholder groups presented and discussed their visions of how to best expand the WE-project.