Protecting the corporate veil while meeting rising expectations on supply-chain due diligence.
Boards are increasingly asked to account for harm that occurs far down their supply chains. The legal exposure is real, but it is rarely where companies first look.
Where exposure actually arises
Liability tends to follow control and knowledge. A company that sets contractual standards, audits suppliers and then ignores the findings is in a very different position from one that never looked. Documents created to show diligence can become the best evidence of what was known.
Building a defensible record
A defensible programme is proportionate, risk-based and honestly documented. It identifies the highest-risk relationships, records the decisions taken and shows that concerns were escalated and acted on.
Early legal involvement matters. Privilege can protect candid internal assessments, but only if the process is structured with that protection in mind from the start.