RCP developed the Responsible Spice Guidance in close collaboration with the Sustainable Spice Initiative (SSI), a sector-wide consortium of companies working to advance the sustainable production, processing, and global trade of spices, herbs, and dehydrated vegetables. IDH supported the project with additional funding and expert advice. 

​

Spice supply chains—like other agricultural and commercial sectors—face recurring human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) challenges, including fragmented oversight and traceability, use of traditional one-sided contracting clauses that pass risk to suppliers, and purchasing practices that may undermine effective HREDD. 

​

The Responsible Spice Guidance shows how contracts can serve not only as legal documents, but also as practical and relational tools to support more effective HREDD. Specifically, the guidance helps companies rethink how commercial contracts, codes of conduct, purchasing practices, and business relationships can better align with UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (OECD Guidance), as well as RCP’s four Core Principles: shared responsibility, responsible purchasing practices, remediation first, and responsible exit.
 

The guidance includes a toolkit of example contract language, negotiation tips, and tailored recommendations for common sourcing models such as framework agreements, contract farming, spot purchases, and auctions. 
 

These resources are designed to help companies adapt contracting approaches to their own context and commodities, helping them strengthen both risk management and supplier relationships. Rather than aiming for instant perfection, the guidance supports continuous improvement in HREDD over time. It also helps companies address practical governance issues, including document hierarchy and contract review.

 

Governance, document hierarchy & contract review
 

A key feature of the guidance is its approach to governance and document hierarchy. Responsible contracting depends not only on what is written in individual agreements, but also on how contracts, supplier codes of conduct, general terms and conditions, and related policies work together. In many companies, these documents have evolved over time without a clear hierarchy, creating a risk that HREDD commitments are weakened or overridden by boilerplate terms or older purchasing practices. 

To address this, the guidance encourages companies to look at how these documents interact, including looking at what obligations are being created, where they sit, and whether the hierarchy supports the company’s stated due diligence objectives. The guidance recommends that companies:
 

✔ Determine document hierarchy. Decide which documents are “top tier” (e.g., Supplier Code of Conduct, core HREDD policy) and which document prevails if there is a clash.
 

✔Consider organizing documents by the “what” and “how.” Codes of conduct set standards (the “what”), for example, while contracts may lay out the governance processes regarding data, grievances, and exit (“the how”).
 

✔Create a coherent framework. Check that SCoC, GTCs, contracts, and policies work together, rather than boilerplate terms quietly diluting HREDD commitments.
 

✔ Build a review cycle. Set periodic reviews, clear triggers for amendments (law changes, new risks, shifts in sourcing model), and cross-functional governance (legal, procurement, sustainability).