It has only been two years since our inaugural stakeholder consultation in Madrid, where representatives from producers, trade unions, direct suppliers, retailers, and NGOs gathered to exchange ideas and lay the groundwork for a robust platform for grievance mechanism helplines across supply chains. Since then, appellando has piloted its solution in Spain, and we are proud to share some promising results. All retailers who committed to the initiative from the outset remain fully engaged, highlighting the sustained value and trust in the platform. We have also maintained a spirit of continuous improvement, regularly adapting our solution to meet evolving needs. Today, there are three helpline providers actively supporting users – with another two in preparation. Eighteen companies are now fully onboarded, while an additional 56 are registered or currently integrating with the system. In total, this marks 74 companies participating in the appellando framework in Spain – a testament to the collective commitment to transparency and responsible supply chains.

Together with our partners, we have continued to expand the reach of the platform, now engaging a significant number of workers across Spain’s supply chains. To date, our network has handled 173 complaints, including a successful pilot run in collaboration with a Moroccan NGO that provided training for Moroccan women working in Huelva and handled complaints in the follow-up of the training.

Our commitment to accountability is further demonstrated by four onsite investigations carried out with our OGM, initiated in response to media reports indicating a need for in-depth review. Rather than each buyer sending their own representatives, we consolidated efforts into a single investigation team that engaged directly with highly cooperative producers who had been named in public complaints. We are pleased to report that, in all four cases, the investigations allowed us to clarify the circumstances.

The following table summarises the current status of helpline providers and company participation, as well as complaints in Spain: