Tanger, 20 and 21 February 2025 - The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Morocco and the Association Marocaine pour l'Industrie et la Construction Automobile (AMICA) brought together more than 200 public and private stakeholders from the Moroccan automotive sector and its ecosystem during the recent ESG Days “Due Diligence”. This event took stock of current environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices in the industry and trained professionals on the Responsible Supply Chain Initiative (RSCI) and ISO 20400 (sustainable procurement). Above all, the vivid participation in the event and high demand for the training served as a powerful expression of the exceptional commitment to sustainable production in Morocco's automotive supply chain and beyond.  

The first day of the event was opened by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour; the Vice-President of the Regional Council of Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima, Rafia El Mansouri; the UNIDO Country Representative in Morocco, Sanae Lalou; and the President of AMICA, Rachid Machou. The event’s discussions highlighted the importance of strengthening companies’ ESG practices both to promote sustainability and to guarantee the Moroccan automotive sector's international competitiveness. There was widespread agreement that ESG is no longer optional but a must. 

Promising initiatives to bolster sustainable practices are already underway, led by key companies in the sector, industry associations, and training institutions across the country. UNIDO is playing an active part in these efforts, including through its train-the-trainer programme. Launched in February 2025 in collaboration with the Institut de Formation aux Métiers de l'Industrie Automobile (IFMIA) and the Office de la Formation Professionnelle et de la Promotion du Travail (OFPPT), this initiative aims to mainstream sustainable supply chain management into vocational training programmes. Building on this, the project will continue with a training for independent experts, to help establish a local network of expertise that can offer advisory services directly to companies. 

The ESG Days further provided a key platform to discuss these ongoing initiatives as well as the type of support that businesses still require to successfully implement ESG and due diligence in their operations. Building on best practices from other countries, including Germany and Serbia, speakers discussed the advantages of establishing a Helpdesk for responsible business conduct in Morocco. Such an entity could play a crucial role in responding to the large and growing demand for support on due diligence issues from industry representatives by providing advisory and support services.  

The enthusiasm shown by participants for the second day of the event stands as testimony to this demand and to the growing importance of ESG issues. More than 150 industry representatives took part in two training sessions led by international experts. These sessions were an opportunity to acquire practical knowledge and concrete tools that allow industry professionals to successfully integrate due diligence into their business operations, focusing particularly on the RSCI label and the ISO20400 standard. Trainings such as those conducted during the ESG Days, and practical tools, such as the Rapid Scan Legislation Navigator, are exemplary of UNIDO's extensive work in awareness-raising and capacity-building for sustainability and due diligence in global supply chains. 

The ESG Days 2025 were part of the project ‘Enhancing due diligence monitoring and reporting in Morocco’s automotive industry’ funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in close collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and AMICA. The event marked an important milestone in the ongoing efforts of UNIDO and its partners in Morocco to promote corporate responsibility and sustainability in the automotive industry in line with UNIDO’s priority to support sustainable supply chains. Following the resolution adopted by its Member States in 2023, UNIDO's has bundled its work on this topic under the umbrella of the ‘FairShare’ programme, to transform global supply chains into drivers of equitable growth and sustainability. The programme’s first flagship event, took place in January 2025, focusing on the costs of complying with sustainability-driven regulations and presenting innovative solutions for a fair and effective implementation of due diligence requirements. 

Read the article in French here

For more information, please contact:  

Stefan Pahl 

Associate Industrial Development Officer