Modern slavery: supply chain in the firing line
All eyes might be on Brexit day at the end of this month, but there is another event that could also have a significant impact on supply chains.
All eyes might be on Brexit day at the end of this month, but there is another event that could also have a significant impact on supply chains.
The government is threatening to name and shame companies that fail to set out what they are doing about modern slavery in their supply chains.
From the crash of Carillion to the brawls over Brexit, procurement is making headlines. For sourcing and purchasing professionals, these are certainly interesting times, says Sam Tulip.
The issue of modern slavery in the supply chain will not go away. Yesterday the Home Office set out plans to review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 after research found that the economic and social costs of modern slavery to the UK are some £4.3 billion.
UK businesses are not doing enough to identify modern slavery in their supply chains, according to the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.
Modern slavery risks will increase if states don’t prepare supply chain workers to adapt to competition from robot manufacturing, according to Verisk Maplecroft, the global risk analytics, research and strategic forecasting company.
The Consumer Goods Forum has called on businesses around the world to help fight all forms of forced labour from global supply chains by not tolerating forced labour within their operations. The International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) reaffirmed this.
Professor Richard Wilding has been named one the of UK Top100 Corporate Modern Slavery Influencers of 2018 in an inaugural Index, created by BRE and Sustain Worldwide.
The number of potential victims of modern slavery reported to the authorities rose by more than a third to 5,145, a report by the National Crime Agency has revealed.
More than 40 per cent of the government’s major suppliers fail to meet the basic legal requirements of the UK Modern Slavery Act, according to a survey by sustainability consultancy Sancroft and Tussell, a data provider of government procurement information.