Modern slavery is in the news a lot lately, with companies around the world being implicated in stories of human rights abuses, worker exploitation and people trafficking. Most boards and corporate leaders are awake to the problem and the possible reputation involvement could cause, yet many remain unsure how to tackle the issue.
ALCAS member Edge Environment proposes an LCA approach to tackling modern slavery in complex supply chains, breaking down the issue into small steps. These steps include:
Gap analysis: a systematic assessment of existing governance, policies and procedures can be undertaken to identify gaps and opportunities to strengthen your company’s modern slavery strategy.
Policies and procedures: following an initial review, it is likely that you will find that your company needs to put in place new policies and procedures to comply with the legislation, such as an overall strategy for addressing human rights, ethical procurement policy, remediation plan or due diligence procedures.
Supply chain hot spot mapping: a range of tools are available to help companies like yours identify likely hot spots and prioritise deeper analysis and activity on the areas within your company’s supply chains that present the biggest risk.
Engagement and training: experience from the UK tells us that education is crucial for an organisation to address modern slavery effectively. It may be useful to start to introduce your company’s senior management, key internal teams and major suppliers to the concept, so that they are well placed to respond to the legislation when it arrives.