Putting people and the planet at the core of business

Risk Averse: Company Reporting on raw material and sector-specific risks under the Transparency in Supply Chains clause in the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015

The UK Modern Slavery Act requires all firms with annual turnover above £36 million to publish a Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement each year, outlining their actions to eradicate slavery in supply chains. The deadline for companies reporting under the Act was 30 September 2017. Company statements can be viewed on the Modern Slavery Registry.

Marking the first year of reporting, CORE looked at how 50 top companies are reporting on known slavery and trafficking risks in their operations and supply chains. The report, Risk Averse: Company Reporting on raw material and sector-specific risks under the Transparency in Supply Chains clause in the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 examines statements from 25 businesses who source raw materials and commodities associated with a heightened risk of modern slavery – cocoa from West Africa, mined gold, mica from India, palm oil from Indonesia and tea from Assam – and 25 operating in sectors known to be at heightened risk of labour rights abuses: apparel and footwear, construction, hospitality, Premier League football and service outsourcing.

We explore if and how companies include information on the particular raw material and sector-specific risks in their statements, looking at the description of their operations and supply chains and their due diligence. We also look at additional information available on company websites, to examine the extent to which companies are making connections between the risk of slavery and wider labour rights issues such as wages and working hours, and the price paid for raw materials.

Links to our report and associated documents

Media coverage of the report

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