Modern slavery can affect any business, in any sector and across supply chains. It is now time for every organization to effectively manage the risk of modern slavery. And our pioneering new standard can help.

Modern slavery includes recruitment, transport, receipt and harbouring of people to exploit their labour, and it affects almost all parts of the world.

Globally, it’s estimated that there are over 40 million men, women and children in situations of modern slavery. These victims are forced to work for little or no pay, deprived of their freedom and often subjected to unimaginable suffering.

And both the COVID-19 crisis and recent war in Europe have only exacerbated the issue – leaving thousands of people at risk from these practices.

Any association with modern slavery has the potential to damage an organization’s reputation in a serious and potentially permanent way. It creates the image of an untrustworthy business that puts profits before the welfare of its workers and other stakeholders. Companies may also face backlash from consumers if they are found to be implicated.

Far more must be done to bridge the gap between policy and practice. BSI is at the forefront of helping organizations understand what actions they can take to eradicate this global problem.

As the National Standards Body (NSB) in the UK, BSI plays a vital role in helping businesses to adopt best practices and align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. BS 25700 Organizational responses to modern slavery is a pioneering British standard that provides guidance on managing the risk of modern slavery, through prevention, identification, response, remediation, mitigation, and reporting modern slavery in operations and supply chains.

It provides organizations with guidance for managing the risk of modern slavery, including prevention, identification, response, remediation, mitigation, and reporting modern slavery in its operations, supply chains and its wider operating environment.

We support campaigners, like Baroness Young and others, as they call for Governments to re-prioritize modern slavery. To support this important topic, where we all need to play a role to enable positive change, BSI is pleased to make our BS 25700 standard free to download.

Slavery in the supply chain

To manage the risk of modern slavery, businesses must first recognize that it is a current and prevalent problem, often hidden in plain sight.

Slavery can exist in all stages of the supply chain, including the procurement manufacture shipping and delivery of goods and services to consumers. This is because long and complex supply chains, often seen in the food, retail and manufacturing sectors, make it difficult to oversee who is working where and under what conditions.

Companies have a legal and social responsibility to ensure that modern slavery has not been used in the production of the goods they sell. For example, the UK Modern Slavery Act requires larger businesses to report on the steps they take to tackle modern slavery in their supply chains.

BS EN ISO 26000 is the British Standard giving organizations guidance on social responsibility. Learn more about this standard here.

How to manage the risk of modern slavery

Further work is needed by organizations to effectively manage the risk of modern slavery especially in their supply chains.

The growing scrutiny of supply chains regarding social responsibility, organizational impact and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) reporting means that it has never been more important for your business to manage the risk of modern slavery.

BS 25700 provides a structured approach to the development, implementation, evaluation, and review of the risk management of modern slavery by taking a ‘risk to people’ view instead of a ‘risk to organization’ view. It encourages organizations to go beyond legal and statutory duties and address the wider risks associated with modern slavery.

The benefits of BS 25700 to businesses include:

• A holistic approach to addressing modern slavery that puts people at the heart of an organization

• Effective management of the risk of modern slavery in a way that supports human rights due diligence

• Demonstration of organizational commitment to ESG which helps build confidence in your organization’s governance and ethics

• Positive business reputation

• Increased sales and customer loyalty, as consumers seek businesses with higher ethical standards

• Greater ability to attract talent and staff retention

• Improved investor confidence

• More responsive and stable supply chains

This standard is applicable to all organizations, regardless of size and sector because organizations of all types and sizes can be responsible for modern slavery practices in their supply and value chains.

BSI is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This standard contributes to a number of SDGs but in particular supports SDG 8.7: End Modern Slavery, Trafficking and Child Labour.

Help us a build a better world by managing the risk of modern slavery in your supply chain. Download your copy of BS 25700 today.