What 'good' looks like: crucial C-Suite learning for tackling modern slavery

"We wanted to find out how companies with a long-standing commitment to ethical trade see leadership on modern slavery," says Cindy Berman, our Head of Knowledge and Learning, who lists 8 crucial C-Suite learning points from our joint research with Hult International Business School: “Corporate Leadership on Modern Slavery”.

ETI's new Base Code Guidance: Modern slavery - practical guidance for brands and retailers.

New advanced training course: Human rights due diligence

1. Legislation matters: The Transparency in Supply Chain clause of the Modern Slavery Act has prompted twice as many senior executives to get more engaged. Leading companies pushed for this legislation because they wanted a level playing field.
2. Drive from the top makes a huge difference: Where CEOs recognise their human rights responsibilities, those companies are further ahead in their journey to deal with the risks and incidence of modern slavery. They ensure senior decision-makers allocate appropriate levels of human and financial resources, and regularly review data and key indicators to drive change.
3. Business models must change: Leading companies that know they need to change their governance and accountability systems, their purchasing practices, human resource policies and procedures for how they recruit and treat workers in their supply chains. They cannot any longer claim ‘plausible deniability’ by saying they  have conducted audits and their suppliers are responsible. Effective KPIs are a critical part of this.
4. Transparency enables better management: Leading companies are mapping their supply chains and are increasingly putting this information in the public domain  
5. Taking a long-term approach is vital: Building trust and long-term relationships and capacity with key suppliers enables year-on-year improvements and partnerships. They know they cannot simply push the problem further down the chain by insisting their suppliers sign a code of conduct, and assuming they will take care of the problem.
6. Due diligence involves not only investigating human rights risks but acting on them:ETI’s Due Diligence Framework sets out a thorough process for doing this, and more of our members are using this as a basis for their modern slavery and human rights strategies.
7. Risks are lower where workers can exercise their rights: Companies that have established formal agreements with       trade unions and recognise the importance of freedom of association and collective bargaining, the likelihood of unexpected discovery of modern slavery in their supply chains are lower. Where there are credible grievance mechanisms and ongoing   engagement with worker representatives, risks and problems are flagged earlier and can be dealt with pre-emptively. 

8. Collaboration is vital: Most companies know now that they cannot deal with the problem of modern slavery on their own,     but those that are serious about it build meaningful pre-competitive alliances with their competitors to tackle human rights,     work with civil society organisations and advocate with governments for better protection of labour rights

We know what ‘good’ looks like, now let’s get serious about putting it into practice!

This study is part of ETI’s mission to build a stronger evidence base on what works, so that others can learn and improve their approaches. Please send the Knowledge & Learning team at ETI your case studies, examples, research and insights. Contact: eti@eti.org.uk