Supply chain risks and modern slavery to be tackled worldwide

  • Written by Peter Needle
  • Published on 21 September 2015
  • Blogs

The Modern Slavery Act is due to affect large UK companies from October, but it looks as if this may just be the start of a much larger global trend. The US is now looking to implement a similar law, meaning that companies are quickly running out of ways to hide secondary supply chain risks.

The US tackles supply chain risks

The Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act of 2015 would require public companies with over $100 million in global gross receipts to disclose any measures to prevent ethical supply chain risks such as human trafficking, slavery and child labour. This would form part of their annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The bill was introduced as the State Department published its 2015 Trafficking in Persons report, which requested that governments “set clear expectations for businesses on human rights issues”, by adopting policies that promote supply chain transparency and help to improve ethical standards. 

“There is no question that many goods being sold to American consumers are produced with slave labour, and we have a moral obligation to do something about it,” said congress member Carolyn Maloney in a recent statement. 

“This legislation simply requires businesses to publicly disclose what actions they have voluntarily undertaken to remove labour abuses from their supply chains”. 

Taking active steps against modern day slavery

Under the proposed legislation, large US public companies would have to publicly share what measures they have taken to remove labour abuses from their supply chains, via the SEC and company websites.Supply Management argues that this would give consumers a better understanding of what they are buying, and create more market competition around identifying and addressing ethical supply chain risks. 

It seems likely that few companies would willingly support conditions of modern slavery, with many simply lacking proper knowledge regarding where and how their products are made and sourced. 

However, congress member Chris Smith and author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 recently stated: “There is no excuse for a company’s complicity or ignorance in the suffering endured by human trafficking victims hidden away in the supply chain.” 

“It is not enough for a company to say they are unaware of human trafficking in their product line. Consumers and Congress want to know that companies are actively taking steps to ensure there are no connections between human trafficking victims and their business products and services.” 

Utilising supply chain technology

Here at Segura, we’re excited to see the changing landscape around supply chain risk management. Our software platform helps companies to eradicate secondary supply chain risks, by monitoring and managing all orders placed within our approved supplier database. We can make a real difference to supply chain transparency in an efficient and affordable manner - but don’t just take our word for it. Register your interest in a free three month trial of our software, and experience it for yourself.

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