Transparency in supply chains – modern slavery

In the summer of 2018, the government announced an independent review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The aim of the review is to report on the operation and effectiveness of, and potential improvements to, provisions in the act. IEMA was invited to make a submission to the inquiry, and following engagement with members and a survey, evidence was submitted in 2018.

The inquiry has published its second interim report, which focuses on transparency in supply chains and the slavery and human trafficking statements that must be made by companies. For each financial year, companies covered by the act must state the steps taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in their business or their supply chains, or must state they have taken no such steps.

Recommendations in the report, which address a number of points made in IEMA's submission, include improving the quality of Section 54 statement, embedding modern slavery reporting into business culture and increasing transparency.

IEMA will remain engaged and will help share findings from the review when the final report and recommendations are published in spring 2019.

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