Modern slavery and human rights - time for action

With Covid-19 having thrust the social limb of ESG into the spotlight, issues such as forced labour and modern slavery (along with human rights more broadly) have come to the fore. There is no shortage of headlines surrounding these topics, whether they cover allegations of such practices at UK fashion factories or the latest US measures on a wide range of products from various sources. 

And this isn't just a Warhol-esque 15 minutes of fame. The introduction in 2021 of new EU rules on the sourcing of conflict minerals and proposals on mandatory human rights due diligence as well as the recent UK Government announcement of changes to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 mean these issues are here to stay. And companies need to act. 

The reputational impacts of failing to do so have long been clear. The financial impacts have been driven home by events over the summer. 

Dealing with these issues is as undeniably difficult as it is important. But while challenging, the task does not have to be impossible. As a first step, companies should look to take stock of their current position and practices before working out a way forward. On that, two further quotes come to mind . First, data is king. Second, a healthy dialogue is always good.