Improving Reporting on Modern Slavery

December 11, 2019 /3BL Media/ - A toolkit to advance reporting on modern slavery has been published by GRI and the Responsible Labor Initiative, an Initiative of the Responsible Business Alliance. The resource provides guidance on increasing the effectiveness of corporate reporting, underpinning the transparency and accountability needed to support global efforts towards eradicating modern slavery.

The exploitation of workers in global value chains remains a pressing human rights issue. Governments, international organizations, investors, customers and industry stakeholders expect companies to take proactive steps to ensure they contribute to the eradication of modern slavery, and communicate how they address their impacts, in accordance with globally recognized frameworks.

The Modern Slavery Reporting Toolkit helps companies prepare their reporting in a way that meets these expectations. It includes:

• Information on key modern slavery reporting legislation requirements;
• Support on how to go beyond legal compliance, in terms of  due diligence reporting and disclosing how companies evaluate their actions across the value chain;
• Examples of current reporting practice, together with others tools and guidance that businesses can access

 GRI chief executive Tim Mohin said:

“There are growing expectations on companies to identify any incidence of modern slavery in their operations and value chains and report on the steps they take as a result. This toolkit will help businesses to increase their efforts to address these serious human rights concerns, safeguard the wellbeing of workers and manage financial, legal and reputational risks.” 

Rob Lederer, executive director of the Responsible Business Alliance, added: 

“The business community is tirelessly working to address modern slavery in global supply chains. Providing transparency on these efforts is crucial, to drive continual improvement and share progress with key stakeholders.”

The toolkit is the result of an RMI-GRI initiated taskforce on reporting on modern slavery, which involved 14 organizations. It includes information from international frameworks and regulatory requirements. There has been input from many stakeholders, including civil society organizations and socially responsible investors.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the independent international organization that helps businesses and other organizations understand and communicate their sustainability impacts.

The Responsible Labor Initiative is a multi-industry, multi-stakeholder initiative focused on respecting and promoting the rights of workers vulnerable to forced labor in global supply chains.