Concurrent 8. Oral Presentation for: Combating modern slavery in Australian supply chains: a case study of a holistic approach
Judy Auld A * and Sophie Ryan B *A Bureau Veritas Australia & New Zealand, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
B Bureau Veritas Australia & New Zealand, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
The APPEA Journal 63 - https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22326
Published: 2 June 2023
Abstract
Presented on Tuesday 16 May: Session 8
It is an appalling reality that about 50 million people worldwide live under the constraints of modern slavery conditions, such as forced labour, worst form of child labour, debt bondage, servitude and deceptive recruitment and so on. In Australia, the federal government has launched the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), which sets mandatory criteria for an applicable entity to issue a modern slavery statement. However, there is a clear absence of actionable guidelines for companies to follow, in order to assess and address risks of modern slavery within their value chain. Ambiguous legislative requirements have resulted in poor monitoring that, ultimately, does not effectively help eradicate modern slavery from Australian supply chains. In order to address this gap and provide a practical tool for organisations to combat modern slavery, this article employs a case study to demonstrate how to conduct effective on-site audits to mitigate modern slavery risks through the supply chain. A set of critical factors and potential solutions to remove barriers are discussed.
To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here
Keywords: continuous improvement, effective communication, ethical sourcing, human rights, modern slavery, remediation, responsible sourcing, social audits, social sustainability, supplier code of conduct, supply chain management.
Judy has a Doctoral Degree in the field of Sustainability and Construction Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Architecture. Over the past 9 years, she has obtained extensive experience in product certification, business development, ethical supply chain and life cycle analysis. She is GRI certified as well as a qualified Exemplar Global Environmental Management Systems Lead Auditor. |
Sophie is a graduate from Monash University with a Masters of Environment and Sustainability, majoring in Corporate Sustainability. She has been working with Bureau Veritas for the past year within the supply chain and sustainability team. Sophie has been primarily working on supply chain risk assessments and modern slavery auditing. |
