Eradicating Modern Slavery with Sedex Partners
Modern Slavery describes the serious exploitation of people through coercion, threats or deception. It includes servitude, forced labour, debt bondage, deceptive recruitment practices and the worst forms of child labour, as well as trafficking in person and forced marriage.
The Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) requires Australian businesses with revenue of over A$100m per annum to submit a board-approved statement describing:
- the reporting entity;
- its structure, operations and supply chain;
- the risks of modern slavery in its operations and supply chain;
- actions taken to assess and address these risks;
- how the effectiveness of these actions is assessed;
- the process of consultation undertaken with any controlled entities.
Approximately 3,000 entities in Australia have to report annually. Foodbuy Pty Ltd is a fully owned subsidiary of Compass Group (Australia) Pty Ltd. As a result, Compass Group Australia is included among these organizations, along with many of our Supply Partners.
Foodbuy has enshrined anti-Modern Slavery commitments in our Purchasing and Supply Chain Policy since 2015, by aligning its practices with the Ethical Trading Initiatives Base Code, committing that:
- Employment is freely chosen
- Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining is respected
- Working conditions are safe and hygienic
- Child labour shall not be used
- Living wages are paid
- Working hours are not excessive
- No discrimination is practised
- Regular employment is provided
- No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed.
To apply systematic, risk-based scrutiny to our supply chains, Foodbuy Australia is working with its Supply Partners to join the Sedex platform, the world-leading ethical trade membership organisation and latest market-leading Foodbuy partnership.
Sedex provides an online platform where buyer and supplier organisation can register and connect to map their connected and multi-tiered supply chain.
It enables the issuance of online Supplier Assessment Questionnaires which are a key input into developed and mature supplier risk assessment process drawing on a wealth of information pertaining to the prevalence of Modern Slavery based on the industry, sector, and location of the supplier or product.
This risk assessment is critical to enable Foodbuy to focus its action where it can deliver the greatest positive impact.
Sedex has also developed the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) Standard. Through a multi-year and highly invested strategy, Foodbuy requires Supply Partners to embrace such an audit and to address any identified issues at both Tier one and across their own extended supply chains.
Our partnership with Sedex ensures information and audit outcomes we invest in are made available across the industry so we can tackle human rights in the supply chain together.
View Our Modern Slavery Statement here
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