The Business Against Slavery Forum
The Business Against Slavery Forum is an industry group chaired by Amber Rudd, the UK Trade Minister. Its purpose is to help businesses identify slavery in their supply chains, encourage the sharing of best practice and intelligence, and improve the quality of Modern Slavery Act reporting. The BAS Forum will host regular meetings and will be open to all UK businesses.
Modern slavery is a human rights violation
Business organisations must do more to combat modern slavery. The UK Modern Slavery Act requires companies with a global turnover of PS36 million or a demonstrable presence in the UK to publish statements on modern slavery. There are over 1,500 companies that have done so. The Australian Government has announced an inquiry into whether similar legislation is required in Australia.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 40 million people worldwide are victims of modern slavery. This includes forced or compulsory labour, child labor and human trafficking. Companies across all sectors are facing growing pressure to combat modern slavery due to its reputational, financial and operational risks. New stringent regulations have added to the complexity and costs of tackling this issue.
It is a cross-sectoral issue
The fight against modern slavery is becoming increasingly important to the business world. Governments are cracking down on it and more companies are being asked to demonstrate that they are reducing their involvement in slavery. If they do not, they may face consequences including fines, loss of government contracts and prosecution.
Efforts to end slavery require cross-sectoral collaborations between companies and NGOs. Antislavery leaders and funders should provide positive incentives to encourage cross-sectoral collaborations. These partnerships can involve strategic alliances between service providers and policy enforcers, planned delivery of complementary services incentivized by funder provisions, or joint ventures between complementary organizations. These partnerships can also contribute to a more holistic approach to addressing slavery.
It offers attractive economic returns
The Business against slavery forum is an initiative that brings together CEOs from large companies to work towards eliminating slavery from the supply chain. The group represents more than 800,000 workers and has a combined turnover of more than PS140 billion. The initiative has been backed by the government and has a clear aim: to inspire more industry action to tackle slavery.
There are many reasons for businesses to get involved in the fight against slavery. Firstly, it offers attractive economic returns. Second, the fight against slavery is critical to fighting corruption, impunity, and radicalization.
It is currently at capacity
The Business against slavery forum is a unique forum that brings together leading business leaders to share information on modern slavery and how to stop it. The forum’s goal is to increase business capacity to respond to modern slavery risks and engage in relevant discussions. It also creates networks with relevant stakeholders. As a founding member of the Business against slavery forum, Burberry is committed to fighting against modern slavery.
The Business against slavery forum is comprised of eight influential business leaders, representing a combined turnover of PS140 billion. These members have made a commitment to work towards the goal of driving out slavery from supply chains, and are determined to reach that goal.
