Forced labour and human trafficking are abuses that many would like to think have long been eradicated, but they are prevalent across the world today. The International Labour Organization ("ILO") estimates that nearly 21 million people are victims of forced labour, with companies becoming increasingly aware of the risks associated with issues of forced labour and human trafficking. With increasing legislation set out by governments globally, there are growing requirements for companies to publically report the risks and the steps they have implemented to mitigate risks of violations within their own business and their supply chain.
Modern slavery reveals itself as servitude, forced or compulsory labour and humantrafficking. Its tentacles reach into and around the industries we work in. For this reason we must be on our guard and take action against it.
We have taken a stance against modern slavery and have made a commitment to the principles of the UN Global Compact in how we do business. This is demonstrated in our Code of Business Conduct and in our published Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking statement. Importantly, we have also made engaging our employees, to raise their awareness of this risk, and how it might manifest itself within our own operations or sphere of influence, one of our non-financial key performance indicators.
Earlier this year, with five other companies in the engineering and construction industry, we became a founding member a new worker focused initiative – Building Responsibly. The initiative ensures that members are able to work together to share best practice, agree common approaches and standards, develop tools and engage with clients, governments and international organisations on how best to promote and improve the rights and welfare of workers.
Building Responsibly is a demonstrable commitment to respecting human rights in our operations and in our supply chain. This is good for business and, crucially, it's integral to how we do business - to visibly demonstrate that we operate in line with our values to act ethically and with integrity.
This week (10-16th July) is dedicated to Sustainability within Amec Foster Wheeler. We will use the week to talk about our recently published Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking statement and key points from our latest sustainability report. We will specifically focus on where we as a business can make the most impact in progressing the targets set out within the Sustainable Development Goals.
Source: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/