In a damning new report, almost all food and beverage businesses surveyed (97%) identified modern slavery or serious labour rights violations in their supply chains in the last 12 months, the highest proportion of any sector.
Commissioned by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and co-created with the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), the report raises serious questions about the extent to which businesses are scrutinising their supply chains.
The report also raises concerns about businesses’ ability to tackle the problem, with only 36% of food and beverage firms able to evidence the impact of whistleblowing and speak-up mechanisms, the lowest proportion across all sectors.
Supply chain transparency also remains a major weakness, with almost two in five food and drink businesses (39%) not requiring suppliers to disclose their own suppliers in contracts, limiting visibility beyond direct relationships.
BSI and CIPS also identified a clear gap between confidence and evidence. While 80% of business leaders globally believe they have sufficient evidence that their supply chains are free from modern slavery, only 22% report having comprehensive visibility of third-party suppliers.
Harold Pradal, president of assurance services at BSI, said: “These findings clearly demonstrate that organizations are proactively looking for modern slavery risks and finding some of them.
“The challenge is then being able to demonstrate impact and show that these interventions are improving outcomes for workers. Addressing modern slavery risk is about driving meaningful change.”
He continued: “As regulatory expectations continue to evolve, organizations need to move beyond compliance-led approaches and focus on measuring outcomes, strengthening supplier visibility and building greater transparency and trust.
“The challenge is no longer whether businesses are taking action, but whether they can demonstrate that their action is driving real improvements for vulnerable workers.”