Modern Slavery Statement
Modern Slavery Statement
Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement (FY20/21)
The Jordans & Ryvita Company, a division of ABF Grain Products,
Associated British Foods plc
Introduction
As a professional and ethically responsible business and employer we recognise that we have a responsibility to take a robust approach to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking. This statement sets out The Jordans & Ryvita Company’s actions to understand all potential modern slavery risks related to our business and the steps we take to try to ensure that there is no slavery or human trafficking in our own business, or our supply chains. This statement relates to actions and activities during the Financial Year 31st August 2020 to 28th August 2021.
Organisational structure and supply chains
The Jordans & Ryvita Company (referred to as Jordans Dorset Ryvita or JDR) operates in the Food Manufacturing Industry. We currently operate in the following countries:
• UK – 1 Head Office and 3 Manufacturing sites
• Australia – 1 Sales Office
• Brazil – 1 Sales Office
• Canada – 1 Sales Office
• France – 1 Sales Office
• Germany – 1 Sales Office
JDR has a global supply chain and in some cases we purchase ingredients from extended supply chains, involving traders and brokers. We have taken steps to identify high risks in our supply chains and continue to monitor our risk assessments as required.
Sustainability is important to our business in all areas, from the ingredients we buy through to the products we make and how we make them. This business wide focus is manifested through the JDR “Good Food Commitment” which sets out our approach to Corporate Responsibility in relation to the nutritional qualities of the products we manufacture, the ingredients we purchase in order to make those products and the operational processes through which we manufacture those products. We continue to devote two of the four strategic pillars of our Good Food Commitment to responsible sourcing, namely International Supply Chains and UK Cereals (which are the single largest commodity that we purchase by volume.) The work of the Good Food Commitment is sponsored by the board and overseen by a panel of external experts through a Sustainability Governance Committee. In this way we are able to promote sound ethical and environmental standards across the business and capture the latest insights in Corporate Responsibility.
Policies
Our procurement policies and procedures incorporate the appropriate requirements in line with ILO standards; The ETI Base Code and the Modern Slavery Act, as specified within the latest version of the ABF Supplier Code of Conduct. We have maintained our focus on the ethical auditing of our supply chain, particularly in relation to modern slavery. During Covid-19 we have engaged our high and medium risk suppliers to understand the impact of Covid-19 on our supply chain. No high modern slavery risks have been identified in this activity. We continue to request adherence to the latest version of The ABF Supplier Code of Conduct from all of our raw material suppliers and this remains a provision of supplier approval for new suppliers.
To help us raise awareness and mitigate risk we have a policy titled Preventing Hidden Labour Exploitation in Our Business, this supports us during the recruitment and employment of permanent employees and temporary agency employees. The HR team has responsibility for this policy, and it was drafted in accordance with guidance from ‘Stronger Together’.
Our People – Due Diligence
We recognise that our supply chains are not the only area where people may be at risk of Modern Slavery in the context of our business. As such, 6 monthly checks are undertaken within our own business operations to identify any areas of concern associated with shared addresses or bank accounts for employees. Our HR system supports us with this process by prompting when there are any duplicated details. We also undertake 6 monthly reviews of our modern slavery commitments within the HR team.
When recruiting we follow good practice approaches to identification and our agency suppliers are fully licensed and comply with our Recruiter Compliance Principles. Specific questions have been introduced to our interview templates to encourage conversation about how the applicant heard about the role and whether any money has been exchanged in relation to the role. We recognise that temporary workers are a particular risk group in respect of modern slavery, and we work closely with our existing suppliers to mitigate the risk of potential labour exploitation. To enable us to be even more effective, for the majority of our temporary worker requirements, we work with a single agency who works directly with temporary worker suppliers on our behalf (a neutral vending solution, Neuven). This third party works directly with our suppliers, applying thorough auditing and compliance standards which include a focus on ways to mitigate the risk of Modern Slavery. Where we hire temporary workers outside of this process, we undertake regular audits of the provider ourselves.
We have a Speak Up Policy which is communicated to all employees via noticeboards and posters. We encourage our people to report any concerns they may have either regarding circumstances that may give rise to an enhanced risk of slavery or human trafficking or to a specific situation which causes them concern. Our Speak Up Procedure is designed to make it easy for workers to make disclosures, without fear of retaliation, and we have had a confidential whistleblowing hotline in place since 2011, with posters displayed around our sites.
Training and Awareness
Using training material from Stronger Together, employees in our Procurement and HR teams have received tailored briefings on the signs and risks associated with Modern Slavery and Hidden Labour exploitation.
Following a successful pilot last year, we have agreed an annual online training process for colleagues across the business who may encounter modern slavery risk. This encourages greater understanding of the risks of modern slavery across our business in order to better manage modern slavery risks. The e-module format allows clear traceability of training records and ensures that all participants are receiving a high quality of training in a standardised format. We have also now completed work on a second e-module which focuses on our Code of Conduct, this training will support better understanding of the Code and will focus on the expectations and practical implementation of key sections
As well as formal training, the buying team continue to be actively involved in the management of ethical trade in their categories- specifically modern slavery and labour risks. Our buyers remain central to the implementation of our Ethical Audit Plan and which is managed through regular tracking led by procurement. We will be continuing with this agenda during our next financial year and maintain an attitude of continuous improvement, seeking feedback from buyers and adapting our ethical audit programme to meet the needs of the supply chain.
.
This year, training has focused on capability building for our procurement team. In-house training sessions have been conducted on use of the SEDEX system and audit information which allows buyers to interact more easily with ethical data.
We continue to build awareness with our suppliers particularly around our ethical audit agenda and our suppliers have been critical to our programme. We have prepared ethical audit awareness materials which are available to suppliers and also share common resources such as SEDEX guides with them.
We have increased awareness on the signs and risks associated with Modern Slavery across our Management, Head Office and Manufacturing populations. We conduct team briefs within manufacturing on an annual basis and have provided specific members of our population, such as those who manage large numbers of employees and our security and reception staff with more detailed briefing sessions. We have included a section of this briefing session in the induction slides for all manufacturing sites to ensure that all new employees are made aware of the risks and what to do should they experience or witness anything of concern.
Our Supply Chains – Due diligence/Risk Assessment
The organisation undertakes due diligence when considering taking on new suppliers and regularly reviews existing suppliers. As part of our standard contractual terms we require all our suppliers to operate to our ‘Terms and Conditions of Purchase’, which includes a specific requirement to operate according to recognised ethical business standards.
For our key suppliers who provide our manufacturing materials, we link to them on Sedex and carry out a review that consists of 3 stages of risk assessment plus remediation and reporting. Our risk assessment includes 1) a high-level risk and materiality assessment to identify where inherent risk lies in relation to our brands, 2) supply chain mapping and 3) an ethical audit if required. We use a range of qualitative and quantitative data sources to conduct our risk assessments including but not exclusive to: Sedex, Verisk Maplecroft, BRC and 4 pillar SMETA audit data. A representative from each site has taken responsibility for updating SEDEX to improve the quality and detail of the information.
Our work in Turkey remains a focus area and we actively support two projects looking to address labour malpractice risks in our vine fruit and hazelnut supply chains. We work alongside processors, trade associations, the ILO and industry partners in these cross industry initiatives. This year we shared a local language guide to our Code of Conduct for use with farmers in Turkey whilst also working proactively with our processors to support them in developing their own responsible sourcing programmes.
In our indirect supply chains, we have completed a risk assessment which has identified higher risk areas for action. As with our raw materials supply chains this will involve training as well as auditing. We value the input of suppliers in supporting us with this agenda and in addition to the Turkish projects mentioned above we have continued to support a Bolivian project in our Brazil nut supply chain. We maintain our relationships with external experts and consultants to support us with the assessment of risk and maintain our commitment to remediation.
Performance indicators/Measurement
To support us in measuring whether the steps that we are taking to ensure that slavery and/or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain are successful we consider:
If any reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified within our business. To date two concerns have been received and investigated, neither were modern slavery concerns but we are pleased briefings are encouraging employees to raise any concerns.
If our people have been briefed to identify signs of Modern Slavery and how to report any concerns. Our manufacturing population, which represents 70% of our workforce, was provided with detailed training and now receive annual briefing and all new starters are briefed during induction. The majority of our UK head office-based employees have received either verbal or written briefing.
A commitment to complete an internal audit reviewing the efficiency of our processes and supply chain risk assessments. Audit has confirmed that our high priority suppliers have been identified and briefed on the requirements of our modern slavery commitments.
This statement has been approved by the organisation’s board of directors. The statement will be reviewed and updated annually.
Director’s name: Anne Sawbridge Date: 02.12.21