The BSI is helping organisations eradicate modern slavery in all forms with pioneering and revolutionary new guidance, BS 25700 Organizational Responses to Modern Slavery.

In its role as the National Standards Body (NSB), the BSI has launched the world’s first national standard to help organisations within the UK and globally to eradicate modern slavery. Organisations are facing increased scrutiny over supply chain issues and their commitment to ensuring the wellbeing of people and planet and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting. The modern slavery standard (BS 25700) provides much needed guidance for them to help identify risks – and the potential victims – of modern slavery, while offering pragmatic advice on how to address the issue.

The new standard will be available on an open-access basis and can be used by international and UK organisations of all sizes, providing guidance on preventative measures, identifying, analysing and evaluating exposure risks, approaches to address identified risks, remedying modern slavery practices and reporting mechanisms.

Hailed as the world’s first national standard, it is designed to help organisations understand modern slavery risks so they can manage them effectively, with the aim of eradicating practices throughout the world.

A number of countries, including Australia, Canada and the UK, have already introduced modern slavery legislation. In the UK’s case, the leading legislation is the Modern Slavery Act, which came into force in 2015. This legislation requires certain organisations with an annual turnover of £36m or more to publish a modern slavery statement for each financial year and outline the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains.

However, the BSI briefing points out a number of issues with this legal requirement, notably a lack of compliance, inconsistency in the quality of statements, and the gap between what businesses are saying and what they are doing to prevent modern slavery. The purpose of the new standard is partly to “educate, guide and encourage organisations in the management of modern slavery risks to close the gap between policy and practice”.

Modern slavery describes a range of exploitative practices, including forced, compulsory and child labour, debt bondage and human trafficking. Rights and duties concerning modern slavery exist in UK legislation, notably through the Modern Slavery Act 2015, as well as through international frameworks including United Nations and International Labour Organization.

The criminal practice affected 49.6 million people worldwide in 2021, according to estimates from Walk Free, the ILO and the International Organization for Migration, with 27.6 million people in forced labour. Criminals profiting from this make approximately US $150 billion annually from the proceeds of these crimes. In the UK the number of potential victims of modern slavery referred to the National Referral Mechanism has risen from 2,340 in 2014 to more than 12,700 in 2021, with the true number of victims likely to be far higher as the number continues to climb. Close to 8,000 people were referred from January to June 2022 alone. Whilst we tend to think of slavery as something that happened in the past – a long-forbidden practice seen only in movies and books. The reality is, the impact of modern slavery is huge, both on human lives and the economy – the cost to the UK is estimated to be as much as £4.3bn. It is a crime that is happening in the UK in businesses every day, exploiting the workforce.

Susan Taylor Martin, CEO, BSI, said:

“Global disruptions such as COVID-19 and the return of war in Europe have created greater risks of modern slavery than those faced in 2015 when the Modern Slavery Act was enacted. Far more can be done to bridge the gap between policy and practice. BSI is committed to helping organisations understand what they can do in practical terms to eradicate this corrupt, criminal behavior which continues to plague the global economy.”

Scott Steedman, Director-General Standards, BSI, continued:

“Too many organisations, large and small, may not fully understand the prevalence and locations of modern slavery in their supply chains and they may also lack knowledge on how to protect themselves from its risks. With this new National Standard BSI is providing much-needed guidance to help organisations act decisively to understand, identify risks, and eradicate modern slavery.”

As the National Standards Body in the UK, BSI plays a vital role in helping businesses to adopt best practice frameworks aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including supporting organisations in understanding and managing the risks of modern slavery. It aims to bridge the gap between policy and practice – with a lack of compliance, inadequate modern slavery statements and gaps between what organisations say and do on the issue undermining existing requirements laid out in the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

In addition, whereas existing legislation requires organisations with an annual turnover of £36 million or more to report on modern slavery, BS 25700 can be used by organisations of any size or type – this is critical given SMEs make up 99% of businesses and three-fifths of employment in the UK.

Shirley Goodrick, Slave-Free Alliance specialist, added:

“Slave-Free Alliance welcomes BSI’s modern slavery standard as the first to provide guidance suitable for all sectors. Organisations of all sizes can take proportionate and meaningful steps to understand, prevent and address modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. Aligning to this standard will increase your organisation’s resilience to modern slavery and labour exploitation.”