Tag Archives: Human Rights

News

Sedex appoints Jon Hancock as new Chief Executive Officer to lead the Sedex vision and 2025 Strategy

Sedex is delighted to announce the appointment of Jon Hancock as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead the company’s ambitious 2025 Strategy and mission.

 

Hancock comes to Sedex from global technology services company Electrosonic Group, where he was Chief Executive for three years. His career spans retail banking, consulting and IT-related professional services, through which he has built extensive experience in delivering high-performing growth strategies for international organisations. Previous roles include Corporate Vice-President at HCL Technologies and Chief Operating Officer at Axon Group.

 

Hancock’s arrival comes at an exciting time as Sedex delivers its transformational 5-year strategy, against a backdrop when it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to operate responsibly. Sedex’s growth plans support a mission to drive organisations to improve the lives of the people they impact.

 

Sedex’s 2025 Strategy goals are to:

 

  • Positively impact 150 million people in global supply chains, through a membership of 450,000 businesses

 

  • Provide the best technology and tools to support responsible sourcing, through transforming our industry-leading platform, suite of assessment tools and consulting services

 

  • Empower Sedex members to build more ethical supply chains at scale through community, collaboration and good business​ practices

 

  • Make a genuine difference to the lives of the people in global supply chains, by using data and measuring our impact to demonstrate that we are delivering on our vision and mission.

 

Sedex aims to provide the best responsible sourcing solutions for its members, helping businesses to operate more ethically, and effectively manage human rights and environmental impacts throughout global supply chains.

 

Operating responsibly has never been more important, as focus on environment, social and governance (ESG) and supply chain resilience continues to increase across nations, sectors and stakeholders. Technology and data are powerful enablers of positive and genuine change for people and the planet – supporting to facilitate robust, accurate assessment of working conditions around the world.

 

To support Sedex’s goals, Hancock combines his experience in the technology sector with a focus on people and culture, and a passion for responsible and ethical business.

 

“I am delighted to be joining Sedex at a pivotal time, with great focus on ESG in the business community. I am passionate about the use of technology to improve people’s lives, and so the opportunity to bring together the use of technology and the development of assessment and consulting services to improve the lives of workers is very exciting.”

 

Jon Hancock, CEO, Sedex

 

Steven Esom, Chair of the Sedex Board, says, “I am delighted to welcome Jon to Sedex as our new CEO, joining us to lead Sedex. Jon brings a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience, supporting us to continue developing our offering for our members. The Sedex Board and I look forward to seeing Jon’s impact on the business as he applies his expertise in the coming months.”

 

Sedex warmly welcomes Jon to the Executive Team.

 

Notes to editors

 

Media contact: sedex@octopusgrp.com

 

About Sedex

 

Sedex is a world leader in responsible sourcing and empowers companies to implement responsible business practices in their business and supply chain to build responsible supply chains. Sedex is a membership organisation with offices in Australia, Chile, China, India, Japan and the USA.

 

Sedex provides businesses with the tools, technology and insights needed to operate ethically, source responsibly and work with their suppliers to create fair working conditions for the people who make their products and services. Over 65,000 businesses use Sedex to manage business risk, meet compliance and drive positive impacts for people and the environment. Members include many of the world’s biggest brands, such as Marks & Spencer, Proctor & Gamble, Reckitt, British Airways, The Body Shop and Bidfood. Visit our website for more information.

News

New Sedex analysis of 100,000 social audits investigates and highlights indicators of forced labour and their prevalence in global supply chains

• The analysis reveals over one-third (36%) of the social audits detect multiple indicators of forced labour
• Frequent use of excessive overtime is the most common forced labour indicator found in the audits
• On average, more indicators of forced labour are found in lower tiers of supply chains, where visibility and influence of buying companies is more limited.

New analysis from Sedex, one of the world’s leading ethical trade membership organisations, has revealed new findings into forced labour risks in global supply chains. Sedex’s report – Recognising forced labour risks in global supply chains, shares analysis of data from 100,000 social audits conducted across 158 countries over the past five years.

These audits, which use indicators to help identify risks or actual instances of forced labour, can help organisations to recognise a person who is trapped or may require urgent assistance. Sedex findings reveal that over one third (36%) of the social audits detected multiple indicators of forced labour.

These indicators are “red flags”, or alert signs, relating to forced labour – as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Their presence reveals an increased risk requiring further investigation and, potentially, action. The signs relate to a range of issues including deception of workers, withheld wages, restriction of movement and abusive working and living conditions.

Excessive overtime was revealed to be the most common indicator of forced labour identified in the audits, accounting for 24% of the total indicators found. Excessive overtime can be a common practice in certain sectors, such as garment manufacturing or electronics manufacturing. While the use of overtime itself is not problematic, excessive and illegal overtime increases the risk of forced labour if it is accompanied by other forms of coercion and workers do not feel that overtime is voluntary.

Indicators of forced labour were found to be most prevalent in crop and animal production sites. These activities typically exist at the beginning of a supply chain, in the lower tiers where it is harder for buying companies to have full visibility of work sites and conditions.

Jessica McGoverne, Director of Policy and Corporate Affairs at Sedex says, “We know that forced labour is an under-identified issue in global supply chains and businesses should always consider the potential risks of this serious issue, no matter the industry or location of work sites in their supply chain.

“Using social audits as part of wider due diligence efforts is an effective way for organisations to understand working conditions at business sites. It is vital that organisations recognise the significance of forced labour indicators, and that their presence means there may be an increased likelihood of forced labour occurring at a work site.

“Detecting forced labour is very complex, and it is therefore important for organisations to use a combination of solutions – including effective policies, processes, and tools – to identify and address forced labour risks and protect workers.”

Dame Sara Thorton, the UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, says: “Recognising and investigating forced labour indicators is essential for building a nuanced picture of risks in the workplace.

“But businesses need to embed auditing within a wider mosaic of activities – including worker voice initiatives – to deepen their understanding of the complex commercial ecosystems in which they operate.”

A full summary of findings can be found in Recognising forced labour risks in global supply chains, available for download here: https://www.sedex.com/sedex-insights-report-recognising-forced-labour-risks-in-global-supply-chains-with-data-from-100000-audits/

About Sedex

Sedex is a leading responsible sourcing membership organisation that provides companies with technology, services and insights to implement practices that build a responsible business and supply chain.

Our solutions provide organisations with the practical tools and guidance needed to operate ethically, and work with suppliers to ensure fair working conditions for the people who make their products and deliver their services.

With Sedex, businesses can map, assess, analyse and report on their supply chains to better manage and improve their ethical performance, and work with other businesses to drive responsible business practices throughout global supply chains.

Sedex is headquartered in the UK, with offices in Australia, Chile, China, India, and Japan. Our 60,000 members include some of the world’s biggest brands, such as Nestlé, Walmart, Barclays, The John Lewis Partnership, The Body Shop, Dyson, and all the major UK supermarkets.