Fortescue Metals Group, South32, Iluka Resources, Western Power and Synergy are among a group of 10 resources and energy companies collaborating to develop a toolkit to pre-screen for modern slavery risks within their supply chains.
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Fortescue Metals Group, South32, Iluka Resources, Western Power and Synergy are among a group of 10 resources and energy companies collaborating to develop a toolkit to pre-screen for modern slavery risks within their supply chains.
Fortescue Metals Group, South32, Iluka Resources, Western Power and Synergy are among a group of 10 resources and energy companies collaborating to develop a toolkit to pre-screen for modern slavery risks within their supply chains.
In a statement, Fortescue said the toolkit would provide a self-assessment questionnaire asking suppliers to identify modern slavery risks and the work they were undertaking to address these risks.
“These common set of questions will streamline reporting and provide consistency and clarity,” it said.
The other companies involved are Anglo American, INPEX, Gold Fields, CITIC Pacific Mining, and ATCO.
The initiative was launched by the Minderoo Foundation’s Walk Free Foundation.
Fortescue chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said the company opposed all forms of slavery and forced labour across its operations and the operations of its suppliers.
“As an industry, we have a significant role to play in addressing the risk of modern slavery in our supply chains and believe a coordinated approach between government, businesses, civil society and the community is crucial to eradicating modern slavery,” she said.
Walk Free chief executive and Fortescue non-executive director Jenn Morris said the design of the open source document supported the mandatory reporting requirements of the Australian Modern Slavery Act.
“This approach reduces the administration of monitoring yet increases the efficiency and effectiveness of driving better outcomes in identifying the risks of modern slavery,” she said.
Walk Free estimates that modern slavery affects over 40 million people globally.