Would you know where to spot modern slavery in a supply chain – or what to do if you did? Dr Johanne Grosvold’s research has found that many procurement workers who encounter human rights abuses aren’t aware of the protocols in place to support those affected.

Despite modern slavery’s alarming prevalence in the UK, in industries such as hospitality, construction and the electronics sector, she says:

”It’s a problem that’s seen as happening somewhere else.”

Johanne and her fellow researchers are aiming to educate both professionals and policymakers. As part of their project ‘Climate change and modern slavery in public procurement’, they produced a research summary giving clear recommendations for policy.

These include:

• developing mechanisms to actively manage modern slavery risks
• strengthening tendering requirements around modern slavery and climate change
• providing function-specific training for staff on what to do if they encounter modern slavery
• increasing the use of purchasing consortia to put pressure on firms to improve their ethical performance

Among others, this work has been picked up by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), the global body for purchasing professionals. CIPS is looking to include modules on modern slavery awareness in its exams, and has sought Johanne’s expertise and input on this.

‘Climate change and modern slavery in public procurement’ was funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre and ran through 2023. The project centred around more than 60 interviews with public sector professionals.

It sought to:

• identify the barriers to public sector buyers managing modern slavery and climate change risks in their procurement
• develop best practice guidelines around framework agreements and supplier management to address these challenges

The research was carried out by principal investigator Dr Michael Rogerson from the University of Sussex (who completed his PhD at the School of Management), with Johanne and Dr Kyle Alves from the University of the West of England as co-investigators.

The project involved work with London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC), a public sector buying intermediary, and non-profit organisation Unseen UK.

The researchers found that companies with poor modern slavery records were continuing to win contracts.

Johanne explains:

“Our research shows that expectations on suppliers are minimal with regard to modern slavery – even just a commitment to comply with the UK Modern Slavery Act (2015) is sufficient to pass a public sector tender requirement, and evidence suggests many companies subject to the Act have yet to comply.”

On 29 February 2024, we welcomed around 30 practitioners, policymakers and academics to a networking event at RSA House in London. The event was titled 'How can we combat modern slavery in public procurement?' and included a panel discussion with participants from Electronics Watch, Unseen UK and the Royal College of Art.

Read more from our panellists on the shortcomings of the modern Slavery Act..

The project was covered in the media, including an article for The Grocer, a British magazine dedicated to grocery sales.

The team were also invited to present their findings at multiple conferences aimed at both academics and practitioners.

Audiences included:

• UK Home Office
• HM Treasury
• Foreign & Commonwealth Office
• UK Government Department for Business & Trade

Johanne and Mike’s next steps are applications for funding for a project in tandem with Electronics Watch. They hope to develop an educational tool to help sector buyers better understand the data they use to assess modern slavery risks.

At present, managers often rely on database providers to supply this information on potential suppliers – which has limitations that procurement staff may not be aware of. Johanne hopes that better awareness of this will clear up common misunderstandings and empower purchasers to identify suppliers that may need further investigation.