CCLA launches modern slavery benchmark for UK listed company investors
Martin Buttle, Better Work lead at CCLA, said investors are in a “strong position” to contribute to ending modern slavery in businesses.
The firm said that the benchmark is a tool to provide investors with clarity on companies' involvement in combating modern slavery and to support engagement initiatives.
It assesses corporate performance and disclosures related to modern slavery, adhering to legal mandates, government recommendations, and global voluntary standards on business and human rights.
CCLA: Investment sector has to 'show leadership' to eradicate modern slavery
Martin Buttle, Better Work lead at CCLA, said investors were in a «strong position» to contribute to ending modern slavery in businesses.
«We recognise that human rights, and specifically modern slavery, is a material risk for companies and that they need to do more to find, fix and prevent it on a global scale,» he said.
Buttle said that the firm's intention is that the benchmark will provide an «accountability mechanism» by allowing investors and other stakeholders to assess whether companies are effectively managing the business risks associated with modern slavery.
«It will provide a vehicle for companies to learn and to share examples of good practices and create a mechanism to leverage business competition to drive improvement,» he added.
The benchmark report relies on the public disclosures of companies, categorising them into five tiers. As per CCLA analysis, Kingfisher, Marks & Spencer, Next, Reckitt Benckiser, Tesco, and Unilever have been identified in tier one as «leaders in human rights innovation».
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«These companies have displayed an evolved and mature approach to human rights
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