This report found that while technology companies are working to bring the world closer together, they are failing to connect with workers in their own supply chains. Our ICT benchmark ranked the top 40 global ICT companies—with a combined market capitalization of $4.7 trillion—on how they address forced labour in their supply chains.

This year, Intel, the leader of the benchmark, overtook both Apple and HP since our 2016 ICT benchmark. Overall, major companies, including Intel, HP, Apple, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, scored highest in the benchmark, but other important players, notably Amazon, did not perform as well. At the same time, Broadcom reduced its public disclosure dramatically, resulting in an 81% decrease in their score compared to 2016.

While the majority of companies have made improvements since 2016, the report’s findings indicate that the sector as a whole needs to take stronger actions to protect vulnerable workers in their supply chains. Specifically, worker voice and recruitment, the two areas that have the most direct impact on worker’s lives, continue to be among the lowest scoring themes.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to measure companies’ progress against where they were two years ago,” said Kilian Moote, project director of KnowTheChain. “It’s encouraging that companies are starting to address forced labour. But this benchmark shows that the sector needs to advance their efforts further down the supply chain in order to truly protect vulnerable workers.”

In addition to ranking 40 ICT global companies and providing an analysis of company policies, the benchmark provides recommendations for companies on a path forward. Specifically, the report urges companies to engage with workers, give them access to effective grievance mechanisms, and tackle the exploitation of migrant workers by implementing ethical recruitment practices and repaying workers for recruitment fees they may have paid.

2018 ICT Benchmark Findings Report - KnowTheChain, 2018 DOWNLOAD

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

wp_template

wp_template_part

wp_global_styles

wp_navigation

wp_font_family

wp_font_face

acf-taxonomy

acf-post-type

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

exactmetrics_note

Unlocking What Works: How Community-Based Interventions are Ending Bonded Labour in India
Publications

New findings from external evaluations of the Freedom Fund’s hotspot programs by leading research organisations have validated our model of working with vulnerable communities. The headline findings from these evaluations are: Between 2015...Read More

TAGS: Asia
Human rights impacts of Nordic investments in renewable energy developments in the Global South
Publications

The climate emergency poses a huge threat to human rights. In order to address the climate crisis, a transition to an economy respectful of the planet is urgently required. As part of this green transition, moving away from fossil energy sources, to...Read More

National Hotline 2019 Iowa State Report
Graphics & InfographicsPublications

The data in this report represents signals and cases from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and is accurate as of July 30, 2020. Cases of trafficking may be ongoing or new information may revealed to the National Hotline over time. Consequen...Read More

National Hotline 2017 Arizona State Report
Graphics & InfographicsPublications

The data in this report represents signals and cases from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 and is accurate as of July 11, 2018. Cases of trafficking may be ongoing or new information may be revealed to the National Hotline over time. Conseq...Read More