The food and beverage industry is an at-risk sector. Forced labor occurs both in the production of raw materials and during the food processing stages of food and beverage companies’ supply chains. Food commodities are produced by agricultural workers who often come from vulnerable groups such as women, international migrants, and internal migrants with little education. Weak labor laws and law enforcement in the sector, together with isolated workplaces where housing tends to be provided by the employer, aggravate the typically poor working conditions and can leave workers vulnerable and dependent on their employer.
Companies that are included in this benchmark can use it as a tool for internal and external engagement with relevant stakeholders to drive improvements in their operations. All companies—including any company in the food and beverage sector—can use the findings and recommendations to identify good practices and assess areas where they may need to pay greater attention to forced labor risks.
Over the past two decades multinational corporations have been expanding ‘ethical’ audit programs with the stated aim of reducing the risk of sourcing from suppliers with poor practices. A wave of government regulation—such as the California T...Read More
The global population of forcibly displaced increased by 2.3 million people in 2018. By the end of the year, almost 70.8 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations...Read More
The 2018 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assesses 101 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world on a set of human rights indicators. The companies from 3 industries – Agricultural Products, Apparel, and Extractives – were chosen fo...Read More
Authors: Andrew Phillips, Dr Alexander Trautrims Editor: Emily Kenway Agriculture is a high-risk sector for potential modern slavery and human trafficking. The International Labour Organisation places agriculture, alongside forestry and fishing, as...Read More
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