The UK Government has committed to delivering a programme of change based on security, fairness and opportunity for all. This includes kickstarting economic growth in a way that provides good jobs and better living standards, becoming a clean energy superpower and building an NHS fit for the future. All of these goals will require fair, resilient and sustainable supply chains.
MP Martin Rhodes and MP Sarah Champion at the event. Image credit Martin Rhodes, X.
On Tuesday 28th of January the Corporate Justice Coalition partnered with Anti-Slavery International, Friends of the Earth, Labour Campaign for Human Rights, Peace Brigades International UK, Tony’s Chocolonely and UNISON to host a parliamentary reception, launching new discussions on this critical topic. The event was jointly hosted by Sarah Champion MP, and Mark Ferguson MP.
During the event we heard from UNISON ,one of the UK’s largest trade unions, and Anti-Slavery International, the world’s largest human rights organisation, about billion-pound government contracts being awarded to companies involved in union-busting, NHS supplies being made with child labour, forced labour on UK farms and the connections between UK renewable energy technologies and human rights violations around the world. In addition, CJC’s Director, Eleanor Rosenbach, introduced the work of the Corporate Justice Coalition and our campaign for A Business Human Rights and Environment Act to advance corporate accountability in the UK. Throughout these discussions it became abundantly clear that the UK needs stronger laws to regulate corporate activity and to enable the government to deliver on the vision it has laid out.
A Business Human Rights and Environment Act would make it mandatory for UK businesses to take steps to prevent human rights abuses and environmental harms within their UK operations and throughout their global supply chains. Drawing on the world leading British ‘Failure to Prevent’ model, this new law would ensure that responsible businesses are not at a competitive disadvantage to those who act unscrupulously; provide much-needed legal certainty to investors and ensure that the UK doesn’t fall behind recent developments in the EU, France, Germany and Norway.
Crucially, the event demonstrated how responsible business practices can drive growth in a way that works for everyone. Leading ethical chocolate brand, Tony’s Chocolonely, is a vocal advocate for a new UK Business Human Rights and Environment Act and provide tangible proof that due diligence and respect for human rights and the environment can go hand in hand with growth. As sponsors of the event, the Tony’s team shared how they have been able to their largest absolute growth in the company’s history for the second year in a row whilst committing to building fairer supply chains throughout their own operations and across the cocoa industry worldwide.
Over 225 businesses and investors, 35 civil society organisations, and 80% of the British public support a new UK supply chain law. To learn more and join the campaign to create a fairer future for everyone, check out our Good Business Matters Website, read our briefing or get in touch to speak to our team.
By Poppy Facer