Western Power has joined other high-profile WA energy, mining and resource companies to develop a practical toolkit to pre-screen for modern slavery risks within supply chains.
Central to the toolkit is a self-assessment questionnaire with 18 core questions that the group has agreed to ask suppliers to identify modern slavery risks, improve transparency and identify areas for further due diligence.
Western Power head of commercial Matt Tompsett said the initiative recognises the challenge that suppliers are facing with increased requests for information due to modern slavery laws in Australia and the United Kingdom, and asking a common set of questions will streamline reporting, provide consistency and clarity.
Related article: ERM Power overhauls digital with new cloud data management company
“The practice of modern slavery is neither ethically nor economically acceptable as part of our procurement and supply chain,” Mr Tompsett said.
“It is initiatives like this where the WA business community can come together to tackle a global problem, by streamlining the identification and contracting of ethically aligned suppliers, that we can start to make a difference,” he said.
Walk Free estimates that modern slavery affects more than 40 million people globally.
Walk Free Chief Executive Officer Jenn Morris said, “We commend the design of this open source document that supports the mandatory reporting requirements of the Australian Modern Slavery Act”.
Related article: Nuclear Power “uninsurable and uneconomic” in Australia
“This approach reduces the administration of monitoring yet increases the efficiency and effectiveness of driving better outcomes in identifying the risks of modern slavery,” Ms Morris said.
Participating companies:
- Western Power
- South32
- Fortescue Metals Group
- Anglo American
- INPEX
- Gold Fields
- CITIC Pacific Mining
- Iluka Resources
- Synergy
- ATCO
The initiative excludes collaboration relating to supplier selection, which continues to rely on the decision of individual companies.
