Increasingly, investors, consumers and prospective business partners only want to engage with organisations that are ethical and responsible in their practices. Businesses of all sizes also want to ensure that they are tackling modern slavery in the right way. Modern slavery is more than a corporate risk. It is a risk to human rights and therefore, responses to it should be people focused. However, good intentions have been held back by a lack of comparable information to base decisions on. --- While adoption is voluntary, standards bodies like the BSI can make a difference by creating consensus around what good looks like. I am proud to be involved in the development of a standard that will not only raise the bar but also provide practical guidance on how to address modern slavery in the UK, and I hope ultimately help to shape international standards on this important issue.
Dr Gabriela Gutierrez-Huerter O, Lecturer in International Management
21 January 2022
Dr Gabriela Gutierrez-Huerter O advises on new standards to manage the risk of modern slavery
British Standards Institution consultation goes live
Dr Gabriela Gutierrez-Huerter O, Lecturer in International Management, has advised on the development of a new national standard that will help organisations to address the risk of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. The proposed new standards have been published for a public consultation closing on 23 February 2022.
The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the national standards body of the United Kingdom. It develops and certifies voluntary technical standards on a wide range of products and services that act as a marker of a company’s quality and operational effectiveness. The BSI’s BS 25700 outlines how a company manages the risk of modern slavery. The standards will apply to how it prevents, identifies, responds to, addresses and reports modern slavery, both in its own operations and in its supply chains and wider operating environment.
Dr Gutierrez-Huerter O became a member of the BSI technical committee on modern slavery as part of her work on modern slavery in the UK construction sector.
Contribute to the BSI consultation
The BSI welcomes comment on the proposed new standards until 23 February 2022.
Complete the consultation online.
For further information on the content and scope of BS 25700, you can join a webinar with the expert panel, including Dr Gutierrez-Huerter O on Friday 28 January from 10.00-11.30.
Meeting ID: 971 4940 5645
Password: 123456
In this story
Senior Lecturer in International Management