MODERN SLAVERY ACT 2015 POLICY STATEMENT – FINANCIAL YEAR ENDING 31ST DECEMBER 2017
This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that Knauf Insulation Limited has taken and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain.
Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. Knauf Insulation Limited has a zero tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or our supply chain.
Our Business
Part of the Knauf Group, Knauf Insulation has more than 40 years of experience in the insulation industry and is one of the fastest growing and most respected names in insulation worldwide. We are committed to helping our customers to meet the increasing demand for energy efficiency and sustainability in new and existing homes, non-residential buildings and industrial applications.
Our Internal Policies
We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These include:
Policy
We operate a robust recruitment policy, including conducting eligibility to work in the UK checks for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.
Breach of Company Rules or Policies – including Whistleblowing policy
Employees are encouraged to raise concerns about any issue or suspicion of modern slavery in any parts of our business or supply chains. If an employee suspects any employee, regardless of their seniority, or the Company of committing a serious breach of this policy, they have a duty to report their concerns to a director and should do so without delay. The information will be treated in confidence.
Employee Handbook
This explains the manner in which we behave as an organisation, the rules we all follow, the policies we have in place and how we expect our employees to act.
Our Suppliers
Responsible sourcing practices are absolutely vital in the construction industry. As a business that plays a leading role in the built environment, Knauf Insulation is continually aiming to minimise risk within our supply chain and to source responsibly.
We have a complex supply chain providing services and goods to our UK manufacturing sites; the majority of our suppliers are based in the UK but some operate from other parts of the world including mainland Europe and USA.
During this financial year we have continued to develop tools and processes to identify and mitigate any risk of instances of slavery human trafficking occurring in our supply chain, some of these are outlined below.
A Knauf Insulation Code of Conduct for Suppliers has been developed and is published at https://www.knaufinsulation.com/who-we-are/about-us/compliance for existing and prospective suppliers.
Knauf Insulation Limited maintains a preferred supplier list and we conduct due diligence on suppliers before allowing them to become a preferred supplier. This due diligence can include desk or field based audits including self-disclosure questionnaires.
As part of our trading arrangements with new and existing suppliers, we require that they demonstrate to us that:
- They confirm compliance with the Knauf Insulation Code of Conduct for Suppliers
- They have taken steps to eradicate any modern slavery within their business
- They shall notify us promptly if it becomes aware or has reason to believe that their organisation or any of its agents or subcontractors have breached or potentially breached the Modern Slavery Act 2015
- They hold their own suppliers to account over modern slavery
- They pay their employees at least the regional minimum wage / national living wage (as appropriate)
In our latest standard Terms of Purchase and Supply Agreement we reserve the right to terminate a supplier contract at any time should any instances of modern slavery come to light.
During 2017 Knauf Insulation Limited obtained BES6001 Accreditation across both our Glass and Wood Wool businesses which was supported by and helped the development of our Responsible Sourcing Policy.
We will continue to develop and embed anti-slavery initiatives into our existing supply chain and supplier approval process during 2018.
John Sinfield – Managing Director