Kenny Waste Management have joined Slave-Free Alliance, a social enterprise launched by anti-slavery charity Hope for Justice with the aim of eradicating Modern Slavery in the supply chain. We join a wide variety of organisations of all sizes, including global multinationals as well as small to medium enterprises (SMEs), across the full spectrum of business sectors. We all share a common goal: working towards a slave-free supply chain.
We fully acknowledge the fact that slavery in supply chains is real. It is a pernicious factor that drives human trafficking in the developing world, and it reaches across borders to affect countries like the UK too. Unprepared businesses may be exposed to unnecessary risk of exploitation by predatory traffickers who infiltrate supply chains with forced labour.
As a Responsible Business, Kenny Waste Management recognise the harmful impact that slavery, servitude, forced labour, and human trafficking (Modern Day Slavery) has on individuals, communities, and society. We understand the waste management sector has been targeted by organised criminal gangs to supply hidden exploited labour and we are determined to prevent this occurring within our business.
OUR COMMITMENT
Part of adopting a proactive anti-slavery approach means developing our own series of commitments to ensure our policy is robust and effective. These include:
- Designate appropriate managers to attend Modern Slavery training and to have responsibility for developing and operating company procedures relevant to this issue.
- Accept that job finding fees are a business cost and will not allow these to be paid by job applicants. We will not use any individual or organisation to source and supply workers without confirming that workers are not being charged a work finding fee.
- Ensure that all staff responsible for directly recruiting workers are trained to be aware of issues around Modern Slavery and signs to look for.
- Ensure that labour sourcing, recruitment and worker placement processes are under the control of trusted and competent staff members.
- Adopt a proactive approach to reporting suspicions of Modern Slavery to the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and Police.
- Provide information on tackling Modern Slavery to our workforce in a variety of formats in predominant languages spoken across our operation.
- Encourage employees and agency workers to report cases of Modern Slavery, provide the means to do so and investigate and act on reports appropriately.
- Positively encourage and support employees and agency workers to report Modern Slavery which may be occurring within their communities.
- Require all organisations in the supply chain to adopt policies and procedures consistent with the above.
For a complete picture of our commitment to tackling Modern Slavery, read our full Modern Slavery Statement, made on behalf of our board of directors, here:
OUR PROGRESS
So far, we have made progress by updating our policies including Whistle Blowing, Recruitment, Procurement, and Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy. Our waste partners have completed a questionnaire and, where necessary, have shared their Modern Slavery Policy and Statement.
We embrace our responsibilities towards the local communities in which we operate. We are committed to preventing Modern Slavery, and in tandem we feel deeply for those whose lives have been affected. A director of Kenny Waste Management Social Enterprise has joined the Trustee board of a charity supporting survivors of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.
We have also joined two working groups to participate in sector initiatives, share best practices between organisations, and develop resources in an open and non-competitive manner:
- The Indirect Procurement Human Rights (IPHR) Forum’s Waste & Recycling Working Group. The IPHR Forum is a group of UK retailers, brands, and manufacturers with a common vision to protect and respect human rights in supply chains and address shared risks.
- The Waste & Recycling Modern Slavery working group, is a cross-sector network of over 20 organisations, chaired by Slave-Free Alliance. This group looks to identify and assess labour rights issues, develop shared resources to address human rights issues that are directly relevant to the sector we operate in.
We have actively contributed with the IPHR forum to develop a new Tackling Modern Slavery in Waste and Recycling Toolkit, which has been made widely publicly available for free of charge.
OUR KPIs
We have set out two, clear KPIs with which to measure our effectiveness in ensuring slavery is not taking place. We will know if the measures we are taking are effective if:
- There are no reports received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified.
- Members of the HR, Supply Chain, or Sales team identify no signs of slavery or trafficking during site audits and ‘Waste Partner’ selection.
OUR FUTURE
Kenny Waste Management will continually improve the steps we take to address Modern Slavery in line with sector best practice. We will remain alert to the risks and will enhance all measures accordingly. Our focus is on engaging our employees, such as by providing issue-specific training and information, and on continuing to collaborate with our supply chain partners to raise awareness and support them to adopt new policies and procedures:
- We will actively support waste sector campaigns to raise awareness of Modern Slavery.
- We will provide our employees training on the issue, how to recognise the signs of someone trapped in a forced or hidden labour scenario and their responsibilities of embedding best practice across our business.
- We will continue our partnership with independent anti-slavery charity, Slave-Free Alliance, to deeply understand the high/low Modern Slavey risks within our business.
- We will design and print relevant workplace posters, worker leaflets providing employees information on Modern Slavery.
- We will promote the use of the UnSeen phone app, enabling employees to effectively report suspected incidences of Modern Slavery wherever they see it, including out of work.
- We will engage with our partners and conduct specific audits to understand their own operations and policies, identifying training and support. We recognise that risks also exist within our supply chain, and only partner with organisations that show that their approach matches ours.
- We will release a Code of Conduct which all our partners will be expected to adhere to, this will reflect our own policy and commitments listed in this statement.
“Our exceptional network of supply chain partners enables us to deliver the best value for our national customers. We prioritise suppliers who share our values and, obviously, zero slavery is essential.
Kenny Waste Management has set out its approach to the identification of modern slavery risks and clear steps to be taken to prevent slavery and human trafficking in its operations. Our partnership with Slave-Free Alliance will enable us to benefit from their deep understanding and practical experience of the key issues. We are proud to be part of this vital movement, and we hope that our decision inspires other leaders in the waste industry to take action.”
– Alex Mayes, Responsible Business Manager
Interested in learning more about our approach, our action, and our impact? Visit our Responsibility page to explore our strategy.
