Managing Sustainability in Global Value Chains (N1658)

Coursework report: Company Reporting and Modern Slavery

1. Aim

The coursework report for Managing Sustainability in Global Value Chains is designed to allow you to evaluate one of the main mechanisms established by the UK government for businesses to report on the social sustainability of their global value chains. The Modern Slavery Act in the UK was established in 2015 and obligates businesses “to report annually on the efforts they have undertaken to identify, prevent, and address modern slavery in their supply chain” (Voss et al (2019: 62-63).

The coursework report will focus on two key activities:

(a) your assessment of the content and coverage of a sample of company reports in a sector and value chain of your choice which have been submitted under the Modern  Slavery Act, and

(b) your evaluation of the effectiveness of the reported statements, their limits in dealing with modern slavery in global value chains, and what businesses might do to improve social sustainability.

The coursework report accounts for 30% of your module mark for N1658.

2. Learning objectives

The coursework report will allow you to address two of the modules learning objectives:

LO2: “make appropriate use of frameworks and examples to analyse global value chain sustainability processes and programmes”

LO3: “Critically evaluate the management challenges in the relationship between social … sustainability and global value chains” (LO3).

3. Approach

In developing and producing your coursework report a number of steps should be followed:

(a) Select one main sector that interests you to investigate from the UK government’s

online database of Modern Slavery statements (the Modern Slavery Statement Registry) at https://modern-slavery-statement-registry.service.gov.uk/. The Registry site is here:

The search function looks like this (click on ‘use search filters’):

You are then taken to a list of search options:

(b) Choose one year between 2020 and 2022 and the size of the company reporting. In order to narrow the search down I suggest you either choose companies over £500 million turnover, or select some larger and some smaller companies for comparison.

(c) Choose a sector with activity normally associated with global value chains (see notes below). The sectors listed are:

• Automotive, machinery and heavy electrical equipment (possible)

• Charitable / not-for-profit activities (unlikely)

• Cleaning and security services (unlikely)

• Construction, civil engineering and building products (unlikely)

•    Consumer services, including accommodation, hospitality, tourism and leisure (possible)

• Cosmetics and toiletries (possible)

• Defence and aerospace (likely)

•    Durable consumer goods, including electronics and appliances, home furnishings and other accessories (likely)

• Education and research (unlikely)

• Fashion, textiles, apparel and luxury goods (likely)

• Financial, insurance and real estate activities (unlikely)

• Food and beverages, agriculture and fishing (likely)

• Forestry, timber products, paper and containers and packaging (likely)

• Healthcare and pharmaceuticals (likely)

• Information technology and telecommunication (likely)

• Media, publishing, arts and entertainment (unlikely)

• Mining, metals, chemicals and resources (including oil and gas) (possible)

•    Professional and administrative services and supplies, including legal, consulting and accounting services (unlikely)

• Public sector (unlikely)

• Transportation, logistics, and storage (unlikely)

• Utilities: gas, water and electricity (unlikely)

• Waste management and recycling (unlikely)

•   Other (N/A)

(d) Once you have chosen your search criteria you will be presented with a list of companies. For example, searching for “Fashion, textiles, apparel and luxury goods” over £500 million turnover in 2021 provides a list of 93 companies, including some of the largest UK based retailers such as H&M, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Hilfiger, and many leading supermarkets:

(e) From your search results list, select 10 companies to focus your analysis on (NB. you should include a list of the companies that you have focused on and your rationale for  selecting them as an appendix to your report (not included in the word count – see Appendix 2)).

(f) Using the links on the database, (i) connect to the Modern Slavery statements for each of the selected companies and read and review the reports, and (ii) review the ‘statement summary’ which provides a high-level summary of the company’s reporting that year. An example for H&M is provided below:

(g) Assess the reports against the key criteria identified below and as discussed in class (from Hsin 2019 and Voss et al 2019):

(i) Compliance with reporting requirements: is the statement visible on the

company’s customer facing website; has it been signed off by an executive board member?

(ii) Does the statement cover the company’s policies towards modern slavery?

(iii) Is there transparency around the company’s structure and its value chain and reach (i.e. multiple tiers of the value chains)? If so, is this presented effectively to  allow an assessment of risk with regard to Modern Slavery?

(iv) Does the statement discuss how the company audits their activity in the value chain? Who undertakes the audits (are these independently undertaken)?Is there mention of scope for worker involvement in the auditing process? Is there discussion of auditing beyond first tier suppliers?

(v) Does the statement discuss the due diligence processes it undertakes with respect to modern slavery? Is there discussion of due diligence beyond first tier suppliers?

(vi) Does the statement discuss how the company undertakes a risk assessment regarding modern slavery across its supply chains? Is there discussion of assessment of risk beyond first tier suppliers?

(vii) Do employees and contractors receive training on identifying and dealing with modern slavery in the value chain? Is it clear who in the company receives this training? Is training provided to others throughout the value chain?

(viii) Is there any discussion about steps to remediate the consequences of modern slavery if it is identified in the company’s value chain? Are these likely to be effective?

(h) Use your analysis to produce a report which summarises your findings for the sample of companies you have chosen. The structure for the report is provided in Appendix 2 with details of the mark scheme and how your report will be assessed. You may choose to present findings in tables or other graphical forms, but please also provide a summary textual analysis of key points.

(i) Include a final section which reflects on your findings, especially with regard to your assessment of the effectiveness of the UK’s approach to modern slavery reporting requirements and what businesses might do to improve social sustainability. In this reflection, please draw upon the assessment of strengths and weaknesses of the approach discussed in the literature (see refence list below and in class materials).

(j) A detailed mark scheme for the coursework report is provided in Appendix 2.

4. Submission details

Submission deadline: Thursday 2nd May 2024, 16:00

Word length: 1,200 words

Submission process: you should submit your report in Word or as a pdf on Canvas Turnitin on the module Canvas site.