Rathbone
Greenbank
Review
Modern slavery:
whose business
is it?
19th Annual
Investor Day 2016
Guest speakers:
Steve Chalke MBE
Stop the Traffik
Miriam Minty
Modern Slavery Unit, Home Office
Louise Nicholls
Marks and Spencer Plc
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
rathbonegreenbank.com
Contents
Steve Chalke MBE
Founder, Stop the Traffik4
Miriam Minty
Deputy Head of Modern Slavery Unit
Home Office6
Slavery and the smartphone:
making the connections
8
Matt Crossman
Ethical Research & Corporate Engagement
Rathbone Greenbank Investments10
Louise Nicholls
Head of Responsible Sourcing
Marks and Spencer Plc12
Steve Chalke in conversation
with Matt Crossman
Editor
Perry Rudd
Head of Ethical Research
14
Deputy editor
Andy McCormick
Infographic research
Serena Winther
If you have any comments on this publication,
please let me know.
[email protected]
The views expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily
reflect the views of Rathbone Greenbank Investments.
Cover image: Migrant worker from Cambodia at work on a fishing boat in Mahachai on the outskirts
of Bangkok. © Nicolas Asfouri /AFP/Getty Images
Inside cover image: The stairwell at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, where this year’s
Investor Day was held, displaying over 200 portraits of engineering icons from the past and present.
2
rathbonegreenbank.com
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
Welcome to the
Investor Day 2016
edition of the Rathbone
Greenbank Review
B
efore and during the event, a number of
clients asked for more information about
the image featured on the invitation,
which also appears on the front cover of this
edition of our Review.
delighted to see several years of engagement
effort, led by our own Matt Crossman,
culminate in the inclusion of a supply chain
transparency clause in the UK’s Modern
Slavery Act 2015.
The picture is of an unnamed Cambodian
fisherman working on a prawn fishing boat in
Thailand. Human trafficking and forced labour
is endemic in the fishing industry, primarily
in the developing world, although cases have
been identified as close to home as the coasts
of Ireland and Scotland.
Our efforts have carried on through our
co-sponsorship of Finance Against Trafficking’s
2015 report on forced labour and we will
continue to press for enhanced disclosure
by companies on efforts to eradicate slavery
from their supply chains.
It is not uncommon for migrant workers to
pay to be smuggled across the border, only to
find that they have been sold on and enslaved
to a boat captain. They may end up working in
dangerous and squalid conditions, remaining
at sea for years at a time and being traded
from boat to boat. Sickness or injury can often
lead to unprofitable workers simply being
pushed overboard.
This image shows just one face of modern
slavery but, as our speakers were keen to stress,
this is an issue which takes many forms both
overseas and close to home.
The broader issue of human rights and labour
standards has always been integral to our
research at Rathbone Greenbank so we were
We were therefore delighted to be able to
assemble such a knowledgeable panel of
speakers for the event — and were especially
privileged to have Steve Chalke, founder of
Stop the Traffik, as our keynote speaker.
By way of his infectious enthusiasm — and no
little humour — Steve filled the auditorium
with the idea of bringing about change by both
empowering individuals and collective action.
Our thanks also go to our other speakers who
represented the policy making and corporate
response to modern slavery. Miriam Minty was
recently appointed deputy head of the Modern
Slavery Unit at the Home Office so we were
grateful that she agreed to speak in her first
month in the post. Louise Nicholls, head of
responsible sourcing at Marks & Spencer, has
been with M&S for over 20 years and outlined
We were delighted to welcome
our largest ever audience to
the Institution of Engineering
and Technology to hear an
impressive lineup of speakers
discuss the twin scourges
of modern slavery and
human trafficking.
how the company’s ethical trade programme
has advanced over the past decade.
In this Review we have chosen the manufacture,
sale and disposal of smartphones to illustrate
the complexity of modern supply chains — and
the stages at which slavery can occur.
Aside from the moral obligation to give thought
to human welfare in all regions of the world,
as consumers and investors we may find
ourselves more closely connected to slavery
than we might think.
John David
Head of Rathbone Greenbank Investments
Video highlights of the event and
interviews with Steve Chalke are
available on our website:
rathbonegreenbank.com/investor-day
3
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
rathbonegreenbank.com
Steve Chalke MBE
Stop the Traffik
Steve is the founder of Stop the Traffik and special adviser
to the UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking.
He began public life as a Baptist minister and created the
Oasis Charitable Trust before setting up Stop the Traffik
as a global coalition to prevent the sale and exploitation
of people, prosecute traffickers and provide ongoing
protection to victims.
Working to end the crime of global
human trafficking, Steve and Stop
the Traffik have learned over the
years just how resourceful and
motivated those that profit from it
are. Their intelligence-led response
aims to reduce the advantages
enjoyed by traffickers through
collective, coordinated community
action worldwide. Increased
investor scrutiny of company
activities and supply chains is an
important part of that response.
S
teve came to found Stop the Traffik in
2006 armed with plenty of insight into
the world of trafficking through his
engagement projects with Oasis, a charity
he set up 30 years ago to help communities
with their educational, housing and
healthcare needs.
Growing up in south London with an Indian
father, Steve had the impression that India
was a wonderful country where appliances
never broke and nothing ever went wrong!
When he began to think about extending the
work of Oasis to countries outside the UK,
India seemed like an obvious place to start.
He travelled through the country, speaking in
various cities along the way, but what he saw
there devastated him. India is a country of
great beauty and wealth, but it is also afflicted
with huge poverty. It was during this time that
he first witnessed human trafficking.
Having begun by establishing schools
among the rag-picking communities of
Mumbai — communities established around
railway stations, living off the refuse thrown
from trains — Steve soon discovered that
many of the children they were working
with were disappearing. At the time, it was
assumed that parents were pulling their
children out of school to beg, but research
into these disappearances uncovered a far
4
rathbonegreenbank.com
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
Left: Sex workers in Mumbai.
Stop the Traffik’s information
gathering and sharing app for
mobile devices.
more horrifying truth. These children were
being stolen and traded, forced into domestic
or military service or pressed into the sex
industry — sometimes even being sold for
body parts or human sacrifice. Stop the Traffik
was born out of a response to this harrowing
introduction to modern slavery.
The UN agencies Steve works with have
all manner of statistics at their fingertips.
But they also know that until communities
are mobilised against human trafficking, these
statistics won’t help. In 2010, the UN Office on
Drugs and Crime produced a book analysing
aspects of trafficking in every country in the
world. At its launch, the agency’s executive
director, Antonio Maria Costa, held up a copy,
quoted some leading statistics from it then
advised those present to throw it away!
It wasn’t definitive — a collection of guesses
at best — but it was a means to begin working
on something more useful.
Statistics are easy enough to find: Google can
offer up plenty of results showing how many
people are affected by modern slavery around
the world, but none of these people will ever
fill out a census form. The truth is that we don’t
know how many people are affected worldwide
or in our own society. We hear stories about
prosecutions for trafficking in the UK but
what percentage of existing cases does this
represent? We don’t know enough about the
impact we’re making, even at home, and that’s
why right now we’re on the losing side.
A bullet or a shot of heroin can only
be sold and used once but a person
can be sold ten times a day.
When Steve took up his role with the UN,
human trafficking was the world’s third-biggest
crime behind the illegal trafficking of drugs
and arms. Now, modern slavery has overtaken
drugs and is catching up fast on arms because
no-one gets out of bed each day to traffic
people — they do it to make money. A bullet
or a shot of heroin can only be sold and used
once but a person can be sold ten times a
day — and can continue to be sold, used and
abused until he or she is dead.
For traffickers, the returns are exceptionally
high and the risks are minimal. They’re smart,
syndicated and very well connected. To end
human trafficking, we have to be just as smart,
just as connected and work together to reduce
the rewards and raise the risks. We also have
to move our intervention efforts upstream
from rescue to prevention — if you’re forever
pulling people out from a river, the smart
person eventually looks for a way to stop them
falling in. Investors, businesses, thinkers and
policymakers alike all have a role to play in
going upstream because the traffickers are
determined to put more people in that river
and make more of that easy money.
Coordinated, intelligence-led prevention is the
key. To this end, Stop the Traffik was inspired
by the wartime work of Gordon Welchman,
the forgotten hero of Bletchley Park, who
created giant maps of traffic analysis to plot
and pre-empt enemy movements. Seeing the
life-saving effects of his work, Stop the Traffik
realised that it had to do something similar to
map modern slavery. Over two years, it has put
together an app — the STOP APP — that gives
anyone anywhere in the world the means to
feed in and share information about actual or
suspected trafficking, forced labour or abuse.
All the data is then interpreted and shared
with companies, NGOs and law enforcement
agencies to expand the analysis and our
understanding of it.
With communities creating intelligence and
investors looking at who and what they’re
investing in more closely, we can start to
mobilise all the resources that wealth can
generate in the fight to ‘stop the traffik’.
Visit: stopthetraffik.org/uk/
5
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
rathbonegreenbank.com
Miriam answering questions alongside
fellow panellists (from left to right)
Ruth Dearnley (CEO, Stop the Traffik),
Louise Nicholls and Matt Crossman.
Miriam Minty
Modern Slavery Unit,
Home Office
Miriam joined the Modern Slavery Unit in May 2016 and
will lead on the Protect and Prepare strands of the unit’s
strategy. Miriam was previously head of evaluation and
finance in the Troubled Families team at the Department
for Communities and Local Government and, before that,
a member of the Office of the Commissioner for Victims
and Witnesses within the Ministry of Justice.
The Home Office is committed to the protection of people targeted by illegal traffickers as
well as the prosecution of those individuals benefiting from the trade. Having identified
a significant number of potential cases here in the UK, it is also on hand to offer practical
guidance and support for domestic organisations working to eradicate modern slavery in
their business activities.
M
odern slavery is an umbrella term that
actually encompasses a number of
things — human trafficking, servitude,
forced labour. It’s often hidden which makes
it difficult to assess just how widespread it
is or how to provide the right preventative
infrastructure and assistance. Victims of
modern slavery find it hard to recount their
abuses and are often too traumatised by
their experiences to take up the opportunity
of support.
In 2014, the Walk Free Foundation estimated
that nearly 36 million people worldwide were
affected by modern slavery. In response, the
Home Office tasked its chief scientific adviser,
Professor Bernard Silverman, with assessing
what that might mean in the context of the
UK. His research suggested that between
10,000 and 13,000 people could be victims of
forced labour in this country. While experience
tells us that many of these people will never
come into contact with public services, we’re
nevertheless starting to see an increase in
the number of cases of modern slavery being
referred — rising by 40% between 2014 and
2015 alone — which, in terms of reporting at
least, is a positive sign.
6
The UK Government is fully committed to
stamping out the heinous crime of modern
slavery, to identifying and supporting its
victims and to prosecuting those who
perpetrate it. In November 2014, the Ho me
Office published a modern slavery strategy
devised around the framework of its successful
prevention activities in the fields of counterterrorism and organised crime.
Between 10,000 and 13,000 people
could be victims of forced labour in
this country.
Central to this strategy are the ‘four Ps’:
pursue, prevent, protect and prepare.
Together, these actions provide a coordinated
and collaborative approach for protecting
vulnerable people from exploitation by
disrupting the efforts of those forcing them
into servitude. The passing of the Modern
Slavery Act into law in March 2015 brought
with it a whole range of tools and powers to
support the aims and activities of the strategy,
including stiffer sentences for perpetrators and
greater and more easily accessible protection
for victims seeking support.
Particularly groundbreaking is Section 54
of the Act requiring certain businesses to
regularly audit their supply chains and work to
reduce the likelihood of exploitation through
them. This piece of legislation is so important
because of the massive proliferation of modern
Commercial organisations in the
UK with an annual turnover in
excess of £36m will have to produce
a statement each financial year
indicating what they’re doing to
eliminate modern slavery in their
supply chains.
slavery worldwide. The International Labour
Organisation indicates that almost 21 million
people are victims of forced labour, generating
around $150bn in profits globally — a huge
revenue source attracting both organised
and opportunist criminals.
The UK was the first country to adopt this
kind of transparency requirement in relation
to modern slavery. But it’s not about creating
rathbonegreenbank.com
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
an additional burden for businesses: it’s about
following some simple steps. Commercial
organisations in the UK with an annual
turnover in excess of £36m will have to
produce a statement each financial year
indicating what they’re doing to eliminate
modern slavery in their supply chains.
Organisations like Rathbone
Greenbank have been at the
forefront of the campaign to
include a transparency clause and
contribute to associated guidance.
If they aren’t doing anything, the statement
needs to reflect this too. Organisations are
required to publish their statements so
that prospective investors and business
partners can clearly assess their
commitments. We hope this becomes
an iterative process that also encourages
organisations with a turnover below the
specified threshold to follow suit.
The UK government is focused on ending
the misery of modern slavery and wants
to be proactive in taking this transparency
legislation forward. Alongside government
and business interest is the growing impact
of the media in reporting instances of modern
slavery, generating greater public awareness
and raising the profile of the issue with a
whole range of new audiences.
Because of events like this Investor Day,
and through contacts the Home Office has
with the business community, it’s clear that
there’s a real appetite for legislation of this
kind. Organisations like Rathbone Greenbank
have been at the forefront of the campaign
to include a transparency clause and
contribute to associated guidance.
Transparency is a positive thing for
everybody: for workers along those
supply chains, for consumer confidence
when making purchasing choices and for
investors to see how serious companies
are about fulfilling their commitments.
For businesses, it reduces the risk of
bad publicity, protecting their brands
and reputations.
Modern slavery is a hearts-and-minds
issue and those organisations that work to
eradicate it are going to have an advantage
in the world of business.
7
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
rathbonegreenbank.com
Slavery and the smartphone:
making the connections
1
Supply chains are highly complex, with
many opportunities for slavery to be
present. This graphic shows some key
points where slavery may occur in the
supply chain of an everyday consumer
product — the smartphone.
2
Raw materials
Refining
and smelting
Smartphones contain over 40 minerals.
60%
of the world’s cobalt
supply comes from
the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
Co
Sn
Cobalt
Tin
28%
of the world’s
tin supply
comes from
Indonesia.
20%
of which is from
artisanal mines.
45.8
million
people are estimated to be in modern
slavery in
167 countries.
It is processed before being sold
to manufacturers. This makes
traceability down the supply
chain extremely difficult.
$150 billion
in illegal profit each year is
generated through forced labour.
70%
of UK’s
population.
8
Ore from thousands of mines is
bought by hundreds of traders
who sell it to smelters.
90%
of the top 100 UK
listed companies’
annual profit 2015.
rathbonegreenbank.com
Greenbank
Greenbank Review
Investor
Spring
Day 2016
2016
Types of slavery
Child labour
3
Debt bondage
Component
and device
manufacturing
Forced labour
4
341 million
A modern smartphone
contains over 300 components.
5
Sale and
ownership
smartphones were
sold in 2015.
Americans change
their phones every
months.
18.2
1
% global
electronics
exports
by value.
China
25%
Malaysia
2.5%
71%
of companies suspect the
presence of modern slavery in
their supply chains. The actual
level of exposure is likely to be
much higher.
Source: Rathbone Greenbank ethical research team
Even leading companies
find it difficult to know
their supply chains:
Disposal
2
3
4
5
6
7
years
90%
Up to
of the
world’s electronic waste
is illegally traded or
dumped; much ends
up in West Africa.
On average, companies
audit 45%
of their direct suppliers,
but this drops off to
under 10%
at the third layer in
the supply chain.
9
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
rathbonegreenbank.com
Matt Crossman
Rathbone Greenbank
Matt has led Rathbone Greenbank’s engagement activity
since 2006 and also acts as Rathbones’ group corporate
governance manager. He is an expert in socially responsible
investment and corporate responsibility, and specialises in
the analysis of key social, environmental and governance
themes as they apply to a wide variety of industries.
The 2004 Morecambe Bay cockle picking tragedy
galvanised a wide range of concerned parties
(including NGOs, asset managers and civil society at
large) into reconsidering the ways in which companies
and investors could be mobilised in the fight against
modern slavery. Coordinating their efforts into a
unified push for legislative change, the result not only
demonstrated the effectiveness of collaborative action
in the financial community but also the supportive
power of the investor voice.
Main image: Morecambe Bay.
Above: House of Commons’ Grand Committee
Room as over a hundred business leaders, investors,
NGO representatives and members of both Houses
of Parliament gathered to express their support for
Transparency in Supply Chains (TISC) legislation to
form part of the final Modern Slavery Bill.
10
rathbonegreenbank.com
F
or Rathbone Greenbank, supply chain
transparency and respect for human
rights are fundamental issues that
are central to how the team has worked to
mobilise the financial community to help
make a difference.
Concerns about sweatshop labour and fairer
trade have been paramount from the outset,
but there was perhaps an idea that these were
issues that affected other parts of the world.
On 5 February 2004, that assumption was
challenged when 23 Chinese migrant workers
drowned while cockle picking in Morecambe
Bay. Pictures of those who died were
published, but the wider network of
criminals who trafficked them is invisible.
The tragedy prompted a change in thinking
about how some of the UK’s leading brands
might be exposed to hidden trafficking.
Several years were spent talking to some of
the big food retailers (such as Tesco, ASDA and
Morrisons) to understand how they intended
to combat this threat. In 2009, this culminated
in a report by the Ecumenical Council for
Corporate Responsibility on migrant workers,
which Rathbone Greenbank sponsored. From
this, it became clear that, while companies felt
a responsibility to address issues of modern
slavery, they felt they were lacking the tools to
make a significant difference.
At the time, the global revenue figure for illegal
forced labour was around $30bn. The recent
International Labour Organization estimate
of $150bn not only points to the severity and
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
direction of the problem, it also represents an
opportunity cost in lost taxes, which is keenly
felt in developing countries. So there’s a clear
alignment between the moral and financial
case against modern slavery, particularly
for those investing in emerging markets.
Companies and investors saw a need for
sector, even economy-level, action to tackle
modern slavery and recognised that it would
need regulation.
Voluntary efforts at that time had largely
stalled and nothing was going to change by
making the crime of modern slavery any
more illegal, so a fresh approach was sought.
This eventually came in the seemingly
unexciting form of a mandatory corporate
transparency law passed in California in
2010 requiring companies operating in the
state with a turnover greater than $100m
to report publicly on their efforts to combat
human trafficking. Companies were forced
to address the issue but were able to respond
appropriately and creatively in a way that
wasn’t burdensome. The first successes were
observed in the technology sector where
Apple and Samsung, in particular, began to
talk more openly about their supply chains.
Those results and the availability of new
information to investors prompted a
campaign for something similar in the UK.
In 2012, a private member’s bill was tabled in
parliament proposing to adopt the Californian
law and this was used as an opportunity
to write to the prime minister encouraging
support. While the bill was eventually rejected,
pressure was nevertheless building on the
government to begin developing modern
slavery legislation. Over the next year,
policymakers and companies continued to
talk and a draft bill was announced in the
summer of 2013.
In January 2014, Rathbone Greenbank
was invited to give evidence to a joint
select committee which showed how
much the investor voice was being heard
in efforts to move closer towards formal
legislation. As more colleagues from
the UK investment industry became
involved, the next level of engagement
calling for Transparency in Supply Chains
(TISC) legislation was backed by assets
worth £195bn. Alongside all the other
institutional voices calling for change, it
resulted in the announcement in October
2014 that a TISC clause would be included
in the forthcoming Modern Slavery Act.
Eventually, institutions with some £950bn
of assets under management supported
this important addition.
In keeping with the timeline of the
bill, Rathbones is conducting its own
company-wide supply chain audit via
a working group and will publish its
findings in 2017. If that process were to be
repeated in 12,000 companies in the UK,
considerable change could be achieved.
11
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
rathbonegreenbank.com
Louise Nicholls
Marks and Spencer Plc
Louise is head of responsible sourcing at Marks & Spencer
and oversees the strategic direction of its food sustainability
programme. She works on issues such as ethical trade, water
stewardship, global community programmes, lean manufacturing
and sustainable raw material procurement. Louise travels widely
as part of her job, meeting with suppliers and local stakeholders
to understand their issues and perspectives.
Marks & Spencer has long been an advocate for, and
a practitioner of, ethical business. Initiatives like its
Look Behind The Label marketing campaign and the
sustainability-focused Plan A provide evidence of its
ongoing social and environmental commitments. Here,
delegates learned that the company is also dedicated to
the responsible use of labour in its global supply chain.
W
hile supply chain risks are increasing
in parts of the world, the unprecedented
use of social media can help us to
identify and address occurrences sooner.
The aftermath of the collapse of the Rana
Plaza building in Bangladesh in 2013, which
resulted in the loss of 1,130 lives, was screened
on YouTube within seven minutes. So many
people have access to digital devices around
the world that news of such disasters spreads
immediately, enabling us all to be witnesses
to the impact of poor business standards on
people’s lives — and perhaps identifying more
quickly the necessary steps for businesses to
adopt. This immediacy is rapidly changing the
way people think about risk.
M&S works to mitigate its own risks through
a structure of basic compliance. M&S has
operated an ethical audit programme since
the 1990s which sets out what the company
expects from every one of its suppliers.
For example, in the case of third-party labour
provision, is the provider properly licensed
to operate and supply labour? Likewise, these
expectations are applicable to its raw materials
supply chains. M&S has also been a member
of the Ethical Trading Initiative since the 1990s,
uniting the collaborative efforts of businesses,
12
trade unions and NGOs to tackle the root
causes of irresponsible practice. Of the 1,200
audits it conducted in the last year, M&S found
14 instances of forced labour with passports
being withheld and fees being charged,
pushing victims further into indebtedness.
In response, efforts have focused on going
vulnerable during seasonal peaks as amply
demonstrated by the agricultural supply
chain. Some very knowledgeable NGOs in
the field are mapping the trafficking risks as
they’re identified. Through this knowledge,
M&S is working to disaggregate risk,
identifying which countries and sectors are
Of the 1,200 audits it conducted in the last year, M&S found 14 instances
of forced labour with passports being withheld and fees being charged,
pushing victims further into indebtedness.
beyond audit: to build and support capability
and capacity in supply chains; to prove the
economic necessity in each business case
for investing in people; and to draw the link
between that investment and increased
productivity and environmental benefit.
Those that take this journey with the
company are rewarded with more business.
While intelligence could be better, there’s a lot
that’s already been learned: high-risk industries
and geographies have been identified; people
targeted for trafficking in supply chains are
often low-paid, low-skilled and are most
sourcing forced labour, and helping partner
businesses to identify and mitigate their
own risks.
M&S has also been involved in the
formation of voluntary schemes like the
Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA),
writing guidance for responsible labour
provision and helping to provide thirdparty labour suppliers with a means to
participate in legislation and improve
long-term partnerships.
rathbonegreenbank.com
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
More recently, the M&S’ Stronger Together
initiative has brought together a coalition of
businesses and NGOs to promote awareness
and offer in-depth training on how to spot the
signs of hidden risk. As of March 2016, it had
run 49 educational workshops for 1,200 people
across 550 organisations. Ethical exchanges are
also run on a quarterly basis for HR directors
as well as global conferences to share findings
and improve intelligence networks.
In June 2016, M&S will publish its first
human rights report along with its annual
modern slavery statement. It will also share
a map of its food and clothing supply chains
identifying reliable sources to overlay other
intelligence maps as well as reissuing some
labour guidance that extends to the whole of
its international supply base. Buying teams
continue to be informed through ethical
training. As co-chair of the Consumer Goods
Forum sustainability group, M&S has worked
with Unilever over the past 18 months
to create a coalition of consumer goods
companies committed to tackling forced
labour together.
The Modern Slavery Act is a ‘gamechanger’
particularly in regard to supply chains.
Many suppliers have never had to report to
their investors on their commitment to ethical
trading before and they’re asking themselves
a lot of questions. It’s therefore important to
stand behind those suppliers who uncover
instances of illegal trafficking. One of our
chicken suppliers did just that, reporting their
findings to the GLA — despite an unfortunate
misreporting of the facts, it nevertheless
resulted in the imprisonment of the
criminals involved.
13
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
Steve Chalke
in conversation
with Matt Crossman
At the moment we’re
raising awareness, but
we’ve got to go beyond
that to damage and,
eventually, destroy
the business of
modern slavery
14
rathbonegreenbank.com
rathbonegreenbank.com
MC You mentioned your early experiences in India — how
have things developed over the years with the work
you’ve done out there?
SC Stop the Traffik has worked so hard over the years
in concert with many other agencies and charities.
It’s that coordination that drives the work there
forward and through it we’ve realised two things.
Firstly, that the mobilisation of communities is central
to making a real difference. You need small community
groups and industries thinking about employment
policies and strategies on the ground and we think
this process is starting to happen.
Secondly, it’s the understanding that we’ve got to
get connected. We’ve got to get our efforts joined up
because we can’t win the battle otherwise. Sometimes
I look at all the good things going on around me and
think life’s a bit like a luxury liner, but I know that it
shouldn’t be. It should be like a battleship because
we’re at war. Millions of children around the world
woke up to slavery this morning so we have to work
together to win this war.
MC How do you see companies and their investors
becoming part of that connected solution?
SC To know what their product is. To know what they’re
investing in. To know what the labourers building their
offices are being paid. To know who’s supplying the
labour to clean them. To know about all the creative
steps in the development of their products, services
and supply chains. The Modern Slavery Act creates the
obligation to be proactive and transparent, but it needs
to be taken seriously.
MC If we had the means to take you back to the founding
of Stop the Traffik, is there anything you’d tell yourself
that you’ve learned since? Any mistakes you’d avoid?
SC I think I’d go back a lot further — to the battle to end
the transatlantic slave trade that William Rathbone IV
was so involved in. What a proud history that is!
An interesting thing about the campaign of abolitionists
like William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect was the
length of time it took to get a result: Wilberforce’s original
bill was rejected 19 times by parliament before it went
through. One of the things he realised in that time was
the need to build coalitions with the industrialists he’d
previously battled against, to begin putting forward the
economic case for ending slavery — a fact that’s often
forgotten. The great initiative that Rathbone Greenbank’s
taking forward here needs to highlight the economic
arguments for ending modern slavery: that ethical
business is good business. William Rathbone IV clearly
made that distinction, and if you took me back to
Greenbank Investor Day 2016
where I started, I would’ve made contact with the
business community sooner.
MC Understanding the need to coordinate, and with the
issues explained to us in such stark terms, how do you
get through those darker days when it doesn’t feel like
your efforts are making a difference?
SC Someone said to me once that success in life is
three days either side of two crises! Like most of us
struggling against something, I often feel defeated
— I’m too old, too small or I don’t have enough
insight — but I still believe it’s extraordinary what we
can achieve if we work together. Individual autonomy
is our greatest enemy: the belief that I should have
a vision for ending modern slavery or poverty or for
reforming education. You have to learn to suppress
the need to be in control, to understand that your
individuality can thrive in diverse community
environments like the one that’s gathered here today.
I once spoke to someone from Homeland Security in
New York who told me that they could easily end the
drugs trade in the city if only the agencies operating
inside it would share the information they had, but
nobody at that time was willing to.
MC Collective action has really been the inspiration
behind our campaign for supply chain transparency.
As investors, what signs do we need to look out for to
know we’re reaching a tipping point on the issue of
modern slavery?
SC I think in Maria Costa’s terms, when we have a
book of trusted, intelligence-led research we can all
understand, share and work together with. We have
to reach a place where we find out enough about what
we don’t know to start building a picture of what we
do know. We’ve got to work smarter to get to that point
where we can say with confidence that we’re making
a visible dent. At the moment we’re raising awareness,
but we’ve got to go beyond that to damage and,
eventually, destroy the business of modern slavery.
Get the STOP APP – End Trafficking:
stopthetraffik.org/uk/page/the-stop-app
15
Contact us
Rathbone Greenbank Investments provides personalised and
professional investment services for investors who wish to ensure
that their investments take account of their environmental, social
and ethical concerns.
For further information on the services that we provide, or to arrange
a meeting, please contact us.
Call us on:
0117 930 3000
For more information, please visit:
rathbonegreenbank.com
or email:
[email protected]
Our UK offices:
Bristol
Liverpool
London
Rathbones has offices in:
Aberdeen | Birmingham | Bristol | Cambridge | Chichester | Edinburgh | Exeter
Glasgow | Kendal | Liverpool | London | Lymington | Newcastle | Winchester
For international investment services, Rathbones has an office in Jersey.*
For private circulation only.
This document is published by Rathbone Investment Management as a service and does not constitute a solicitation,
nor a personal recommendation for the purchase or sale of any investment; investments or investment services
referred to may not be suitable for all investors. Therefore we recommend you consult your account executive
before taking any action. Rathbone Investment Management will not, by virtue of distribution of this document,
be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to customers or for advising on any
investment. The information and opinions expressed herein are considered valid at publication (March 2016) but are
subject to change without notice and their accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. No responsibility can
be accepted for errors of fact or opinion or for forecasts or estimates. Past performance is not necessarily indicative
of future performance and the price or value of investments, and the income derived from them, can go down
as well as up and an investor may get back less than the amount invested. Changes in the rates of exchange may
have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of or from an investment denominated in a foreign currency.
Investors should bear in mind the higher risk nature of smaller companies, that the markets in their securities may
be restricted and may be less regulated than the main markets. As a result, having bought the securities, it may be
difficult to sell them, assess their value or the extent of the risks to which they are exposed. Rathbone Investment
Management, and its associated companies, directors, representatives, employees and clients may have positions
in, be materially interested in or have provided advice or investment services in relation to the investments
mentioned or related investments and may act on research before it is published. Neither Rathbone Investment
Management nor any associated company, director, representative or employee accepts any liability for any direct
or consequential loss arising from the use of information contained in this document. The levels and basis of taxation
may change with future legislation. Unless otherwise specified, any chart and statistics are compiled by Rathbone
Investment Management.
*Rathbone Investment Management International is the Registered Business Name of Rathbone Investment
Management International Limited which is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission. Registered office:
26 Esplanade, St. Helier, Jersey JE1 2RB. Company Registration No. 50503. Rathbone Investment Management
International Limited is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. Rathbone
Investment Management International Limited is not subject to the provisions of the UK Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000 and the Financial Services Act 2012; and, investors entering into investment agreements with
Rathbone Investment Management International Limited will not have the protections afforded by that Act or the
rules and regulations made under it, including the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme. This document is
not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purpose or sale of any financial instrument by Rathbone Investment
Management International Limited.
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The FSCS can pay compensation to investors if
a bank is unable to meet its financial obligations. For further information (including the amounts covered and the
eligibility to claim) please refer to the FSCS website www.fscs.org.uk or call 020 7892 7300 or 0800 678 1100.
Rathbone Investment Management Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rathbone Brothers Plc.
No part of this document may be reproduced in any manner without prior permission. © 2016 Rathbone Investment
Management Limited. All rights reserved. Rathbone Greenbank Investments is a trading name of Rathbone
Investment Management Limited, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the
Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered office: Port of Liverpool Building,
Pier Head, Liverpool L3 1NW. Registered in England No. 01448919.
It is important to us that all materials used in the production of this document are environmentally sustainable.
The paper is FSC® certified and contains 100% post consumer waste and is manufactured at a mill accredited with
ISO 14001 environmental management standard. The pulp used in this product is bleached using an Elemental
Chlorine Free process (ECF).