The Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking is taking forward its supply chain recommendations. The work will be led by Alan Jope (formerly Unilever), Vindi Banga (UKGI) and John Schultz ( Executive Vice President and Chief Operating & Legal Officer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise). This work will play a central role in strengthening private sector engagement and advancing efforts to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking globally.

The Commission’s recent report highlights that businesses are both affected by and instrumental in addressing modern slavery. It calls on companies to move beyond compliance-based approaches towards proactive leadership and accountability, integrating human rights due diligence into all aspects of corporate strategy and governance.

In line with the Commission's call for proactive leadership and accountability, a key focus of the Business Outreach work is strengthening Board engagement on modern slavery. When Boards actively oversee forced labour risks, remediation and prevention, they strengthen governance, drive accountability, and elevate the issue to a business priority.

This goes beyond current legislative requirements, which are often limited to Board approval and sign-off of statements and disclosures, and instead calls for active oversight and sustained engagement on the issue. By promoting stronger Board-level leadership, the Commission aims to help drive more effective action on forced labour across global supply chains.