Modern slavery is rampant and growing across the globe, with almost twice as many people working under forced labor conditions today as were brought to the Americas during three centuries of the Atlantic slave trade. Embedded in almost everything we consume, human trafficking and slavery exist in a variety of forms, including debt bondage, sex trafficking, prison labor, and forced servitude. Politicians, lawyers, and the public have slowly started to recognize its pervasiveness and are calling for companies to do their part to end this inexcusable exploitation.  

Using Shareholder Power: By utilizing the financial power of shareholders to ensure their corporate investments are not at risk due to company ignorance of, or indirect support for, human trafficking and slavery, we have the opportunity to halt a major flow of capital that sustains these abusive practices and redirect it toward ethical and empowering employment. Over the past two decades, dozens of organizations have engaged with and spurred change at corporations on a variety of issues related to human trafficking. These initiatives include Immokalee tomato works in Florida, Uzbek Cotton Pledge, Global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking (GBCAT), and SDG Alliance 8.7.

The Process: The shareholder engagement process begins with identifying strategic targets for engagement. We focus on the largest companies in a sector, because victories will be high-profile and will impact the rest of the industry; companies that have the most well-known brands, because they are vulnerable to media scrutiny and pressure; and/or companies that lag behind their peers, because they have both the most room and the most pressure to improve. First, we do original research or rely on trusted allies like Know the Chain to distinguish leaders from laggards. We then engage company management directly in dialogue. If that does not lead to acceptable progress, we develop resolution language and escalate by filing a formal resolution with the company. We then reach out to institutional investors, media outlets, and proxy analysts in a comprehensive campaign to raise awareness about the issue and our resolution, and to encourage a “yes” vote; we defend the resolution at the SEC if the target company files a “no-action” challenge; we present the resolution in person at the company’s annual general meeting; we conduct post-vote follow-up and outreach; and, if necessary to effect the change we seek, we prepare to repeat the following year, adjusting strategy, tactics, and targets as appropriate.

Engagements: As You Sow’s human rights program has a distinct brand: Responsible Sourcing Network, with deep expertise in the area of forced labor and slavery in supply chains. It aims to move entire industries by promoting solutions with multi-stakeholder networks comprised of investors, human rights groups, and corporations. Over the past several years we have also successfully encouraged specific actions by companies on slavery in supply chains by utilizing shareholder engagement and resolutions.

Conclusion: Slavery in supply chains is a material risk to companies and their shareholders. It can be dealt with through transparency and accountability, and a decisive shift in policies and practices. We encourage all companies to focus on this issue to eradicate slavery from their entire supply chains.