Modern Slavery Transparency Statement

Multivac UK is one of 85 international daughter companies of the Multivac group, a market-leading packaging solutions provider. Since our inception in 1985, Multivac UK has supplied goods and services to the UK Market. Our primary business activity is in the sale of capital equipment, consumable materials and technical services into the food and medical industries. 

At the core of our business, we support the creation of environments where all people are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect; we also expect our suppliers to operate in an ethical and legal manner in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.  

This statement details Multivac UK’s response to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for the financial year 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.  We have an active and ongoing commitment to preventing Modern Slavery in any of our business activities and our supply chain. As in previous years, we maintain confidence in having effective systems and controls in place to ensure that Modern Slavery does not exist within our own business. As such, we believe that all risks within our organisation have been substantially mitigated.

As an organisation, we continue to take steps to ensure that our suppliers meet our same high standards both locally and at a group level.

Training and Communication

We continue to use our bespoke e-learning module to raise awareness on the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act which is enrolled through our e-learning system to employees when they start employment with Multivac UK.  During the year we completed our annual review of the content to ensure that the content remains fit for purpose for our organisation, business activity and employee base. Our HR Department ensures training on Modern Slavery is completed by all new employees within their induction period so that they are familiar with our policy and process in this area early in their career with Multivac UK. 

Risk Assessments

As part of our ongoing due diligence, we have internal risk assessments established for annual review which ensure that we remain compliant and focused on addressing any Modern Slavery risks. One risk assessment covers our internal management of Modern Slavery within Multivac UK, and one covers our supply chain. These risk assessments are undertaken by HR and are supported by the Finance team who are responsible for supplier management. The scale used for these assessments are likelihood versus consequence which gives us a red (high), amber (medium) or green (low) output. Clearly, it is impossible to negate all risk with numerous risk factors outside of our control, however we are working to all risks being green, and therefore maintain a low risk level.

As in previous years, the risks in Multivac UK continue to be low due to the processes we have in place to address Modern Slavery and manage our supplier base more generally. Our Materials business unit continues to be the area of our business where we naturally have the highest potential exposure to Modern Slavery with film being a price-competitive commodity product. However, additional auditing measures through BRC audits strengthen the formality of both our internal processes and ongoing relationships with these suppliers. 

In this statement year, we are pleased to report that we have not been notified of any breaches or suspected breaches in relation to our supplier base. However, should we be notified, our internal process determines that the initial investigations would be undertaken by HR and the supplier contact, as well as the Multivac UK Senior Management Team.

Supplier Assessments

We have undertaken a full supplier assessment in the year. As in previous years, any suppliers with whom we have ceased to trade with are blocked in our systems in order that should we re-engage them, they undergo an up-to-date Modern Slavery assessment. Our new supplier approvals process has also been reviewed and remains compliant with the legislation.

As a market leading organisation, our organisational priority is always ensuring that the goods and services that we provide to our customers meet our highest quality standards. As part of our annual supplier assessment, it was established that just under 90% of our active suppliers are based in the UK and EU countries. We have a number of suppliers who operate outside of the EU but are part of the MULTIVAC Group. Wherever they are in the world, MULTIVAC Group subsidiaries are expected to adhere to the same high standards of compliance, code of conduct and governance as established by our Germany parent company, so can be considered to operate to EU standards when it comes to Modern Slavery. On this basis, the risk of trading with them is significantly mitigated by these expectations.  

Of those suppliers operating outside the UK, only 1.3% of our total current supplier list are based in non-EU countries and are not part of the MULTIVAC Group. For the purposes of transparency, the 5 suppliers that we work with outside of the EU and outside of the MULTIVAC Group are based in the United States, Switzerland, Turkey and India and they supply Multivac UK with printing equipment, cable, and film. Given that suppliers outside of the EU are deemed to pose a greater risk of Modern Slavery, we will continue to monitor these suppliers over the next 12 months. 

Each of our suppliers are reviewed for suitability prior to Multivac UK formally engaging them. As part of the approvals process, we will consider numerous factors, which will include elements such as: a review of the business relationship to date; organisational reputation; nature of goods or services supplied; markets and countries supplied to; nature of supplier review process and schedule established with them; financial value and frequency of supply; accreditations and compliance met. We will also factor government trade controls at the time of assessment to inform our reviews. 

As a business, we have identified that the supply of film potentially holds the greatest risk when it comes to Modern Slavery. We are proactive in closely managing our small number of film suppliers in line with BRC requirements and this year we again successfully passed another audit across the board. We hold regular reviews with our film suppliers to ensure a supply that is fit for our customers and suitable for our ongoing business relationships. Additional factors that are considered with regards to film suppliers extend to manufacturing sites to ensure their manufacturing processes and final products are suitable for the heavily regulated UK food and medical industries. 

Multivac Policy and Procedure

In this statement year, we have reviewed our Modern Slavery policy and associated procedures and can confirm that they remain fit for purpose within our organisation. This is inclusive of our internally published documentation for employee information and support. 

 

Our Modern Slavery email address continues to be in use for any external parties to contact us in relation to any concerns of Modern Slavery. For reference, the email address for this purpose is msa@multivac.co.uk. The mailbox continues to be monitored and all relevant correspondence will be handled in line with our Modern Slavery incident reporting procedure. 

This statement has been approved by Jim Campbell, Managing Director, Multivac UK on 8th July 2024. 

 

 

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Multivac UK is one of 85 international daughter companies of the Multivac group, a market-leading packaging solutions provider. Since our inception in 1985, Multivac UK has supplied goods and services to the UK Market. Our primary business activity is in the sale of capital equipment, consumable materials and technical services into the food and medical industries. At the core of our business, we support the creation of environments where all people are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect; we also expect our suppliers to operate in an ethical and legal manner in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. This statement details Multivac UK’s response to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for the financial year 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. We have an active and ongoing commitment to preventing Modern Slavery in any of our business activities and our supply chain. As in previous years, we maintain confidence in having effective systems and controls in place to ensure that Modern Slavery does not exist within our own business. As such, we believe that all risks within our organisation have been substantially mitigated. As an organisation, we continue to take steps to ensure that our suppliers meet our same high standards both locally and at a group level.

Training and Communication
We continue to use our bespoke e-learning module to raise awareness on the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act for all existing and new employees. During the year we completed our annual review of the content to ensure that the content remains fit for purpose for our organisation, business activity and employee base. Our HR Department ensures training on Modern Slavery is completed by all new employees within their induction period so that they are familiar with our policy and process in this area early in their career with Multivac UK. Existing employees’ complete refresher training each year.

Risk Assessments
As part of our ongoing due diligence, we have internal risk assessments established for annual review which ensure that we remain compliant and focused on addressing any Modern Slavery risks. One risk assessment covers our internal management of Modern Slavery within Multivac UK, and one covers our supply chain. These risk assessments are undertaken by HR and are supported by the Finance team who are responsible for supplier management. The scale used for these assessments are likelihood versus consequence which gives us a red (high), amber (medium) or green (low) output. Clearly, it is impossible to negate all risk with numerous risk factors outside of our control, however we are working to all risks being green, and therefore maintain a low risk level. As in previous years, the risks in Multivac UK continue to be low due to the processes we have in place to address Modern Slavery and manage our supplier base more generally. Our Materials business unit continues to be the area of our business where we naturally have the highest potential exposure to Modern Slavery with film being a price-competitive commodity product. However, additional auditing measures through BRC audits strengthen the formality of both our internal processes and ongoing relationships with these suppliers. In this statement year, we are pleased to report that we have not been notified of any breaches or suspected breaches in relation to our supplier base. However, should we be notified, our internal process determines that the initial investigations would be undertaken by HR and the supplier contact, as well as the Multivac UK Senior Management Team.

Supplier Assessments
We have undertaken a full supplier assessment in the year. As in previous years, any suppliers with whom we have ceased to trade with are blocked in our systems in order that should we re-engage them, they undergo an up-to-date Modern Slavery assessment. Our new supplier approvals process has also been reviewed and remains compliant with the legislation. As a market leading organisation, our organisational priority is always ensuring that the goods and services that we provide to our customers meet our highest quality standards. As part of our annual supplier assessment, it was established that just under 90% of our active suppliers are based in the UK and EU countries. We have a number of suppliers who operate outside of the EU but are part of the MULTIVAC Group. Wherever they are in the world, MULTIVAC Group subsidiaries are expected to adhere to the same high standards of compliance, code of conduct and governance as established by our Germany parent company, so can be considered to operate to EU standards when it comes to Modern Slavery. On this basis, the risk of trading with them is significantly mitigated by these expectations. Of those suppliers operating outside the UK, only 1.3% of our total current supplier list are based in non-EU countries and are not part of the MULTIVAC Group. For the purposes of transparency, the 5 suppliers that we work with outside of the EU and outside of the MULTIVAC Group are based in the United States, Switzerland, Turkey and India and they supply Multivac UK with printing equipment, cable, and film. Given that suppliers outside of the EU are deemed to pose a greater risk of Modern Slavery, we will continue to monitor these suppliers over the next 12 months. Each of our suppliers are reviewed for suitability prior to Multivac UK formally engaging them. As part of the approvals process, we will consider numerous factors, which will include elements such as: a review of the business relationship to date; organisational reputation; nature of goods or services supplied; markets and countries supplied to; nature of supplier review process and schedule established with them; financial value and frequency of supply; accreditations and compliance met. We will also factor government trade controls at the time of assessment to inform our reviews. As a business, we have identified that the supply of film potentially holds the greatest risk when it comes to Modern Slavery. We are proactive in closely managing our small number of film suppliers in line with BRC requirements and this year we again successfully passed another audit across the board. We hold regular reviews with our film suppliers to ensure a supply that is fit for our customers and suitable for our ongoing business relationships. Additional factors that are considered with regards to film suppliers extend to manufacturing sites to ensure their manufacturing processes and final products are suitable for the heavily regulated UK food and medical industries. Multivac Policy and Procedure In this statement year, we have reviewed our Modern Slavery policy and associated procedures and can confirm that they remain fit for purpose within our organisation. This is inclusive of our internally published documentation for employee information and support. Our Modern Slavery email address continues to be in use for any external parties to contact us in relation to any concerns of Modern Slavery. For reference, the email address for this purpose is msa@multivac.co.uk. The mailbox continues to be monitored and all relevant correspondence will be handled in line with our Modern Slavery incident reporting procedure. This statement has been approved by Jim Campbell, Managing Director, Multivac UK on 30 June 2022.

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Multivac UK is one of 85 international daughter companies of the Multivac group, a market-leading packaging solutions provider. Since our inception in 1985, Multivac UK has supplied goods and services to the UK Market. Our primary business activity is in the sale of capital equipment, consumable materials and technical services into the food and medical industries.
At the core of our business, we support the creation of environments where all people are treated with fairness, dignity and respect; we also expect our suppliers to operate in an ethical and legal manner in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
This statement details Multivac UK’s response to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for the financial year to December 2020. We have an active and ongoing commitment to preventing Modern Slavery in any of our business activities and our supply chain. As in previous years, we maintain confidence in having effective systems and controls in place to ensure that Modern Slavery does not exist within our own business. As such, we believe that all risks within our organisation have been substantially mitigated.
We commit on an ongoing basis to take steps to ensure that our suppliers meet our same high standards.

Training and Communication

We continue to use our on-line bespoke e-learning module to raise awareness on the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act for all existing and new employees. During the year we completed our annual review of the content to ensure that it remains relevant and up to date and the content is fit for purpose for our organisation. Our HR Department ensures training is completed and has continued to issue regular communication to employees of the key principles of Modern Slavery and identifying potential incidents.
All current employees have completed the bespoke e-learning module, and new starters complete this module as a requirement of their induction to the business which takes place in their first few weeks.

Risk Assessments

As part of our ongoing due diligence, we have internal risk assessments established for annual review which ensure that we remain compliant and focused on addressing any Modern Slavery risks. One risk assessment covers our internal management of Modern Slavery within Multivac UK, and one covers our supply chain. These risk assessments are undertaken by HR and are supported by the Finance team who are responsible for supplier management. The scale used for these assessments are likelihood versus consequence which gives us a red (high), amber (medium) or green (low) output. Clearly, it is impossible to negate all risk with numerous risk factors outside of our control, however we are working to all risks being green, and therefore maintain a low risk level.
As in previous years, the risks in Multivac UK continue to be low due to the processes we have in place to address Modern Slavery and manage our supplier base more generally. Our Materials business unit would naturally be the area where we have the highest potential exposure to Modern Slavery with film being a price-competitive commodity product, however additional auditing measures through BRC audits strengthen the formality of our processes and relationships with these suppliers.
In this statement year, we are pleased to report that we have not been notified of any breaches or suspected breaches in relation to our supplier base. However, should we be notified, our internal process determines that the initial investigations would be undertaken by HR and the supplier contact, as well as the Multivac UK Senior Management Team.

Supplier Assessments

We undertook a full supplier assessment in the year. As in previous years, any suppliers with whom we have ceased to trade are blocked in our systems in order that should we re-engage them they undergo an up to date Modern Slavery assessment. Our new supplier approvals process has also been reviewed and remains compliant with the legislation.
As a market leading organisation, our organisational priority is always ensuring that the goods and services that we provide our customers meet our high quality standards
At our annual supplier assessment, over 90% of our active suppliers are based in the UK, with our remaining suppliers based predominantly in the EU. This significantly reduces risk in our supply chain as our suppliers will be upholding laws, standards and compliance that we are also expected to do as a business in the UK. Of the suppliers based in countries outside of the EU, the majority of these suppliers are part of the MULTIVAC group of companies and therefore operate within the MULTIVAC code of conduct as established by our German parent company. On this basis, the risk of trading with them is significantly mitigated by these expectations.
Each of our suppliers are reviewed for suitability prior to Multivac UK formally engaging them. As part of the approvals process, we will consider numerous factors, which will include elements such as: a review of the business relationship to date; organisational reputation; nature of goods or services supplied; markets and countries supplied to; nature of supplier review process and schedule established with them; financial value and frequency of supply; accreditations and compliance met. We will also factor government trade controls at the time of assessment to inform our reviews.
As a business, we have identified that the supply of films potentially holds the greatest risk when it comes to Modern Slavery. We are proactive in closely managing our small number of film suppliers in line with BRC requirements and this year we again successfully passed another audit across the board. We hold regular reviews with our film suppliers to ensure a supply that is fit for our customers and suitable for our ongoing business relationships. Additional factors that are considered with regards to film suppliers extend to manufacturing sites to ensure their products are suitable for the heavily regulated UK food and medical industries.

Multivac Policy and Procedure

In this statement year, we have reviewed our Modern Slavery policy and associated procedures and can confirm that they remain fit for purpose within our organisation. This is inclusive of our internally published documentation for employee information and support.
Our Modern Slavery email address continues to be in use for any external parties to make contact with us in relation to any concerns of Modern Slavery. For reference, the email address for this purpose is msa@multivac.co.uk. The mailbox continues to be monitored and all relevant correspondence will be handled in line with our Modern Slavery incident reporting procedure.
This statement has been approved by Jim Campbell, Managing Director Multivac UK on 29 June 2021.

 

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Multivac UK is one of 85 international daughter companies of the Multivac group; a market-leading packaging solutions provider. Since our inception in 1985, Multivac UK has supplied goods and services to the UK Market. Our primary business activity is in the sale of capital equipment, consumable materials and technical services into the food and medical industries.

At the core of our business, we support the creation of environments where all people are treated with fairness, dignity and respect; we also expect our suppliers to operate in an ethical and legal manner in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. 

This statement details Multivac UK’s response to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 during the financial year 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. This statement demonstrates our active and ongoing commitment to preventing Modern Slavery in any of our business activities and our supply chain. As in previous years, we maintain confidence in having effective systems and controls in place to ensure that Modern Slavery does not exist within our own business. As such, we believe that all risks within our organisation have been substantially mitigated.

We commit to continuing to take steps to ensure that our suppliers meet our same high standards.


Training and Communication
Following the launch of our bespoke e-learning module for Multivac UK on Modern Slavery (detailed in our previous statement), we have completed our annual review of the content to ensure that it remains relevant and up to date with legislation as well as the content being fit for purpose for our internal teams. The HR Department is responsible for training and communication for employees in relation to Modern Slavery. In addition to our bespoke e-learning module, we have scheduled internal comms that go out quarterly to remind all employees of the key principles of Modern Slavery and identifying potential incidents.

All current employees have completed the bespoke e-learning module, and new starters complete this module as a requirement of their induction to the business which takes place in their first few weeks.


Risk Assessments
As part of our ongoing due diligence, we have internal risk assessments established for annual review which ensure that we remain compliant and focused on addressing any Modern Slavery risks. One risk assessment covers our internal management of Modern Slavery within Multivac UK, and one covers our supply chain. These risk assessments are undertaken by HR and are supported by the Finance team who are responsible for supplier management. The scale used for these assessments are likelihood versus consequence which gives us a red (high), amber (medium) or green (low) output. Clearly, it is impossible to negate all risk with numerous risk factors outside of our control, however we are working to all risks being green, and therefore maintain a low risk level.

As in previous years, the risks in Multivac UK continue to be low due to the processes we have in place to address Modern Slavery and manage our supplier base more generally. Our Materials business unit would naturally be the area where we have the highest potential exposure to Modern Slavery with film being a price-competitive commodity product, however additional auditing measures through BRC audits strengthen the formality of our processes and relationships with these suppliers.

In this statement year, we are pleased to report that we have not been notified of any breaches or suspected breaches in relation to our supplier base. However, should we be notified, our internal process determines that the initial investigations would be undertaken by HR and the supplier contact, as well as the Multivac UK Senior Management Team.


Supplier Assessments
We have undertaken another full supplier assessment to get an updated view on our current suppliers in 2020. As in previous years, any suppliers whom we have not conducted business with in the previous 12 months will be blocked in our systems by our Finance team in order that we re-engage them with an up to date Modern Slavery assessment. Our new supplier approvals process has also been reviewed at this time and remains compliant with the legislation.

As a market leading organisation, our organisational priority is always ensuring that the goods and services that we provide are of a high quality and are reputable. The same principle applies to goods or services we procure from our suppliers.

At our 2020 supplier assessment, 89% of our active suppliers are based in the UK, our remaining suppliers are based in the EU with only a small proportion (1.94%) being based outside of the EU. This significantly reduces risk in our supply chain as our suppliers will be upholding laws, standards and compliance that we are also expected to do as a business in the UK. Of the 11 suppliers based in countries outside of the EU, 8 of these suppliers are part of the MULTIVAC group of companies and therefore operate within the MULTIVAC code of conduct as established by our German parent company. On this basis, the risk of trading with them is significantly mitigated by these expectations. 

For the purposes of transparency, the 3 suppliers that we work with outside of the EU and outside of the MULTIVAC Group are based in the United States and Turkey, and they supply Multivac UK with IT product, cable and film. 2 of the 3 suppliers have Modern Slavery statements live on their corporate websites demonstrating their direct commitment to working in line with the Modern Slavery Act. Given that suppliers outside of the EU are deemed to pose a greater risk of Modern Slavery, we will continue to monitor these suppliers over the next 12 months.

Each of our suppliers are reviewed for suitability prior to Multivac UK formally engaging them. As part of the approvals process, we will consider numerous factors, which will include elements such as: a review of the business relationship to date; organisational reputation; nature of goods or services supplied; markets and countries supplied to; nature of supplier review process and schedule established with them; financial value and frequency of supply; accreditations and compliance met. We will also factor government trade controls at the time of assessment to inform our reviews.

As a business, we have identified that the supply of films potentially holds the greatest risk when it comes to Modern Slavery. This is because films are a commodity product, and the price is wholly determined by the global cost of resin which can be subject to the pressures of fluctuation. We are proactive in managing our small number of film suppliers in line with BRC requirements and this year we have successfully passed another audit across the board. We hold regular reviews with our film suppliers to ensure a supply that is fit for our customers and suitability for our ongoing business relationship. Additional factors that are considered with regards to film suppliers extend to manufacturing sites to ensure their products are suitable for the heavily regulated UK food and medical industries. As an organisation, we continue to operate on the basis that if we would not feel proud to take a customer to a film factory visit, they are not supplying Multivac UK or our customers.


Multivac Policy and Procedure
In this statement year, we have reviewed our Modern Slavery policy and associated procedures and can confirm that they remain fit for purpose within our organisation. This is inclusive of our internally published documentation for employee information and support.

Our Modern Slavery email address continues to be in use for any external parties to make contact with us in relation to any concerns of Modern Slavery. For reference, the email address for this purpose is msa(at)multivac.co.uk. The mailbox continues to be monitored and all relevant correspondence will be handled in line with our Modern Slavery incident reporting procedure.

This statement has been approved by Jim Campbell, Managing Director Multivac UK on 19 June 2020.


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Multivac UK is one of 85 international daughter companies of the Multivac group; a market-leading packaging solutions provider. Since our inception in 1985, Multivac UK has supplied goods and services to the UK Market. Our primary business activity is in the sale of capital equipment, consumable materials and technical services.

At the core of our business, we support the creation of environments where all people are treated with fairness, dignity and respect; we also expect our suppliers to operate in an ethical and legal manner in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

This statement details Multivac UK’s response to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 during the financial year 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. This statement demonstrates our active and ongoing commitment to preventing Modern Slavery in any of our business activities and our supply chain. We believe we have effective systems and controls in place to ensure that Modern Slavery does not exist within our own business. As such, we believe that all risks within our organisation have been substantially mitigated.
We commit to continuing to take steps to ensure that our suppliers meet our same high standards.

Training and Communication

The HR Department is responsible for training and communication for employees in relation to Modern Slavery. A big focus for Multivac UK in this statement year has been on educating our employees on Modern Slavery. We created a bespoke e-learning module for our employees which is built around industry-focused case studies in order to bring to life the realities of Modern Slavery. Our training also includes content on;

•    Key facts and data on Modern Slavery today;
•    Definitions on all crimes associated with Modern Slavery;
•    The signs of Modern Slavery and what to look for;
•    Information on the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the law;
•    Information and links to Multivac UK’s policy and associated procedures
•    Links to the Modern Slavery Helpline;
•    Clarity on employee responsibilities in relation to Modern Slavery.

This e-learning has been completed and passed in full by all existing employees, and we continue to utilise the e-learning module as core part of on-boarding with any new joiners to the business. HR will be responsible for the ongoing monitoring of completed e-learning by new joiners. The module is planned to be completed within the induction period which typically ranges from four  to six weeks dependant on role.

As a follow up to the e-learning module, we are going to send 2 email communications per year to all employees with some current statistics and relevant cases relating to Modern Slavery in the UK. These are scheduled for July 2019 and February 2020. The purpose of this will be to reiterate the challenges Modern Slavery continues to present in our core markets. We will also use these employee communications as an opportunity to remind our employees of our internal policies and procedures that are in place in relation to Modern Slavery and also to keep it a current topic.

Risk Assessments

As part of our ongoing due diligence, we have internal risk assessments established for annual review which ensure that we remain compliant and focused on addressing any Modern Slavery risks. One risk assessment covers our internal management of Modern Slavery within Multivac UK, and one covers our supply chain. These risk assessments are undertaken by HR and are supported by the Finance team who are responsible for supplier management. The scale used for these assessments are likelihood versus consequence which gives us a red (high), amber (medium) or green (low) output. Clearly, it is impossible to negate all risk with numerous risk factors outside of our control, however we are working to all risks being green, and therefore maintain a low risk level.

As in previous years, the risks in Multivac UK have been low due to the processes we have in place to address Modern Slavery. The review undertaken in May 2019 has shown further improvements in our management processes based on increased internal awareness of Modern Slavery, employee communications and developments made to our internal processes over time.

Furthermore, we have not been notified of any breaches or suspected breaches in the statement year in relation to our supplier base. However, should we be notified, the initial investigations would be undertaken by HR in conjunction with the commercial contact who is responsible for the supplier and the Senior Management Team.

Supplier Assessments

We have undertaken another full supplier assessment to get an updated view on our current suppliers in 2019. As in previous years, any suppliers whom we have not conducted business with in the previous 12 months will be blocked in our systems. Should we reengage them as suppliers, they will go through our new supplier process and be appropriately assessed for their commitment to Modern Slavery. All staff involved in the new supplier approval process have received training on the potential risks of Modern Slavery when approving a new supplier for business.

As a market leading organisation, our organisational priority is always ensuring that the goods and services that we provide are of a high quality and are reputable. The same principle applies to goods or services we procure from our suppliers.

At our 2019 supplier assessment, 90% of our active suppliers are based in the UK, and of these, 99.3% are based in the EU. This significantly reduces risk in our supply chain as our suppliers will be upholding laws, standards and compliance that we are also expected to do as a business in the UK. 14 suppliers currently registered in our system are based in countries outside of the EU. 8 of these are daughter companies of MULTIVAC and are therefore expected to be operating within the MULTIVAC code of conduct as established by our German parent company. Therefore the risks of Modern Slavery are significantly mitigated.  Of the remaining 6 suppliers outside of the EU, 2 have not passed pre-engagement supplier assessments so can be discounted from our active supplier number.
For the purposes of transparency, the remaining 4 suppliers outside of the EU are based in the United States, Switzerland and Turkey, and supply Multivac UK with IT products, cable and film. Given that suppliers outside of the EU potentially pose a greater risk of Modern Slavery, we will take steps to review these suppliers as our first priority in the next 12 months. It should be noted that on initial review of these 4 suppliers based outside of the EU, 2 have made public commitments of adherence to the Modern Slavery Act on their websites.

In our deep-dive review of suppliers outside of the EU, we will consider numerous factors in our assessments, which will include but will not be limited to: a review of the business relationship to date; organisational reputation; nature of goods or services supplied; markets and countries supplied to; nature of supplier review process and schedule established with them; financial value and frequency of supply; accreditations and compliance met. We will also factor government trade controls at the time of assessment to inform all of our reviews.

As a business, we have identified that the supply of films potentially holds the greatest risk when it comes to Modern Slavery. This is because films are a commodity product, and the price is wholly determined by the global cost of resin. The potential for fluctuation in the cost of resin risks adding a level of pressure to the market which in turn can squeeze or compromise the supply chain. We are proactive in managing our small number of film suppliers in line with BRC requirements. We hold regular reviews with them to review performance, forecast future supply needs, proactively discuss expectations, and to maintain a good working relationship. Further to the above business factors that we consider when engaging suppliers generally, when we are engaging with film suppliers, we are also reviewing their film production sites to determine the quality of their environment, infrastructure and suitability to supply material fit for our markets. Based on the principle of only engaging in high quality reputable goods and services, it is our highest priority to ensure that the quality of the films that our suppliers produce are fit for our customers use, meaning that traceability, hygiene and quality are of paramount importance. If we would not feel proud to take a customer to a film factory visit, they are not supplying Multivac UK.

Following a thorough assessment of our high priority suppliers, we will engage with our remaining active suppliers to ensure their ongoing commitment to the principles and practices for the prevention of Modern Slavery. Our approach will be to review suppliers on a level of risk basis. For example, those with whom we have a high value spend or those whom we have less of an intimate relationship. We will continue to capture responses from suppliers in our internal systems. We will prioritise review of our suppliers providing commodity products first as the nature of this type of supply has the potential to carry more risk.

Multivac Policy and Procedure
In this statement year, we have reviewed our Modern Slavery policy and associated procedures and can confirm that they remain fit for purpose within our organisation. This is inclusive of our internally published documentation for employee information and support.

Our Modern Slavery email address continues to be in use for any external parties to make contact with us in relation to any concerns of Modern Slavery. For reference, the email address for this purpose is msa(at)multivac.co.uk . The mailbox is continues to be closely monitored and all relevant correspondence will be handled in line with our Modern Slavery incident reporting procedure.
This statement has been approved by Jim Campbell, Managing Director Multivac UK on 28 May 2019.

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Multivac UK is one of 71 international daughter companies of the Multivac group; one of the worldwide leading packaging solutions providers. At the core of our business, we support the creation of environments where all people are treated with fairness, dignity and respect; we also expect our suppliers to operate in an ethical and legal manner in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. As such, we believe that the risks of Modern Slavery within our business have been substantially mitigated as a result of our approach, values and internal policies.

Since our inception in 1985, Multivac UK has supplied goods and services to the UK Market. This statement details Multivac UK’s response to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to preventing Modern Slavery in any of our business activities and our supply chain. We believe we have effective systems and controls in place to ensure that Modern Slavery does not exist within our own business and have taken action and planned future steps to ensure that our suppliers meet our same high standards. 

In the last 12 months, we have taken an extensive review our suppliers, and reduced our active supplier base to those whom we have conducted business with in the last 12 months. All dormant suppliers have been removed from our systems. This enables us to take a targeted approach to ensuring our active suppliers are committed to the Modern Slavery Act. At the point of engagement, all new suppliers will be expected to declare their commitment to the Modern Slavery Act prior to approval. To support this process, all internal stakeholders have been specifically advised of the risks of Modern Slavery when approving a new supplier for business.

At our 2018 supplier assessment, 88% of our active suppliers are based in the UK, and 99.3% are based in the EU. Just 4 of our active suppliers are based in countries outside of the EU. Given that suppliers outside of the EU potentially pose a greater risk of Modern Slavery, we will take steps to review these suppliers as our highest priority in the next 12 months. Following that, we will engage with our remaining active suppliers to ensure their commitment. In the last 12 months, we have built an internal process to effectively capture this information for any future assessments.

Our supplier review process takes into account several factors including; the type of business relationship we have with the supplier; the product(s) being purchased; the financial value and regularity of the supply; as well consideration for the country and industry within which the supplier operates. We will be mindful of government trade controls at the time of assessment to inform all of our reviews. 

We have a Modern Slavery Policy in place which will enable us to manage our long term commitment and compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Part of our Policy is to provide a simple route for anyone to get in touch with Multivac UK with questions or concerns in relation to Modern Slavery. We have set up an email address for this purpose which is msa@multivac.co.uk. The mailbox is closely monitored and all relevant correspondence will be handled in line with our Modern Slavery incident reporting procedure. 

As part of our ongoing due diligence, we have an internal risk assessment in annual review which will help us to ensure that we remain compliant to the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, both now and in the future. Our risk assessment has been undertaken in conjunction with several internal departments, specifically those departments with direct contact and responsibility for our supplier and customer relationships. Currently, the risks in Multivac UK are low due to the processes we now have in place to address Modern Slavery.

Multivac UK will continue to promote internal awareness of Modern Slavery to all employees. We have created bespoke e-learning for our employees on Modern Slavery which uses industry-focused case studies in order to bring to life the realities of Modern Slavery. All new joiners to the business will undertake this training as part of their induction with us. For us, we believe it is key to equip our employees with both information and support should they have any concerns relating to slavery or human trafficking.

This statement has been approved by Jim Campbell, Managing Director Multivac UK on 30 June 2018.

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Multivac UK is one of 75 international daughter companies of the Multivac group; one of the worldwide leading packaging solutions providers. At the core of our business, we support the creation of environments where all people are treated with fairness, dignity and respect; we also expect our suppliers to operate in an ethical and legal manner in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. As such, we believe that the risks of Modern Slavery within our business have been substantially mitigated as a result of our approach, values and internal policies.

Since our inception in 1985, Multivac UK has supplied goods and services to the UK Market. This statement details Multivac UK’s response to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to preventing Modern Slavery in any of our business activities and our supply chain. We believe we have effective systems and controls in place to ensure that Modern Slavery does not exist within our own business and have taken action and planned future steps to ensure that our suppliers meet our same high standards. 

At the time of publication, our supply chain includes approximately 1,500 suppliers of which 99.7% are based in the UK and the EU. Of the remaining 0.3% suppliers who are based outside of the EU, we have not traded with since 2015. 

To date, we have reviewed our supplier profile at a high level and commit to a deeper risk assessment of our current suppliers over the next 12 months. We have defined our ‘current’ suppliers as those that we have traded in the 12 months prior to 30 June 2017. We intend to conduct our risk assessment taking into account several factors including; the type of business relationship we have with the supplier; the product(s) being purchased; the financial value and regularity of the supply; as well consideration for the country and industry within which the supplier operates. We will be mindful of government trade controls to inform our review. 

In respect of new suppliers, we have amended our new supplier process to include information on our commitment to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and our subsequent expectations of any new supplier before we will conduct business. All other suppliers will be reviewed in due course.

To demonstrate our long term commitment to the Modern Slavery Act; in conjunction with our existing policies, we have developed a Modern Slavery Policy to ensure internal transparency and awareness as well as due diligence processes that span our current and future supply chain. Our internal policies that align with the spirit of the Modern Slavery Act are, but are not limited to, Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure, Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedure, Equal Opportunities and Dignity at Work and Employee Code of Conduct. 

As part of our ongoing due diligence, we are building an internal risk assessment which reflects on our business response to Modern Slavery Act 2015 and will ensure that we remain compliant to the requirements of the Act both now and in the future. This risk assessment will also highlight any areas that are of high priority requiring a more urgent focus.

With experience in responding to change in UK law and policy writing, our HR team have taken responsibility for the coordination of Multivac UK’s response to Modern Slavery through policy and internal training. The risk assessment of Modern Slavery has been undertaken in conjunction with several internal departments, specifically those departments with direct contact and responsibility for our supplier and customer relationships. 

During 2017, we will raise internal awareness of Modern Slavery to all employees with particular focus on those employees in departments who are likely to be exposed to suppliers or customers of Multivac UK. It is intended that this awareness initiative will explain the basic principles of the Modern Slavery Act, our statement and actions taken to date. It will focus on what employees can do should they have any concerns relating to slavery or human trafficking issues and the support that is available to them both internally and externally. Following the initial awareness initiative, we will incorporate Modern Slavery awareness into our induction for new starters.

This statement has been approved by the John Lakin, Managing Director MUUK on 4 May 2017.