Opening Statement
The IET runs its activities with integrity. Modern slavery is a complex and multi-faceted crime and tackling it requires all of us to play a part. The IET is committed to preventing acts of modern slavery and human trafficking from occurring within its business and supply chain.
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires UK organisations with an annual turnover of £36m or more to report on the steps they are taking to ensure that modern slavery is not taking place in its supply chains, and published with a link to the home page on its website. This includes the IET.
Structure of the IET
The IET is one of the world’s largest engineering institutions with members all over the world. It is a body incorporated by Royal Charter, and is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission in England and Wales, and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. The IET’s charitable objects and purposes are as set out in section 3 of its Royal Charter. The IET is working to engineer a better world by inspiring, informing and influencing our members, engineers and technicians and all those impacted by the work of engineers. It does this through various channels including publications, events, conferences, networking and advice. As at the date this statement was approved, the IET had approximately 167,000 members in more than 150 countries around the world.
The IET has offices in the UK, China, Hong Kong, India and the USA. In 2019, it had a global income of approximately £65.5m and in 2019 employed an average of 646 people worldwide. Its activities are supported by over 4,000 volunteers worldwide.
In order to deliver its activities, the IET works with a range of suppliers, including publishing services, software services, catering and facilities management, and professional services.
Policies
The IET has an Anti-Slavery Policy in place and offers guidance on whistleblowing on its website at https://www.theiet.org/membership/career/ethics/whistleblowing-employers.cfm. In 2019 the IET undertook a risk assessment to identify areas of its supply chain which might be susceptible to slavery or human trafficking. The risk assessment considered both geographic and sector risk. It identified that as regards its operations and supply chains, catering and other services at its venues represented a risk, as did the use of certain outsourced services in India.
In 2016, the IET requested the relevant suppliers to confirm the measures they had in place to combat slavery and human trafficking. Since then, contracts with significant new suppliers, or new suppliers in sectors or countries where the risk of slavery is higher, include clauses regarding anti-slavery measures.
In 2019 the IET employed a dedicated Property and Procurement Manager whose roles includes overseeing the supplier process as part of its ongoing commitment to improving processes.
During 2019 the IET underwent a brand refresh, and due diligence was carried out on all merchandise providers.
The IET recognises the need to assess the risks of slavery or human trafficking. The IET also recognises that there may be gaps in visibility of supply chains and limitations in the tools used to identify risks. Addressing these is a complex task and therefore will take time and training to develop an effective framework. The IET will continue to look at training options during 2020.
To date, the IET has not found any instances of modern slavery in its operations or supply chain.
This statement was approved by the Board of Trustees on 19 March 2020.