Modern Slavery Act 2015: Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
Introduction from the Chief Executive Officer
This Statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the Act) and sets out the steps that Lindström Oy (The Company), and its subsidiaries (together, Lindström group) have taken and will be taking to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any part of our business, or that of our supply chain.
The group is committed to running its business responsibly, striving to maintain high ethical principles and having respect for human rights. One of our core values is Responsibility – to act in a responsible way in everything we do, operating to the highest standards, respecting local cultures and acting according to local laws and regulations. We expect our suppliers and partners to follow the same principles. As part of this, we are aware of our legal and moral obligations towards combating forced, bonded or compulsory labour, human trafficking and other kinds of slavery and are committed to monitoring and improving our practices in this area on an ongoing basis.
The group does not knowingly conduct business with individuals, agencies or companies that
conduct, support, condone or facilitate slavery or human trafficking.
Our Business
Lindström is one of Europe’s leading textile service companies with over 170 years of experience in
the textile industry. We offer solutions for the cleanliness and interior design of facilities, corporate
clothing and protection. We employ over 4550 employees, operate from over 80 locations in 23
countries across Europe and Asia and our group revenue for the year ending December 2020 was
€388m.
Our Policy on Slavery and Human Trafficking
We are committed throughout the group to high standards of corporate governance and believe in
behaving responsibly in all our actions. We are committed to supporting the UN’s Sustainable
Development goals, and in particular Goal 8: to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Our goal is to grow in a
sustainable manner and take care of the wellbeing of all our employees. In addition we demand
responsible practices from all our suppliers.
As part of this commitment, we are committed to enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure
slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our business or in our supply chain. Our Code of
Conduct requires all employees and partners to act with the highest degree of integrity and morality
and understand and comply with all relevant laws and legal systems of the respective countries we
operate in.
Our Supply Chain
Our main suppliers are located in Asia (China, Malaysia and Pakistan), the EU and Africa
(Madagascar), though we also source locally in India for our operations there. We carefully evaluate
each of our suppliers before starting co-operation and will only partner with companies that act
responsibly and commit to our ethical policies.
Employees
All new employees are subject to pre-employment checks to confirm their identity and eligibility to
work in the UK prior to them starting work in Lindström Ltd. Information is provided to all
employees on their statutory rights including sick pay, holiday pay and any other benefits they may
be entitled to by virtue of their employment. We pay all directly employed labour at least the living
or minimum wage, as relevant. Where recruitment agencies are used, we ensure they comply with
all legal requirements. These procedures collectively help to address our on-going commitment to
protect our employees’ human rights and the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory
labour.
Steps taken during 2020
A full review and update of both our Employee and Supplier codes of conduct has been carried out in previous years.
These have been amalgamated to further ensure basic human rights of employees, (including
freedom from forced labour), prohibition of child labour and health and safety of employees, it has
also been expanded to incorporate human trafficking.
A whistleblowing process was rolled out across the global company, with a procedure in place to
ensure these concerns are followed up. An internal link is placed on our intranet site for employees
to access and the group website also has a link to an online form sent to our nominated Senior
Management members. This information has been refreshed for employees and managers.
Further steps and Due Diligence
Our focus on modern slavery and human trafficking is part of a larger effort towards supply chain
transparency and accountability. We believe that our suppliers and other third parties should work
in accordance with our ethical standards and require that their supply chain also complies. As part of
any tender process, we require prospective suppliers to sign our Supplier Code of Conduct, which
requires compliance with the Modern Slavery Act and will not progress to working with any supplier
who doesn’t comply with the Act.
We evaluate our suppliers on the basis of operational risk and the risks associated with the suppliers
themselves. In the country risk mapping, we evaluate, among other things, the level of Government
oversight of the contracting countries, human rights issues, the use of child labour and the level of
corruption. We carry out audits of key suppliers according to the annual audit plan, we are
systematically following any possible shortcomings and correcting them. Approximately one third of
our textile purchases come from China, Pakistan and Madagascar, which we have classified as risk
countries. We mitigate our risks during the initial supplier assessments and regular audits, all
suppliers must discuss in detail the meanings of the points in the code of conduct and discussions
are registered on our purchasing database. During pre-audits of prospective suppliers and audits of
existing suppliers, we check all workforce related issues such as working conditions and employment
documentation.
Training currently exists for all procurement teams regarding actions and this is constantly evolving,
we are developing the training for appropriate levels in the procurement and supply chain team as
well as management. It will, amongst other topics cover modern slavery and human trafficking and
includes information of where prominent risks lie and how individuals can identify and prevent this.
Wellbeing is of high importance to us at Lindström and we are continually reviewing methods to
ensure not only that our employees’ basic human rights are met, but to also ensure that their
wellbeing is catered for in employment practices wherever possible.
We believe that the risks of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking within our own organisation and
our supply chain are mitigated as a result of our strong sense of vision and purpose, cultural values
and commitment to ethical behaviour along with our commitments for future actions, however we
are not complacent and will continue to develop our practices and work with our suppliers and
contractors to ensure they hold the same values as us.
Approval by the Directors
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and was approved
by the Lindström Oy Board of directors and signed on its behalf by
Juha Laurio
Chief Executive Officer
Lindström Group