Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement 2021-22
On this page
Introduction • Our commitment • Our structure • Our supply chain risks • Action plan • Review and approval • Previous statements
Introduction
Sheffield Hallam University, (the “University”), is one of the largest universities in the UK. With 35,000 students, 4700 employees and a turnover of £300million, Sheffield Hallam as a civic university, has a key role to play in transforming lives, not only for its students and employees but in ensuring that we drive improvements in our wider community regarding inequality, fairness and environmental responsibility. The University supports the UK Government's Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The University follows the principles in the "Preparing a Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement: Guidance for Higher Education" published in October 2018, (updated November 2019). The University entered the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact rankings in 2021, in which Universities are ranked on the impact they have on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Included is a ranking on SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, in which we provide evidence of our commitment to “no forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking or child labour. The University ranked 73rd in the world (of 685 submissions) for its impact against this SDG.
Our commitment
We recognise that our mission to “transform lives” extends far beyond the work we do to prepare our students for extraordinary futures and to produce innovative applied research. We take our mission to mean that we have a responsibility to our city, region, nation, and world to be a transformative university in all that we do, whether through our employment strategies, our community engagement, or our purchasing and procurement practices. As part of that mission, the University is committed to protecting human rights through our overt actions and through our indirect effect on the lives of people the university engages. We understand modern slavery to be a crime against humanity that requires the full commitment of all institutions to address. We embrace the opportunity to examine all our operations and practices to identify places where our community can help to ensure that all people are free from lives of slavery and are provided the social and economic rights that are guaranteed to all.
Promotion of our commitment
The University has five major routes through which it promotes its expectations in relation to human rights and trading decisions:
- risk identification and relationship management of its supply chains
- relationship enhancement with its international partner organisations
- internal policy, process and activity development which reinforces our intolerance of trading activity which might impact on individuals' freedoms
- our networking capacity to influence national policy- and decision-makers to encourage co-ordinated action, pooling resources to have the greatest, targeted and most meaningful impact we can have as a sector or as a nation upon a local, national and global issue
- support of student-led activities to minimise risks of trading where unethical practices persist
The key themes of this statement are:
- the responsible procurement policy
- focusing upon contract management, supporting the supply chain to reduce opportunity for individuals' freedoms to be compromised
- developing links between our academic research and our support of the supply base to improve supply choices
- raising awareness of the risks with our contracted suppliers and our internal purchasing decision-makers improving supply chain monitoring and reporting taking increased interest in our investments
- lobbying and petitioning policy makers to enable coordinated approaches to making sustainable change
Our structure
The Vice-Chancellor is the University's chief executive and is responsible for the executive management of the University and its day-to-day direction. His executive responsibilities are delegated through the University's Colleges, Research Institutes, Business Delivery Groups, Corporate Services and Overseas Offices:
Colleges
- Business Technology and Engineering
- Social Sciences and Arts
- Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences
Research institutes
- Culture and Creativity Research Institute
- Industry and Innovation Research Institute
- Health Research Institute
- Social and Economic Research Institute
Business Delivery Groups
- Academic Delivery and Diversity
- Development and Alumni Relations
- Business Engagement Skills and Employability
- Global Development and Partnerships
- Recruitment, Communications and Marketing
- Student and Academic Services
- Research and Innovation Services
- Student Experience, Teaching & Learning
Corporate Services
- Digital Technology Services
- Human Resources and Organisational Development
- Estates and Facilities
- Strategy, Planning and Insight
- Finance and Procurement
- Transformation
- Governance, Legal and Sector Regulation
Overseas representative offices
- China
- India
- Malaysia
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
Our supply chain risks
The University has identified the following stages along the supply chain which are at risk of human exploitation:
Stage of supply chain activity | Abbreviation |
---|---|
Raw material extraction | R |
Harvesting | H |
Manufacturing | M |
Processing | Pr |
Assembly | A |
Packaging | Pa |
Portfolio selection | PS |
Activity | Supply need | Impact |
---|---|---|
Estates and Facilities | Construction Materials Construction Labour Furniture and Fixtures Cleaning Materials PPE & Uniforms | R, M, A, Pa A R, M, A, Pa R, M, Pr, A, Pa R, M, Pr, A, Pa |
Technical Services and Research Institutes | Capital Equipment Laboratory supplies Student Uniforms |
R, M, A, Pa R, M, Pr, A, Pa R |
Digital Technology Services | Digital Infrastructure and Equipment | R, M, Pr, A, Pa |
Catering | Fruit, Vegetables, Herbs, Spices Food processing Food Packaging |
H, Pr, Pa Pr, Pa R, M, Pa |
Office Areas | Stationery Specialist DSE equipment |
R, M, Pr, A, Pa R, M, A, Pa |
Finance | Pensions and Funding | PS |