This is how the University’s supply needs are impacted:

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Action plan

Our policies and due diligence in relation to slavery and human trafficking

The University is committed to running our business responsibly and ethically. We are opposed to all forms of slavery and human trafficking and support the Government's efforts to legislate against it. We support the Base Code of the Ethical Trading Initiative, (ETI).

In line with the University’s ISO 14001:2015 environmental management system, which focuses not only on the University’s activities but also the impacts of our supply chain, we assess our actions as part of an annual internal review to ensure continued compliance with the Modern Slavery Act.

The Ethical Procurement Policy is developing and has been published in sections onto the University website. The aim is to make the potential supply chain engagement more interactive. The policy reinforces our adherence to Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Our teaching and academic research

The issue of modern slavery has been integrated into our teaching offer and academic research in a number of programmes across the University.

The Department of Law and Criminology offers instruction on aspects of modern slavery in the undergraduate human rights track, undergraduate criminology track, the law degree, the MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice Practice, and the MA in Applied Human Rights. Students learn about the Modern Slavery Act and gain a basic knowledge of slavery across the curriculum but receive more advanced training on the subject in modules such as the Level 4 criminology module on “Applying Criminology,” the Level 5 criminology module on “Victims, Offenders, and Vulnerabilities,” the MA module on “Researching Human Rights,” and the MA module on “Global Threats and Penal Policy.” On a more theoretical level, the department encourages students to think of slavery and other human rights violations within the contexts of global capitalism, gender norms, structural violence, and racial and economic inequalities. Students are trained to understand the history of rights and their role in a truly transformational approach to modern slavery that gets at the root causes of injustice. Students have the opportunity to participate in college-student collaborative research that investigates modern slavery as it affects the Sheffield community.

Researchers in the department and in the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice work to understand the social, culture, and economic factors that make slavery possible. They conduct research with local police departments to identify trends in their investigations of slavery and to improve their responses. They investigate supply chains to determine how UK products may be connected to slave-made goods. They work on the nexus of migration and human trafficking, as well as on the role of gender norms in modern slavery. The department has recently hired a research professor whose work is focused exclusively on modern slavery, and she is providing research leadership to expand on that research agenda across the department.

Our supply chain

In 2021, the University implemented the UKUPC Sustain Code of Conduct for contracted suppliers as part of its standard requirements in its invitations to tender. Section 1 of the code prohibits forced, involuntary or underage labour.

The University’s Terms and Conditions for the Supply of Goods and/or Services, which have recently been updated, set out our expectations of our suppliers in relation to human rights and the elimination on modern slavery and human trafficking in their supply chains.

Newly contracted suppliers are also now mandated to report on their social value and ethical trading activities on the Netpositive Futures portal, as part of the contractual obligations of the supplier relationship.

Sheffield Hallam University is a member of the North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC), accessing many of its procured solutions. NEUPC has a responsible procurement group of which the University is a member. This group works closely with both The Higher Education Purchasing Association, (HEPA) and the UK Universities Purchasing Consortium (UKUPC) to consider and confront supply chain relationships which could give rise to environments at risk of modern slavery. NEUPC’s Responsible Procurement and Social Value Policy 2020 enforces Modern Slavery Act compliance for suppliers with a £36m turnover and above and encourages the development of an annual statement for smaller enterprises.

The Universities Catering Organisation’s (TUCO’s) “Responsible Processes” include working with an UKAS accredited organisation undertaking food audits against a set of standards.

Where appropriate, we procure through NEUPC and TUCO frameworks, working more closely with both organisations to determine where, by working together, we can better understand our actual risks from the supplies we procure.

We continue to identify sources of supply which might contain modern slavery risks and report annually how those risks are mitigated. The Alliance, (the University and its private sector alliance partners), will deliver the University's campus plan. It is responsible for ensuring its supply chain is secured in a responsible and ethical way. The Alliance will do this by verifying against signs of bonded and enforced labour by undertaking toolbox talks about the signs of modern slavery on site, ensuring identity checks are undertaken, signposting help with Alliance-branded posters, ensuring suitable induction processes are in place and by having a trained reporting process.

Our investments

The University has no direct involvement in the management of the assets of the pension schemes that it participates in but is invited to comment upon each scheme’s investment strategy from time to time. The LGPS, USS and NEST pension schemes have “Responsible Investment” policies, which include social issues that are considered in their investment decisions. The University will continue to gain further understanding and provide input, where possible, on how our contributions are being invested. In particular:

• Our LGPS fund will seek input from employers on the scheme’s Investment Strategy Statement, as part of consultation on the 2022 actuarial valuation process.
• The USS will consult with employers on its Statements of Investment Principles following agreement to any benefit changes (likely to be Autumn 2022).

The University holds no direct investments other than those in its subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures, which all operate in areas consistent with the University’s objectives. All cash investments are held as bank deposits and are subject to our Ethical Investment Policy.

Measuring effectiveness and planning

The 2019 healthcare uniforms tender was developed as a template for tendered goods where risk categories are being procured; to promote and sustain good practice.

The NetPositive Futures tool was designed to support all businesses to communicate the positive actions they are undertaking to generate social value in the supply chain. It is currently being developed to enhance reporting and we are actively monitoring how this tool can be developed to encourage and monitor positive actions to reduce risks of exploitation in supply chains. Supplier monitoring and reporting is an active area of development for the University and recent contracts are more purposefully setting expectations to review value chain risks as part of the contractual deliverables.

We endeavour to learn from our academic research and seek ways to apply this knowledge for the betterment of our supply choices.

Training

Integral to Sheffield Hallam University's commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is a desire to share its learning and on-line training. International partners and vested suppliers will be provided with opportunities to access relevant learning resources.

Internally, officers committing high volume/value transactions with suppliers are now required to access the Government Commercial College, tackling modern slavery in supply chains case study to embed their understanding of the indicators of modern slavery and how to mitigate risks.

Officers with duties to tender opportunities with the supply market are responsible for ensuring that documentation reflects our commitment to the Modern Slavery Act 2015. All procurement officers are MCIPS qualified or working towards that qualification. Part of the qualification includes the Ethical Procurement and Supply e-learning.

Teams and partners with responsibility for our overseas activities are aware of the duties under the Modern Slavery Act relating to business overseas and receive training from the University to ensure their understanding is refreshed and embedded.

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Review and Approval

This statement will be reviewed annually. This statement was approved by the Board of Governors of Sheffield Hallam University at its meeting on 7 December 2021.

Signatories

Sir Bob Kerslake, chairman
13 December 2021

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Previous statements archive

Our previous statements are available to download as PDFs below.

• Sheffield Hallam University Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement 2020–21 (PDF, 191.4KB)
• Sheffield Hallam University Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement 2019–20 (PDF, 7.9MB)
• Sheffield Hallam University Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement 2018–19 (PDF, 275.2KB)
• Sheffield Hallam University Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement 2017–18 (PDF, 1.6MB)
• Sheffield Hallam University Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement 2016–17 (PDF, 1.4MB)

Hyperlinks relative to the Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement

Ethical trade base code

HEPA responsible procurement

Netpositive Futures portal

NEUPC

NEUPC responsible procurement

NEUPC's Responsible Procurement and Social Value Policy 2020

Preparing a Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement: Guidance for Higher Education

TUCO responsible processes

Sheffield Hallam University Ethical Investment Policy

UK National Action on Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

UKUPC responsible procurement

UKUPC SUSTAIN Code of Conduct