Konica Minolta Business Solutions Australia has submitted its first Modern Slavery Statement for FY2019-2020, which sets out the actions it has taken to address modern slavery risks in the business and supply chain for the financial year ending 31 March 2020.
Konica Minolta Australia advocates for the eradication of all forms of Modern Slavery and played a role in the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), in Australia through evidence given to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia.
The statement represents another significant milestone in Konica Minolta Australia’s advocacy and leadership in this area, demonstrating the work it has undertaken and its ongoing commitment to action and awareness.
The journey began in 2015 with the publication of the Ethical Sourcing Roadmap, followed by Konica Minolta Australia’s Human Rights Position Statement and Supplier Code of Conduct in 2016, all of which culminated in Konica Minolta Australia receiving the Anti Slavery Australia Freedom Award in 2017 and the Australian Human Rights Award for Business in 2018.
The statement also includes a number of case studies of how Konica Minolta has worked and aims to continue working with its suppliers, old and new, from the tender process for its new sensitive freight logistics supplier, which incorporated ethical sourcing requirements, to the engagement with its uniform supplier at their premises in Sydney.
Yohei Konaka, Managing Director, Konica Minolta Australia, said: “Konica Minolta Australia recognises the significant human cost of modern slavery, which involves serious crimes and grave forms of human rights abuses. We are committed to providing support to victims of modern slavery and related harms and amplifying their voices and lived experiences through our engagement with community partners and multi-stakeholder initiatives.”
Konica Minolta has identified three broad categories within its supply chain and conducts ongoing human rights due diligence across these areas, to identify and address the risks of modern slavery:
- Offices, operations and service providers. This includes logistics and warehousing, cleaning, professional services and its offshore customer support call centre.
- Goods and services it sells. This includes KMI manufactured products and third party products including 3D printers and wide format printers.
- Goods it doesn’t sell. This includes brand-affiliated merchandise and uniforms.
Konica Minolta Australia said it assesses the effectiveness of its actions through a constant focus on the purpose of the legislation and its program of action, which is to build, implement and manage a program of continuous improvement that delivers on Konica Minolta Australia’s commitment to ethical sourcing and protecting human rights in its operations and supply chains and combatting modern slavery.
Yohei Konaka said: “Konica Minolta Australia is committed to working with its suppliers and other stakeholders to ensure it has a positive social impact on those within its sphere of influence and has for many years both in Australia, and globally, been working to protect and support human rights within its business, supply chain and community.”
