Metro Supply Chain Group Inc. ("Metro Supply Chain") and all its subsidiaries are committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in all aspects of our business operations. We firmly condemn slavery, human trafficking, and any forms of forced labour in any part of our supply chain or within our organization. Our core values and principles reflect our dedication to respecting human rights and promoting fair and ethical practices in the global business landscape. We hold our suppliers to these same standards.
The following statement is offered in compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and reflects Metro Supply Chain’s stance on slavery and human trafficking and serves as an indication of our ongoing efforts to combat these practices.
Our values
Metro Supply Chain’s culture is built on our core values of respect, transparency and communication, sustainability, safety & wellness, collaboration and inclusivity. These values are interwoven into every aspect of our operations; they shape our identity and support our principles.
- Our commitment to upholding high ethical standards and conducting business with integrity is reinforced by a series of corporate policies that serve to guide our actions. Regularly assessing compliance with these policies drives continuous improvement in our operation.
- Compliance with Laws: we operate in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations related to slavery, human trafficking, and forced labour, including but not limited to the Modern Slavery Act and other relevant international, federal, and local legislation.
- Anti-Slavery Policy: we are developing a policy which will reinforce our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply chains.
- Supplier Code of Conduct: we work on ensuring that all our suppliers and business partners to adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct. As part of our Supplier Code of Conduct, we explicitly prohibit the use of forced labour, child labour, or any form of exploitation within their operations or supply chains.
- Risk Assessment: we conduct periodic assessments to identify and address potential risks related to slavery and human trafficking within our supply chain. This enables us to take preventive measures and collaborate with suppliers to ensure ethical practices throughout the sourcing process.
- Due Diligence: we employ due diligence measures to assess the practices and policies of new and existing suppliers. This helps us identify any potential risks and work collaboratively with suppliers to implement necessary improvements.
- Training and awareness: we are committed to raising awareness among our employees, suppliers, and stakeholders about the risks associated with slavery and human trafficking. We are committed to training our employees to ensure everyone understands their role in preventing and detecting any form of exploitation.
- Grievance Mechanism: To be contained in our Anti-Slavery Policy, we will put in place an effective grievance mechanism to encourage openness and the reporting of any concerns related to slavery, human trafficking, or any unethical practices within our organization or supply chain.
- Continuous Improvement: we are dedicated to continuously improving our policies, procedures, and practices related to slavery and human trafficking. We regularly review our measures to ensure they remain effective and aligned with the evolving best practices and legal requirements.
Our workforce and our supply chain
We are a provider of end-to-end supply chain services with more than 9,000 employees operating a network of 175 sites in North America and Europe. Our team is comprised of North America and Europe-based corporate staff, warehouse and transportation operatives. We are confident that our people policies ensure fair treatment of our direct and indirect labour across geographies, however, we acknowledge the risk may be more significant in our supply chain, so we are therefore focused on enhancing our approach with the steps noted below:
- We are working on having each of our suppliers sign our Supplier Code of Conduct and fill out our sustainability questionnaire prior to working with us. This allows us to objectively select suppliers who are aligned with our commitment to ethical business conduct and sustainability goals;
- Our supplier code of conduct includes several sustainability areas within labour, health and safety, environmental responsibility and ethics.
- The sustainability questionnaire is extensive with multiple sections on policy, management systems, human rights, labour standards, equal opportunity, quality management, environmental management, health and safety, contractors/subcontractors, and company conduct.
- We are striving to ensure that every team member within the organization has the proper tools to understand the importance of this statement and its scope.
- We are developing and will implement throughout our network an Anti-Slavery Policy, as described herein in the coming year.
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and has been approved for the financial year ending September 2024.
Chiko Nanji, Executive Chairman, Metro Supply Chain Group Inc.
