Insights that Save – Supply Clusters Conference 2019

Nicole D’Souza – Ethical Sourcing Manager – Konica Minolta

Australia is now leading the way globally with its recently introduced Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) and the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW). This suite of legislation represents a watershed moment for corporate Australia, squarely bringing business on board as a collaborator in the fight against Modern Slavery globally, one of the gravest areas of human rights violations. This move is part of a broader global trend along with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which specifically call on business to be part of the solution in collaboration with government and other sectors of society in partnerships for the goals. Learn about the $12trillion business opportunity that exists in seeking to realise the SDGs and what the Modern Slavery legislation means for you in practice, as a customer, a consumer, a vendor and as a reporting entity. Underpinning all of this is an invitation to business to adopt a human rights based approach, as outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

In 2018, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Australia received the Australian Human Rights Award for Business from the Australian Human Rights Commission, showing leadership in the people-centred policies that promote human rights in its business and supply chain. At the global level, Konica Minolta Inc. has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 7 years running, and listed as an industry leader for the last two of those and is a member of the Responsible Business Alliance, an electronics industry-led initiative to drive better human right and labour rights standards in the industry and its supply chains. Both at the global and Australian levels, Konica Minolta is a member of the UN Global Compact Network, and its Australian Managing Director, Dr David Cooke, is the Chairman of the UN Global Compact Network in Australia.