ASDA's response to Oxfam's analysis of supermarket HRIAs and commitments
We utilise our Responsible Sourcing Programme to identify the salient labour and human rights risks in our supply chains, this involves accessing a combination of country-specific risk information from publicly available sources, self-declared supplier information, social audit trends and incidents that have occurred. Using this data, we have formulated the salient risks which are pertinent to the operation of our business and require attention from Asda, our suppliers, and colleagues, to address root cause. We have prioritised our focus based on commodity, geography, impact, and complexity, and are committed to understanding these areas better, to address the risks for the benefit of the people who make the products we sell. Our 5 priority salient risk themes are: Modern Slavery, Gender, Vulnerable Workers, Worker Representation and Working Hours.
With our return to British ownership, we have been working to establish Asda’s approach to Human Rights and the delivery of Human Rights Due Diligence across our global supply chains. Part of this work has been the establishment of a detailed road map which includes engagement with rightsholder impacts via Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIA). At present we are reviewing our policies, processes, and risks in order to engage in a prioritised and impactful way, and this may include our own HRIAs or engagement with existing HRIAs to understand how we can effectively action plan across shared supply chains with others. Throughout this period of transition, we have continued to collaborate with our suppliers and NGOs to assess human rights risks via research projects and investigations, delivered through various external partnerships including, Food Network for Ethical Trade, Ethical Trading Initiative, Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce and Seafood Ethics Action Alliance. For more information on how we are assessing and addressing risk through our Responsible Sourcing & Human Rights programme please see our Creating Change for Better website and previous Modern Slavery Statements.
