ethiXbase and Norton Rose Fulbright collaborate to launch innovative, supply chain risk assessment solution for modern slavery

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Nov 15, 2020, 22:00 ET

ethiXbase and Norton Rose Fulbright have entered into an exclusive licence and collaboration agreement to develop a modern slavery supply chain risk assessment tool.
The aim is to help organisations identify and act on human rights risks within their supply chain and comply with global Modern Slavery laws.

SINGAPORE, Nov. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ethiXbase - a value chain sustainability solutions company, that assists corporates and their third parties to create and maintain a sustainable supply chain globally today announced it has entered into an exclusive licence and collaboration agreement with a global law firm* Norton Rose Fulbright, to develop a modern slavery supply chain risk assessment tool for corporates seeking to comply with global Modern Slavery laws.

The questionnaire will be offered by ethiXbase via the ethiXbase 360 platform and is an integral component of the ethiXbase Human Rights Module, which has been designed to help organisations identify and act on human rights risks within their supply chain.

The Modern Slavery Questionnaire applies know-how developed by Norton Rose Fulbright using its global expertise in identifying and assessing modern slavery risks, to provide an indicative risk rating.

This is delivered and managed via the ethiXbase 360 platform to thousands of suppliers, utilising robust analytics and automated workflows to trigger appropriate risk mitigation strategies and support regulatory reporting. The rating can be used to assist organisations in managing modern slavery reporting obligations in multiple jurisdictions.

Abigail McGregor, Partner of Norton Rose Fulbright, commented:

"COVID-19 has put all companies under pressure, and one of the ways we are seeing that manifest itself is in a degree of unpreparedness to meet new reporting obligations for modern slavery. Australian companies with annual revenues of more than AU$100 million are required by law to prepare modern slavery statements by March next year, if their reporting year ends in June, and so they should already be well advanced in their preparation."

"The problem is the pandemic has greatly disrupted supply chains, and in some cases caused companies to quickly replace known suppliers with new ones. That creates a heightened level of risk from a modern slavery perspective if those risks have not been properly managed. Fortunately, our joint work with ethiXbase to create a cutting-edge analytics platform takes much of the concern, manual work and risk out of the equation."

Leas Bachatene, Chief Executive Officer of ethiXbase, said:

"We are thrilled to collaborate with Norton Rose Fulbright on this significant initiative to support clients to comply with Modern Slavery legislation across the globe. The questionnaire is among the first applications by a law firm of analytics in the human rights space. The firm's well-developed methodology is underpinned by ethiXbase's robust technology, data, and services, helping clients to significantly reduce the time and effort spent mapping and assessing modern slavery risk in their supply chains. As it scales with more data, the solution will also allow the organisation to develop benchmarks per industry across the world, and identify emerging threats to business continuity and reputation arising from supply chain breaches."

*2020 Acritas Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index

Media inquiries: For more information, please contact ethiXbase's Global Head of Growth Marketing, Joe Struggles on [email protected]. For more information about the Modern Slavery Questionnaire, please contact ethiXbase's Head of Product Development, Natasha Martin on [email protected]

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