On this day, 71 years ago, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaiming all human beings are born free and equal. Today, this six-page Declaration is the most translated document in the world, reflecting its relevance to people in every nation.^*

A big part of my role as British Land’s Head of Procurement involves making sure that our suppliers are completely clear about our expectations on human rights and the treatment of each person as an individual and valued contributor.

Supplier Code of Conduct 

We articulate our social, ethical and environmental requirements through our Supplier Code of Conduct. We expect all workers to be treated fairly, free from any form of discrimination, and we are particularly conscious of our role in preventing any form of slavery. Last year, we made this Code a contractual requirement for all new supplier engagements, with many of them commenting that they appreciated our openness in this area. So far, over 85% of our active supplier base has signed up to this Code.

We capture and report on critical areas of the Code, including suppliers paying real Living Wages. As part of our ongoing monitoring, each morning I review a daily report provided by a specialist compliance organisation, which includes a number of human rights areas and money laundering activities. Should any notification relate to our suppliers, I speak with them directly to understand how they are addressing the issue and what measures are being put in place to prevent a recurrence. Whilst taking a firm line on anything in conflict with our Code, we find that a direct and collaborative approach to these matters provides a better outcome than a dictatorial approach would. 

Bringing people together

As part of our ongoing supplier collaboration, we’ve hosted several events on different aspects of the Code. Bringing people together from a range of supplier disciplines is a great way to discuss challenges and promote equality of opportunity, which is fundamental to universal human rights. Most recently, these included a series of roundtables shining a spotlight on areas of diversity and inclusion.

At our LGBT+ roundtable in September, we asked suppliers to make pledges to take action to make a real difference. We monitor progress against these pledges and share it with the group to ensure best practice is free to all (I blogged about this here). 

Earlier this year, we launched our enaBLe Network with a clear mission to celebrate ability. As Chair of this Network, I am planning an event to engage with our suppliers to embrace ability and join forces, so no-one ever feels dis-abled in our organisations and supply chain.

Living our values

We are also not afraid to call things out in our day-to-day activities. When third parties present their delivery teams for tender responses, we often challenge them to take a fresh look at whether their talent reflects the diversity needs of our business and customers, making it clear that we want meaningful change. Not only is this the right thing to do, we believe it will make us even more successful, encouraging diversity of thought and creating new ways of solving problems. ‘Bring your whole self’ is one of our four company values.

British Land and our suppliers have already learnt a lot by collaborating more closely. We find that sharing real experiences of challenges and opportunities helps everyone improve, and creating an open and safe environment in which to do this has been critical. Our supplier partners play a significant role in our success and together we touch many lives. We will continue to work together to ensure our combined impact remains positive.

British Land Supplier Code of Conduct

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

* Guinness World Records 2009-2019.

We support the UN Sustainable Development Goals

More here