Beyond Compliance in the electronics sector
Assessing UK and Australian Modern Slavery Act statements
The electronics sector is a colossal global industry, with the consumer electronics market alone valued at over $740 billion in 2022 and projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2030.
Workers in the industry are vulnerable to debt bondage, illegal overtime, wage theft, and hazardous conditions, among other forms of exploitation. Moreover, some parts of the world with the highest production of electronic components are also those impacted by weak governance of the industry and/or state-imposed forced labour. Some are also home to large numbers of labour migrants, who are more vulnerable to labour exploitation.
As a complex global industry with intricate supply chains, electronics companies have heightened responsibilities to prevent modern slavery and protect workers within their supply chains. Governments in the end-user location also have an integral role in ensuring that markets are not tainted by forced labour.
Legislation such as Modern Slavery Acts (MSA), place obligations on companies in all sectors to report on how they are addressing the risks of modern slavery in their direct operations and supply chains.
To gain an understanding of how the electronics sector is complying with these obligations, we assessed the statements produced by the largest and most influential companies reporting under the UK and Australian MSAs in 2022 – 2023. This included those working with consumer electronics, component manufacturers, and companies in the growing Electric Vehicle (EV) sector.
This briefing provides a snapshot of their level of disclosure of modern slavery risks, identifies good practice, and highlights gaps in reporting quality.
Key findings on modern slavery risks in the electronics sector across the UK and Australia
From our research, we can see there is significant room for improvement in addressing supply chain gaps and labour exploitation for companies working in the electronics sector across the UK and Australia. Our key findings highlight critical areas for action.
Most companies are failing to effectively meet their reporting obligations under modern slavery legislation.
Companies’ engagement with their supply chains drops off dramatically beyond tier 1 suppliers, leaving millions of workers in extended supply chains potentially invisible and unprotected.
Companies demonstrate a “policy-practice gap”: widespread adoption of due diligence tools, but superficial implementation, with low rates of risk identification, inadequate worker-centred remediation, and limited effectiveness measurement.
Most companies do not report cases of forced labour in their modern slavery statements, despite the known prevalence of labour exploitation in global electronics supply chains.
The fast-growing EV industry is not effectively responding to the heightened level of risks in their supply chains.
Explore the data
Explore our findings from this sector and others we’ve researched on our interactive
