Å·ÃÀAV

Last updated May 2025

This statement constitutes the Å·ÃÀAV's anti-slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 December 2024 and is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Introduction from Helen Pain, CEO

Forced, bonded or compulsory labour, human trafficking and other kinds of slavery and servitude are grave violations of fundamental human rights. The Å·ÃÀAV, under the direction of its Board of Trustees, will not tolerate such activity and are committed to acting ethically and with integrity at all times, including implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to combat slavery and human trafficking both within our organisation and by working with our business supply chains.

Organisation's structure and business

The Å·ÃÀAV is a UK registered charity and our Royal Charter granted in 1980 defines the nature and roles of our organisation.

• As a learned society we are concerned with advancing chemistry as a science, developing its applications, and disseminating chemical knowledge
• As a professional body, we maintain professional qualifications and set high standards of competence and conduct for professional chemists. We also provide a wide range of services and activities of value both to members and to the community
• As a representative body, we provide information and advice on issues involving the science and practice of chemistry at all levels. We also act on behalf of qualified chemists so that their expertise and experience may be used to the best advantage of the community
• As a chartered body, we have a special status with a paramount duty to serve the public interest while remaining completely objective

Our purpose statement:

To help the chemical science community make the world a better place emphasises our focus on helping chemical scientists make a positive impact.

The Å·ÃÀAV has a permanent presence in the United Kingdom, India, China, Germany, Japan and the United States of America. The Å·ÃÀAV maintains, in its supply chains, relationships with many different organisations across several countries, and in 2024 employed an average of 724 people worldwide.

Due diligence processes for slavery and human trafficking

Modern slavery takes many forms, the most prevalent being:

Human trafficking – which involves transporting, recruiting or harbouring people for the purpose of exploitation, using violence, threats or coercion;

Forced labour – any work or services that people are forced to do against their will under the threat of some form of punishment;

Debt bondage or bonded labour – the world’s most widespread form of slavery, when people borrow money they cannot repay and are required to work to pay off the debt.

Analysis by global organisations, such as the indicates that from a supply chain perspective, modern slavery is most likely to occur in industries often characterised as labour intensive and/or involving raw materials, such as the following:

Garments and Textiles Production; Cleaning; Security; Food Processing; Manufacturing; and Electronics.

Modern slavery can occur anywhere in the world and the (published 2023) highlights countries estimated to have the highest prevalence.  

The Å·ÃÀAV has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery.

During 2024 we have:

Launched an online modern slavery training course for colleagues

Continued to incorporate anti-slavery terms in contractual arrangements with our suppliers where appropriate, including:

• requiring the supplier to comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015
• placing an obligation on the supplier to comply with our Human Rights Policy and Code of Conduct for Associates (Policy), or an equivalent code of conduct owned by the supplier
• a right for The Å·ÃÀAV to terminate the agreements in the event of a breach of our Policy by the supplier
• the right to audit the Supplier’s compliance with our Policy

During the forthcoming year, we intend to:

• continue to ensure that our contractual arrangements with our suppliers for any higher-risk expenditure categories are robust and transparent
• incorporate modern slavery training as part of mandatory all-staff and new starter training and promote awareness of modern slavery risks and due diligence processes with employees
• carry out checks of agreements in the pre-contract phase to confirm appropriate terms have been included with relevant suppliers

Supplier adherence to our values

We will continue to carry out reviews of existing commercial relationships to ensure that suppliers and partners comply with our values and our obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. These will include:

• engaging with our suppliers, contractors, associates and business partners via contract management meetings and communications to convey our Policy where needed
• encouraging self-reporting by our suppliers
• where we identify high-risk areas, we will ensure that we consider potential modern slavery risks in any future contract renewals

Communication and training

We will communicate or make available this Statement and our Policy to all our employees, members and volunteers to ensure a clear understanding of the risks of slavery and human trafficking within our own business.

We will be incorporating modern slavery training as part of mandatory all-staff and new starter training, and we will provide additional guidance relating to modern slavery for those employees engaging with suppliers.

Our internal Whistleblowing Policy sets out the procedures to follow should employees have any suspicions of modern slavery in the workplace.

Further steps

We will review and update this Statement and our Policy on an annual basis to ensure it reflects our ongoing commitment.

Helen Pain
Chief Executive Officer
Å·ÃÀAV