We still face all the same challenges and risks that we did before 鈥� and these cannot be overlooked, pandemic notwithstanding. Case in point: modern slavery.

In August, the Australian government took a big step in reminding us of this. It marked 鈥榃orld Day Against Trafficking in Persons鈥� by launching its much-anticipated online Modern Slavery Statements Register and a new Government Procurement Toolkit.

Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs Jason Wood MP said that the register will provide 鈥淎ustralian consumers, investors and civil society with an unprecedented window into the global supply chains that produce the goods and services we use every day鈥�. Anyone can go online and scrutinise the statements submitted to the register by government agencies and Australian businesses.

The launch of the registry comes one and a half years after The Commonwealth聽Modern Slavery Act 2018聽entered into force on 1聽January 2019, establishing a national Modern Slavery Reporting Requirement. Reporting entities, such as large entities with an annual consolidated revenue of $100 million, the Australian government itself and corporate Commonwealth entities, are expected to use the centralised portal to submit their modern slavery statements.

The annual Modern Slavery Statements called for are designed to encourage the Australian business community to identify and address their modern slavery risks and maintain responsible and transparent supply chains.

A new solution to an old problem

While for some, talk of slavery may feel like an anachronism, this is far from accurate. By the government鈥檚 own estimates, between 2015 and 2017, there were up to 1,900 modern slavery victims in Australia.聽聽has put the figure at more than 40 million worldwide.

Modern slavery includes human trafficking, slavery, servitude, forced labour, debt bondage and worst forms of child labour. It disproportionately impacts women and girls. More than 70 per cent of modern slavery victims are female. Modern slavery can occur in every industry and sector but some are considered more at risk than others.

Nowhere to hide

Whether you鈥檙e a government agency or a business, getting started on the path to greater transparency and compliance involves a few steps. Review your forced labour policy, segment your supply chain by category and geography, monitor continuously for risk signals, design a risk assessment and controls framework, remediate identified risks and automate assessment processes.

The reality is that many government agencies and businesses don鈥檛 have the tools required to keep track of the risks in their extended supply chains due to the herculean task of data aggregation.

Transparency through tech

To effectively meet the mandatory reporting criteria under the Modern Slavery Act, executives must adopt a technology-led approach in order to accurately monitor and track their supply chains. This is critical to ensuring that unfair and abusive practices haven鈥檛 crept into second and third-tier suppliers in the supply chain.

Technology platforms like digital business networks provide newfound visibility into supply chains, enabling organisations to quickly and easily evaluate trading partners against huge volumes of data points, determine their exposure to risk and make more informed decisions. This provides buyers the opportunity to proactively, instead of reactively, manage these risks.

For example, 麻豆原创鈥檚 cloud-based Ariba Network, where more than 3.46 trillion US dollars-worth of business-to-business transactions happen annually, currently gathers third-party data from over half a million data sources. This includes whether a potential trading partner keeps its supply chain clear of forced labour and has a record of responsible environmental stewardship.

With these data points in hand, how businesses and government agencies interpret the data to mitigate their reputational, financial and environmental risks will be critical. Organisations must make sure they are making way for staff charged to turn these insights into meaningful action.

The same technology can give organisations both the supply chain visibility needed to become compliant, and much needed awareness and flexibility at a time when supply chain resilience is more important than ever. The outcome from acting on these insights is not just a legal and ethical requirement, but it is also proven that doing good is great for business as consumer demands are rising. With government spending always under extra scrutiny, it is vital for government agencies to lead the way.

A reputational chain reaction

While it may have been unspoken, there has been a view that 鈥榳hat happens in the supply chain stays in the supply chain鈥�. But this simply will not do in today鈥檚 environment. Those that fail to recognise this can expect to pay the price for complacency through lost reputation, revenue, challenges retaining talent and legal action. However, acting on this, taking a stand and driving change in everyday people鈥檚 lives will be rewarded by consumers.

Expect the 鈥渨indow鈥� that the Modern Slavery Act and register provide to create a technology-fuelled 鈥渞ace to reputation鈥� that will not only drive compliance but also broader organisational resilience and a more equitable society.

To hear more about how to use technology to improve your supply chain, register for 麻豆原创 Ariba’s , featuring BHP, Woolworths, ANZ Bank and more.

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Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin designed the plastic bag in 1959 as an alternative to paper bags, which were notorious at the time for driving deforestation.

The humble paper bag also required vast amounts of energy and water to produce, and was heavier than packaging alternatives, making for a more resource-intensive transportation journey.

While I feel a little pride for my fellow countryman鈥檚 efforts, it doesn鈥檛 change the fact plastic today is one of the biggest threats facing the world鈥檚 seas.

One of its most promising qualities, its durability, is also coming back to bite us. It is estimated it will take thousands of years for Australia鈥檚 plastic bags to decompose. But I am not writing this article to instil fear or shame in the everyday plastic user. Let鈥檚 face it, we鈥檇 all be guilty.

No matter how hard we try, we live in a world where plastic bags are produced at a rate of a trillion a year, and all manner of single-use plastic products are ubiquitous. Even when I bring my own cotton bag to the supermarket, I can鈥檛 shake the guilt when I remember that the entire fresh fruit aisle likely arrived from the warehouse shrink-wrapped in plastic that will never be reused.

While young people, like my countrywoman Greta Thunberg and Australia鈥檚 Plastic Free Boy, are proving themselves to be more politically, environmentally and socially active than any generation before them, the burden of responsibility for our planet鈥檚 sustainability should not be placed on their shoulders alone.

Individuals, governments and businesses must all play a part 鈥� and it鈥檚 the dramatic change that businesses can make that I want to explore.

The ripple effect of sustainable business practices cannot be underestimated. Environmentally conscious businesses may not be as headline-grabbing as a group of protesters or a controversial activist riling up national leaders, but a supply chain that saves plastic has far more of an impact than an individual鈥檚 buying decisions.

Sustainable business processes don鈥檛 make only ethical sense but also financial sense.

Consumers are more aware than ever of the power of their dollar. Research by Nielsen reveals that 66 per cent of consumers globally are willing to spend more on a product if it comes from a sustainable brand.

It鈥檚 easier than ever for corporations with big buying power to make more informed, environmentally conscious decisions.

Technology platforms and the digital business networks they provide create new-found visibility into supply chains, enabling businesses to evaluate trading partners more quickly and easily against specific data points, such as their approach towards plastic.

麻豆原创 Ariba is making a difference through its Plastics Cloud, a technology platform meant to help contribute to a cleaner ocean by 2030. Functioning as a digital marketplace, brands can connect with each other based on their supply or demand for recycled and alternative materials.

Plastics Cloud allows for sustainable suppliers to be found efficiently and for the flow of materials to be monitored better.

Having launched the second phase of Plastics Cloud, businesses are now able to create a more sustainable supply chain through a secondary materials marketplace that connects packaging and consumer product companies to new sources of recycled plastics and plastic alternatives.

Solutions such as these rely on technology, including machine learning, to compile information that can be used to forecast trends in plastics purchasing and recycling, enabling services to meet demand. These solutions are designed for circularity, where resources are reused, and suppliers can get rid of plastic materials they no longer need by sharing them with businesses that will make better use of them.

And by showcasing companies tackling the plastics problem, and funnelling procurement dollars into these businesses, it allows them to grow and reap the benefits of economies of scale.

Our world is only 9 per cent circular. Yet by trialling and refining circular business models, businesses will grow financially while reducing waste. Through sustainability technology and innovation, companies are forecast to unlock $4.5 trillion in economic growth, according to research by Accenture.

Rather than naming and shaming the organisations that don鈥檛 do their part, it鈥檚 time to start naming and faming the corporations that are changing the way they source their materials.

The opportunity for businesses to reshape the market for good, using technology and their buying power, has never been more accessible or so necessary.

Henrik Smedberg is regional vice-president at 麻豆原创 Ariba ANZ.

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