Ethical Partners Funds Management, on behalf of Be Slavery Free, invite investors, businesses and individuals to sign onto a joint statement to the Australia's corporate regulator to expand the definition of sustainability to include social and human rights components in its draft guidance on sustainability collaborations: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeIQjY7xTc2M8jbgRhP9UASjJ60B7-KtcgQCiHxmI7hWEeZ-A/viewform 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently released a draft guide to help facilitate sustainability collaborations, where the aim is to achieve positive environment outcomes. It is a welcome guidance as it is designed to help businesses navigate competition law risks and proceed with environmental sustainability collaborations between peers.

However, the definition of sustainability used in the framework only narrowly focuses on environmental sustainability and doesn’t include social or human right dimensions (including modern slavery). 

It ignores the interdependence between environmental and social sustainability outcomes and also doesn’t provide needed guidance/exceptions for businesses working to find or remediate modern slavery in their value chains.

Signatories will be signing onto a short letter to the ACCC's consulting team to commend the guidance and encourage the ACCC to expand the definition to include social dimensions.