This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative Limited (Omsco) has taken in the financial year ending 31 March 2021 and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain. We review this statement every year.

Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. Omsco has a zerotolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or our supply chain.

Omsco is absolutely committed to preventing modern slavery and human trafficking in its corporate activities, and to ensuring that its supply chains are free from modern slavery and human trafficking.

Our business

Omsco is a farmer owned cooperative collecting and processing milk on behalf of the members.  Omsco operates an agent / broker model using 3rd party processors and service providers to produce primarily milk, butter, concentrates, powders and cheese.  The main ingredient used is raw liquid organic milk sourced from our members in the United Kingdom and US partners, CROPP Cooperative.

Countries of operation and supply

Omsco currently operates and / or supplies in the following countries:

United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, France, Austria, Germany, China.

Our high-risk areas

The following activities are considered to be at high risk of slavery or human trafficking:

• None highlighted this financial year

Our policies

We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These include:

1. Anti-slavery policy.

This policy sets out the organisation’s stance on modern slavery and explains how employees can identify any instances of this and where they can go for help.

2. Recruitment policy.

We operate a robust recruitment policy, including conducting eligibility to work in the UK checks for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking and individuals being forced to work against their will.

3. Whistleblowing policy.

We operate a whistleblowing policy so that all employees know that they can raise concerns about how colleagues are being treated, or practices within our business or supply chain, without fear of reprisals.

4. Code of business conduct.

This code explains the manner in which we behave as an organisation and how we expect our employees and suppliers to act.

Our suppliers

All of our milk producers are required to maintain membership of the Red Tractor Assurance scheme which includes a specific standard that all labour providers utilised by our farmers must hold a GLAA licence.

The majority of our supplying farms are family owned and run, and due to our commitment to the cooperative to work in close partnership, our membership team keep in close contact with all of our milk producers on a regular basis. This includes frequent farm visits and audits to check and monitor conditions.

Our processors / service providers

Omsco operates a processor / service provider policy and maintains an approved processor / service provider list.  We conduct due diligence on all processors / service providers before allowing them to process on behalf of Omsco.  This due diligence includes an online search to ensure that particular organisation has never been convicted of offences relating to modern slavery and on-site audits which include a review of working conditions.  Our anti-slavery policy forms part of our contract with all suppliers and they are required to confirm that no part of their business operations contradicts this policy.

In addition to the above, as part of our contract with suppliers, we require that they confirm to us that:

1. They have taken steps to eradicate modern slavery within their business.
2. They hold their own suppliers to account over modern slavery.
3. (For UK based suppliers) They pay their employees at least the national minimum wage / national living wage (as appropriate).
4. (For international suppliers) They pay their employees any prevailing minimum wage applicable within their country of operations.
5. Omsco may terminate the contract at any time should any instances of modern slavery come to light.

Training

We regularly conduct training for our teams so that they understand the signs of modern slavery and what to do if they suspect that it is taking place within our supply chain.

Our performance indicators

We will know the effectiveness of the steps that we are taking to ensure that slavery and/or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain if:

• No reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified.

Approval for this statement

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes the Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative Limited slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 March 2021.