COSTA LIMITED modern slavery statement summary (2021)

Organisation address
3 Knaves Beech Business Centre Davies Way,
Loudwater,
High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire,
England,
HP10 9QR

We asked the organisation a series of questions about its modern slavery statement. Its answers are published on this page as a statement summary.

This statement provides information for 5 of 6 recommended areas

What is a modern slavery statement?
UK law requires certain organisations to publish an annual modern slavery statement on their website, setting out the steps they are taking to address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. Read more in the government guidance on publishing modern slavery statements.
Link to full statement
Go to full modern slavery statement on organisation’s website

PDF version of the statement (optional)

There is no PDF version of this statement.

PDF statements were first introduced to the registry for the 2023 statement year.

About this statement summary

All answers relate to the financial year covered by the statement. The organisation is responsible for all the information it provided. Some of our questions are optional, so organisations may not have answered all of them. The statement summary does not replace the full modern slavery statement – below we provide a link to the full statement on the organisation’s website.

Contents

Statement period and sign-off details

The statement covers the following period:
28 February 2020 to 28 May 2021

The statement was signed off by:
Jill McDonald (CEO Costa Limited)

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
22 June 2021

Recommended areas covered by the statement

Government guidance encourages organisations to cover a range of areas in their modern slavery statements, setting out the steps they’re taking to address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. Read about the recommended areas in the statutory guidance.

We asked the organisation to tell us which areas its statement covers.

Areas recommended by government guidance Organisation’s response
The organisation’s structure, business and supply chains Covered
Policies Covered
Risk assessment Covered
Due diligence (steps to address risk) Covered
Training about modern slavery Covered
Goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of the organisation's actions and progress over time Covered

The organisation’s sectors and turnover

Sectors

The organisation operates in the following sectors:

  • Consumer services, including accommodation, hospitality, tourism and leisure

Turnover

Its turnover in the financial accounting year of this statement was:

Over £500 million

If the organisation is a public body, this amount is based on the organisation’s budget for the year of the statement.
What does 'turnover' refer to in group statements?
If this is a group statement, this includes the total turnover for all the organisations covered by the statement.

Number of years producing statements

The organisation has been producing modern slavery statements for the following number of years:
1 to 5 years
How does this work for group statements?
If the statement is for a group of organisations, this answer applies to the organisation with the longest history of producing statements.

Policies (optional)

We asked the organisation whether its policies include the following provisions in relation to its domestic and international supply chains, as well as its own operations.
Policy provisions we asked about Organisation’s response
Freedom of workers to terminate employment Included
Freedom of movement Included
Freedom of association Included
Prohibits any threat of violence, harassment and intimidation Included
Prohibits the use of worker-paid recruitment fees Included
Prohibits compulsory overtime Included
Prohibits child labour Included
Prohibits discrimination Included
Prohibits confiscation of workers' original identification documents Included
Provides access to remedy, compensation and justice for victims of modern slavery Not included
Other
Not included

Training (optional)

We asked the organisation whether it provided training on modern slavery, and who it was for.
What counts as training?
We explained that by ‘training’ we meant anything designed to increase knowledge and skills around identifying, addressing or preventing modern slavery risks. This could range from formal training courses to broader awareness-raising activities such as workshops or webinars.
We asked who the training was for Organisation’s response
Your whole organisation No
Your front line staff No
Human resources No
Executive-level staff No
Procurement staff Yes
Your suppliers No
The wider community No
Other
No

Monitoring working conditions (optional)

Engaging with others

We asked the organisation to tell us who it engaged with to help monitor working conditions across its operations and supply chains.
We asked who the organisation engaged with Organisation’s response
Your suppliers Yes
Trade unions or worker representative groups No
Civil society organisations No
Professional auditors Yes
Workers within your organisation Yes
Workers within your supply chain No
Central or local government No
Law enforcement, such as police, GLAA and other local labour market inspectorates No
Businesses in your industry or sector No

Social audits

We asked the organisation to tell us about any social audits it used to look for signs of modern slavery.
What are social audits?
A social audit is a review of an organisation’s working practices from the point of view of social responsibility, and should include an evaluation of working conditions in the organisation’s operations and supply chains. By their nature, audits of supplier workplaces represent a snapshot in time.
Social audits we asked about Organisation’s response
Audit conducted by your staff No
Third party audit arranged by your organisation Yes
Audit conducted by your supplier’s staff No
Third party audit arranged by your supplier No
Announced audit Yes
Unannounced audit No

Grievance mechanisms

We asked the organisation how workers in its operations or supply chains could raise concerns or make complaints.
We asked if workers could raise concerns this way Organisation’s response
Using anonymous whistleblowing services, such as a helpline or mobile phone app Yes
Through trade unions or other worker representative groups Yes

Other ways of monitoring working conditions

We asked the organisation whether it had any other ways of monitoring working conditions across its operations and supply chains:
In 2020/21, we launched our enhanced due diligence approach. This has included the relaunch of our ethical questionnaire and has enabled us to engage with key high-risk suppliers to encourage change.

Modern slavery risks (optional)

Warning Identifying modern slavery risks is a vital step towards eradicating it. The government encourages organisations to be as open and transparent as possible, to improve understanding, collaboration and best practice around tackling this worldwide problem.
We asked the organisation to describe up to 3 priority risks it focused on during the period of the statement, including details of the affected workers, the activity involved, and the location.

Priority risks for this organisation (1 of 3)

As a coffee company with global suppliers, we recognise the risk in our supply chains. We have conducted an independent review of key risks to coffee supply chains.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Tier 1 suppliers
    Provide their products and services directly to your organisation.
  • Tier 2 suppliers
    Provide products and services to your organisation via your Tier 1 suppliers.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response: No details provided
In which country Organisation’s response: No details provided
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: As a result of this risk review, we have a greater understanding of the nuanced risks which are threatening coffee supply chains globally. The risks identified have informed our enhanced due diligence systems and have been integrated into future risk reviews. It has given us greater visibility around issues which may be impacting those in our supply chain, and we are working closely with our suppliers to understand where we can help to address them. This is an area of focus for 2021-22.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

Our inherent risk mapping identified 188 Costa Coffee suppliers who operate in either a sector and/or country which has been classified as high risk for human rights violations.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your supply chains.
  • Tier 1 suppliers
    Provide their products and services directly to your organisation.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response: No details provided
In which country Organisation’s response: No details provided
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Throughout 2020-21 we conducted an actual risk mapping with STOP THE TRAFFIK. As a result of our actual risk mapping, we have progressed into the first round of ethical audits with our suppliers. We have partnered this year with SGS, a global ethical audits specialist to support us in our supplier monitoring. These audits have begun in our UK&I supply chains, with work progressing in 2021/22 to include audits for our global suppliers.

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

Costa Coffee puts People at the core of everything we do, and we work to ensure our team members are at lower than typical risk of exploitation, trafficking, and modern slavery.
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your own operations.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response: No details provided
In which country Organisation’s response: No details provided
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: Our Code of Conduct ensures our team members have an ongoing awareness of the policies Costa Coffee has in place to support them. It is provided to all employees upon joining, and signposts to relevant policies including our Speaking Out, Grievance and Equal Opportunities policies. As a franchisor, we work together with our franchisees (new and existing) to take a consistent approach on human rights and modern slavery.

Indicators of forced labour (optional)

We asked the organisation whether its statement refers to finding any International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour.
What are ILO indicators of forced labour?
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has produced a list of the most common signs of forced labour. They’re based on the definition of forced labour as ‘all work or service which is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.’ More details and guidance are available on the ILO website, and in their publication ILO indicators of forced labour
Organisation’s response
The organisation told us its statement does not refer to finding any International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour.

Demonstrating progress (optional)

We asked the organisation how its statement demonstrates progress over time in addressing modern slavery risks. They provided the following answer:
We recognise the importance of tracking our performance and progress across our supply chain, team members and consumers. Therefore, this year we have developed key performance indicators in line with our ongoing commitments and targets for the coming year in preventing modern slavery and protecting human rights. These KPIs will be tracked over the coming year and reported on in our statement for 2021-22.