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Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement

Videndum plc and all its subsidiaries aim to uphold high levels of ethical standards throughout our dealing with employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. We are committed to ensuring that slavery and human trafficking does not exist in either our business operations or our supply chain.

This statement is made pursuant to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes Videndums slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year to 31 December 2020. This statement covers Videndum plc and all its subsidiary undertakings (including Videndum Production Solutions Limited).

Our Business

Videndum is a leading global provider of premium branded products and solutions to the fast moving and growing “image capture and content creation” market. Our customers include broadcasters, independent content creators, photographers and enterprises, and our activities comprise: design, manufacture and distribution of high performance products and solutions including camera supports, camera mounted electronic accessories, robotic camera systems, prompters, LED lights, mobile power, monitors, bags, motion control and noise reduction equipment.

We employ around 1,800 people across the world in 12 different countries and are organised in three divisions: Imaging Solutions, Production Solutions and Creative Solutions. Our products and services are sold in over 100 countries.

We procure materials from reputable suppliers and produce our products in efficient and environmentally friendly operations and, where appropriate, in lower cost countries such as Costa Rica, China, Vietnam and Myanmar. The majority of our operations are relatively low-volume, small-batch processes and our continuous improvement culture enables us to drive productivity in our core businesses.

We market our products and services through our own sales and marketing teams. The majority of our sales are conducted via a global network of distributors, dealers and retailers who sell on to customers.

We work closely with our business partners to ensure that they have similar values to our own. We have built close relationships with our business partners over a number of years which enables us to understand their working practices better, to be confident of their integrity, and that slavery or human trafficking does not exist in our business or supply chain.

Our Policies

Our Code of Conduct (“Code”) is published on our website and has been communicated to all employees, suppliers and business partners. Our Code sets out our values, beliefs and behaviours with which we should conduct ourselves and commits us to the highest standards of integrity. In accordance with our Code, employees are hired in accordance with local employment legislation and we are committed to their fair treatment, including our support of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As a condition of doing business with Videndum, all our suppliers and business partners must comply with the terms of our Code or have their own standards that are compatible with our own.

We operate an independent whistleblowing service in conjunction with EXPOLINK that allows anyone involved with our business to call an anonymous helpline and report suspected incidences of wrong-doing in our business, including slavery and human trafficking matters. The service has been communicated to all employees and is prominently displayed on the Group website and at all our sites. Our culture permits employees and third parties to raise concerns in a constructive way without fear of recrimination. Any such reports are thoroughly and independently investigated.

Our due diligence processes

We conduct due diligence on our suppliers and business partners, including through an on-line database (RiskRate by Navex) to access highly structured intelligence profiles, including information on slavery and human trafficking. All current suppliers and business partners have been referenced through the database and our business units provide an annual confirmation that the relationship remains appropriate. In addition, our senior management is aware of the importance of reputational issues as set out in our Code, including a zero tolerance towards slavery and human trafficking. Our senior management has close contact with our supply chain and business partners and each has represented that they are not aware of any malpractice including slavery and human trafficking. We further undertake credit checks and background checks relating to new customers, suppliers or business partners.

Our internal audit function also considers reputational risk issues when visiting our operations as part of its internal audit programme and acts as a further check on the risk around slavery and human trafficking.

Areas of risk

As a global business we provide goods and services to customers, either directly or through third parties, in over 100 countries, including the outsourcing of parts of our supply chain, such as manufacturing, distribution and sales. While all risk cannot be eradicated we believe we have undertaken relevant steps to ensure that the risk of slavery and human trafficking in our business and supply chain has been mitigated, and continually monitor the situation through access to our on-line database and the completion of regular site visits.

Effectiveness

We will promptly and thoroughly investigate any claim or indication that a supplier is engaging in human trafficking or slavery, or has contravened our Code, and would not hesitate to terminate our relationship with that supplier if the allegations were substantiated. The whistleblowing service through EXPOLINK supports our processes and we are pleased to report that no such reports of slavery or human trafficking have been made to this service since it was established.

Training

Employees receive periodic training covering our Code, and additional training will be provided to those employees whose roles are more likely to be impacted by slavery or human trafficking issues.

We are committed to this important issue and continue to develop our monitoring systems to ensure our business and supply chain is free from slavery and human trafficking issues. We will publish a statement on slavery and human trafficking annually as required.

 

Stephen Bird
Group Chief Executive
Videndum plc

Nicola Dal Toso
Director
Videndum Production Solutions Limited

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