We provide our customers with ethically sourced products and services, and we insist our suppliers meet the same high standard.
Managing an ethical supply chain
RELX has a diverse supply chain with suppliers located in over 150 countries across multiple categories, including technology (e.g. software, cloud, hardware and telecom), indirect (e.g. consulting, marketing, contingent labour and travel), and direct (e.g. data/content and production services, print/paper/bind and distribution).
Given the importance of an ethical supply chain, we maintain a Socially Responsible Supplier (SRS) programme encompassing all our business areas, supported by colleagues with expertise in operations and procurement and a dedicated SRS Director from our global procurement function. We maintain the SRS programme terms as well as policies and other requirements for our suppliers here. The VP Global Procurement has operational responsibility for ensuring engagement with suppliers occurs.
Monitoring suppliers
Our Supplier Code of Conduct (Supplier Code) stipulates our expectations of our suppliers. It incorporates the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and encompasses key topics such as involuntary labour, non-discrimination, compensation and working hours, coercion and harassment, data security and environment. We require suppliers to ensure the standards of the Code are applied across their own supply chain. Where local industry standards are higher than applicable legal requirements, we expect suppliers to meet the higher standards.
Non signatories are primarily new to the SRS tracking list and we are working with them, and other non-signatories, to gain agreement to our Code. In total, at the end of 2024 there were 6,056 signatories to our Supplier Code, or suppliers with an equivalent code, representing an increase of 14% from 5,322 signatories at the close of 2023.
We engage specialist supply chain auditors to evaluate compliance with the Supplier Code, and in 2024 there were 137 external audits; 61 onsite and virtual and 76 desktop. During 2024 onsite and virtual onsite audit locations included Brazil, Canada, China, Hungary, India, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and Vietnam.
Desktop audits involve supplier responses to an online questionnaire, supporting document uploads, and a risk assessment. Virtual onsite audits involve facility representatives wearing a video and audio source which enables the third-party auditor to assess the facility, conduct interviews, and review documentation. During an onsite audit, the auditor will randomly select employees from a full roster to interview. This provides an opportunity to address the awareness and trust of the process.
Interviews are confidential, facility management are not allowed to be present, and the interviews are anonymised.
In communicating non-compliance to management, the auditor cannot disclose information which could identify the employee or employees to avoid retaliation against them, which is forbidden by the Supplier Code.
If an incidence of noncompliance is found during an audit, a remediation timeline is set where timings are either immediate or from 30-90 days based on the finding. The audit reports provide a summary of findings, local law references based on noncompliance as appropriate, root cause and explanation of the noncompliance, follow-up method, timescale, and the recommendations or actions needed to close the finding.
Suppliers upload a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) for each noncompliance finding in the audit platform and a follow-up audit is scheduled to confirm action. Auditors work with suppliers until full compliance is reached. Our aim is to work with suppliers to ensure remediation but in instances where the supplier fails to take sufficient action, we will terminate the supplier relationship.
To minimise the risks of deforestation in our production paper supply chain, we utilise the Forest Sourcing module of The Book Chain Project, a shared industry resource for sustainable paper we helped establish, to assess the forest sources of our papers.
By year end 2024, 100% of RELX’s production paper was graded by The Book Chain Project as known and responsible (sustainable) sources or certified to FSC or PEFC (less than 0.1% not yet graded or certified).
During 2024 we held RELX Supplier sessions focused on modern slavery, transformational governance and setting science-based carbon reduction targets.
Promoting human rights through the Supplier Code
As stated above, the Supplier Code sets out expectations for our suppliers’ ethical conduct.
In accordance with the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015, our Supplier Code specifically prohibits participation in any activity related to human trafficking, based on the American Bar Association’s Model Business Conduct Standards to Eradicate Labor Human Rights Impacts in Hiring and Supply Chain Practices.
In 2024, we updated our RELX Modern Slavery Act Statement (MSA), available at www.relx.com, which states how we are working to avoid human trafficking and modern slavery in our direct operations and in our supply chain.
The Supplier Code stipulates that, where required by law, suppliers will have employment contracts signed with all employees and requires mechanisms for reporting grievances.
It additionally contains a provision on involuntary labour that states unequivocally that suppliers cannot directly or indirectly use, participate in, or benefit from, involuntary workers and human trafficking-related activities. Suppliers have access to Modern Slavery Awareness training through our audit provider.
In addition, we asked 88 suppliers to undergo further training on freely chosen employment and child labour in the year. We use a UK Government definition of modern slavery, particularly ‘the trafficking of people, forced labour, servitude and slavery.’ We did not receive any reports or questions from employees that related to modern slavery in the year.
The Supplier Code states that failure to comply may result in termination of the business relationship between RELX and the supplier, it also protects reporting persons from retaliation.