Statement on Human Trafficking and Slavery | STERIS Sustainability Statement on Human Trafficking and Slavery | STERIS Sustainability
STERIS Corporation - Helping to provide a healthier today and a safer tomorrow.
STERIS Corporation - Helping to provide a healthier today and a safer tomorrow.

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Statement on Human Trafficking and Slavery for 2022

This Statement sets out the actions that STERIS, including STERIS plc and its subsidiaries (“the Company”), has taken to prevent human trafficking and slavery in its businesses and supply chain in fiscal 2022. STERIS strongly opposes all forms of slavery, servitude, forced labor, child labor and human trafficking. The Company recognizes that human trafficking and slavery can occur in many forms. References in this Statement to "human trafficking and slavery" are intended to encompass any form of coerced labor.

STERIS is a leading global provider of products and services that support patient care with an emphasis on infection prevention. WE HELP OUR CUSTOMERS CREATE A HEALTHIER AND SAFER WORLD by providing innovative healthcare, life sciences and dental products and services. We offer our Customers a unique mix of innovative consumable products, such as detergents, gastrointestinal (“GI”) endoscopy accessories, barrier product solutions, and other products and services, including; equipment installation and maintenance, microbial reduction of medical devices, dental instruments and tools, instrument and scope repair, laboratory testing services, outsourced reprocessing, and capital equipment products, such as sterilizers and surgical tables, automated endoscope reprocessors, and connectivity solutions such as operating room (“OR”) integration. STERIS manufactures, sources, and provides services and solutions to its Customers globally. The Company's supply chains include thousands of suppliers and are extensive and complex.

The Company has implemented and maintains systems and processes to avoid complicity in human trafficking and slavery related to our operations as well as any such activity occurring in our supply chains.

The Company maintains a Code of Business Conduct ("Code"), which requires all Associates, among other obligations, to act lawfully, ethically, and responsibly in all of their business practices, and to comply with applicable laws. New Associates are required to acknowledge their understanding of the Code and commit to adhering to the Code's policies. The Company requires all Associates to attest to their understanding of, and adherence to, the Code.

The Code also specifically provides that a failure by any Associate to comply with laws or regulations governing the Company's business or the Code may result in disciplinary action, termination, and if warranted, legal proceedings, and provides for communication channels to be utilized in case of any violations. To further encourage compliance and the reporting of violations, the Company maintains an Integrity Helpline (reporting system) and website, available to Associates as well as Customers, suppliers and all other business partners of STERIS. A strict anti-retaliation policy is followed, and reports may be made anonymously, where allowed by local law. All reports are promptly addressed by the Company's Ethics Committee and reviewed each quarter by the Compliance Committee of STERIS plc's Board of Directors. STERIS has not received any reports with respect to our businesses regarding human trafficking or slavery.

The Company has no reason to believe that any human trafficking or slavery is occurring in any of the Company's businesses. Nonetheless, the Company has taken the following steps to detect and prevent any violations of applicable human trafficking and slavery laws or conditions that may give rise to a violation:

  • A dedicated Compliance team is responsible for conducting an annual due diligence exercise to examine supplier risk.
  • STERIS actively participates in the Social Responsibility Alliance (SRA), which is a consortium of organizations working in tandem to ensure respect for human rights. Through our participation with the SRA, STERIS is working to identify and address risks of human trafficking and slavery, especially throughout its global supply chain. STERIS actively participates in SRA’s Slavery & Trafficking Risk Template ("STRT") Development Committee. STERIS utilizes the STRT to survey its suppliers for risk of human trafficking and slavery. This tool engages suppliers in the risk assessment process and, in doing so, helps STERIS foster constructive dialogue and raise supplier awareness of its commitment to mitigating human trafficking and slavery risk.
  • Communications focusing on human trafficking and slavery, including stated obligations of both the Company and its supply chain partners, have been made available to suppliers in conjunction with the STRT surveys. Those suppliers whose responses to the STRT survey indicated a higher risk of human trafficking and slavery were notified of their risk rating and provided an outline of appropriate steps to promote improvement of their company programs.
  • The Company audits its supply chain as appropriate. STERIS's continued and increasingly vigilant engagement with its supply base will enhance transparency and assist in compliance with the applicable human trafficking and slavery laws.
  • The Company has adopted a Policy on Human Trafficking and Slavery (the "Policy") which expressly prohibits human trafficking or slavery in any form. The Policy includes examples of specific practices that are prohibited and can be found by Associates on the STERIS intranet. In addition, the STERIS Human Rights and Labor Rights Policy, which is accessible via the STERIS website, communicates STERIS’s recognition and appreciation of our responsibility to Associates health and safety, freedom of association, labor standards, equal employment, security, and privacy.
  • A Supplier Code of Conduct defining requirements and expectations for ethical behavior by the Company's suppliers and business partners, and requiring compliance with applicable laws, including human trafficking and slavery laws, appears prominently on the STERIS website for viewing by the Company's suppliers. STERIS suppliers found to be in violation of the Supplier Code of Conduct are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of the business relationship.
  • The Company assessed its internal labor practices in 2022 by surveying operations in North America, Europe, South America, South Africa and Asia, including, but not limited to, any practices involving the engagement of labor through recruiters and the hiring of temporary Associates.
  • The Company will not work with any organization it finds to be knowingly involved with human trafficking or slavery. STERIS encourages everyone, including Associates, contractors and suppliers, to report in good faith any issues or concerns regarding human trafficking or slavery.
  • In December 2021, the United States passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) which imposes a rebuttable presumption that goods produced or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of the People’s Republic of China, or by certain entities, are produced with forced labor and are not entitled to entry to the United States. In response, STERIS completed additional due diligence on this topic via the STRT survey. Responses received from our suppliers at this time have not revealed any links to our supply chain in this region.

STERIS Directors and Senior Management are responsible for ensuring that the activities of the Company continue to comply with applicable human trafficking and slavery laws. To this end, STERIS will continue to provide adequate resources, the commitment of its Associates, training, and investment to ensure compliance.

Where required, this statement has been adopted and approved by individual STERIS operating companies. Signed copies of this statement can be found below.

Click to view signed copies of this statement: