Pilgrim’s UK, the higher welfare pork provider, has conducted a human rights impact assessment (HRIA) of its integrated pork and lamb supply chains alongside retail partners Waitrose and Co-op.
The impact assessment, a unique process for a livestock supply chain due to the scale and wide-ranging criteria, covered the company’s outdoor-bred pig farms, lamb farms and processing and abattoir sites which supply Waitrose and Co-op stores. The results of the assessment will support Pilgrim UK and it’s supermarkets in understanding the impact of their practices on farmers, workers and stakeholders in the supply chain, as well as providing considerations for actions moving forward.
Taking place between October 2021 to February 2022, the assessment covered a period of significant challenge for the UK pork industry which led to a backlog of pigs on farms.
Action plan
Following the assessment, a joint Human Rights Action Plan, has been published, which is designed to raise awareness among stakeholders of health and safety training, mental health and wellbeing, gender discrimination and access to grievance systems. Worker welfare visits will also continue to take place to ensure standards are maintained. The action plan will be updated publicly to show the progress being made.
Rachel Baldwin, HR VP at Pilgrim’s UK described the assessment as progress towards ‘a fully transparent and ethical supply chain’. She said: “We’re committed to raising awareness of workers’ rights and, while the meat industry has historically come up against perception challenges in this area, we want to do all we can to overturn those challenges by going further in understanding our supply chains and supporting workers.”
Co-op and Waitrose both welcomed the report and the subsequent action plan. Aisha Aswani, Senior Human Rights & Ethical Trading Manager at Co-op, said: “True to our co-operative values, listening to workers and understanding the challenges they face is key to driving innovation in due diligence, creating genuine sustainable change, and ensuring that everyone producing our food gets a fair deal. We look forward to working with Pilgrim’s UK and key stakeholders to take action on the findings and together make a difference within the pork supply chain.’
Ethics and Sustainability Advisor at Waitrose, John Gregson, said the report reflects the challenges faced by workers in the supply chain and the findings demonstrate the requirement for continued focus on the working conditions for all. “Even though we have strong and close relationships with our farmers and suppliers and are proud of our standards, we believe that the food and farming industries should be prepared to regularly submit themselves to scrutiny to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all stakeholders.”