Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement
The United Kingdom Modern Slavery Act of 2015 requires certain businesses to outline the steps they have taken to address that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any of its supply chains or its own business. The disclosures are intended to increase the amount of information made available by companies in order to allow consumers to make more informed choices regarding the products they buy and the companies they choose to support.
As the entity carrying on business in the United Kingdom, Dakota Integrated Solutions Ltd is providing this statement.
Dakota is a technology-centric, customer-focused company which provides and deploys integrated digital data capture, printing, mobility, support and voice-directed solutions across a diverse range of applications within both supply chain and healthcare environments. Dakota provides its customers with up-to-date and fit-for-purpose digitalised products and solutions, helping them to deploy fully automated systems that embrace their current processes and practices.
Dakota has a strong commitment to high ethical standards. Dakota’s reputation and the continued success of its business depend upon all Dakota’s employees conducting their activities with integrity and in compliance with the law. Dakota does not condone any form of human trafficking or the use of slavery in its business or in the manufacture of any products used to form part of its solutions, and Dakota expects its suppliers to conduct themselves consistent with this belief.
Dakota supports the activities of the Responsible Business Alliance (“RBA,” formerly known as Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition or EICC) and supports the vision and goals of the RBA and the application of its standards in maintaining and improving social, economic and environmental performance. Dakota is committed to conforming to the principles of the RBA Code of Conduct (which prohibits the use of forced labour, bonded labour (including debt bondage), indentured labour, involuntary prisoned labour, slavery or trafficking) in its own operations, and promotes that its suppliers implement the principles of the RBA Code in their operations as well as within their supply chains.
Dakota does its best to ensure that its major suppliers represent and warrant performance with ethical standards and in conformance with applicable legal requirements in the agreements they sign to supply products and services to Dakota. Some of these major supply agreements also include representations to comply with the RBA Code of Conduct or commitments to not use prohibited labour. Further, Dakota’s template purchasing documents, if utilised, require suppliers to represent and warrant performance with ethical standards and in conformance with applicable legal requirements. A number of those template documents require suppliers to understand the principles and intent of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles fostered by the RBA Code of Conduct or any internationally recognized equivalent in the areas of Environmental Sustainability, Health and Safety, and Labour and Ethics, and to provide services in conformance with the principles and aims of the RBA Code of Conduct, to the extent applicable. Dakota’s supply chain reviews agreements with current suppliers as they expire for the purpose of promoting such compliance. A violation of these provisions in Dakota’s supply agreements may be considered a breach of the supply agreement and a number of Dakota’s major supply agreements provide Dakota with the ability to terminate the supply agreement and pursue various penalties and damages against that supplier.
Dakota views assessments and audits as an integral part of Dakota’s overall supplier management process and regularly conducts its own Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Audits of major suppliers to evaluate and address risks. These announced audits are performed according to Dakota’s standard quality measures and CSR audit checklist, the RBA Code of Conduct and related laws and regulations. Audit findings are shared with suppliers and Dakota requests suppliers to provide a corrective action plan and implement corrective actions (and provide evidence of such), within a defined period of time (depending on type of finding) if deficiencies are identified. If there is a critical finding (serious violation) identified in an audit, Dakota procedures require escalation to top management and procurement within a 72-hour period of time.
Dakota’s commitment to doing business with high standards of compliance and business ethics is set forth in its Code of Conduct and is reinforced by Dakota’s Senior Management Team. Dakota’s Code of Conduct applies to all Dakota employees, and each employee is responsible for acting within the letter and spirit of Dakota’s Code, Dakota policies and the laws, rules and regulations applicable to the employee’s country or territory. Dakota encourages the involvement of all employees in the detection and prevention of potential misconduct by employees or third-party suppliers to Dakota. Dakota employees that have compliance concerns may report these concerns to their manager, with a process to report concerns or allegations of misconduct on a confidential and anonymous basis. Concerns may be reported both by Dakota employees and third parties. Employees found in violation of Dakota policies or relevant laws and regulations applicable to Dakota’s operations may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
Dakota’s Management Team promotes a culture of ethical and lawful behaviour by Dakota employees and establishes systems and procedures that are generally effective in preventing and detecting criminal conduct and breaches of Dakota’s Code of Conduct Code.
Dakota provides mandatory training on the Dakota Code of Conduct to its new employees, as well as periodic training in specialised areas to new and existing employees. Training is also provided to designated employees on what constitutes slavery and human trafficking in the supply chain, how to identify, and ways to address suspected violations. All employees are asked to certify annually acknowledgement that they have read, understand and agree to comply with Dakota’s Code of Conduct.
This statement is made pursuant section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 December 2024.
This Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement is kept under regular review to ensure that we adhere to best practices at all times. Any changes and updates to the policy can be found on this web page. The policy was last updated January 2024, and authorised by:
Keith Hardy
Managing Director
Dakota Integrated Solutions
Philip Jarrett
Commercial Director
Dakota Integrated Solutions