The Direct Produce Supplies Ltd (dps) board of directors have approved and signed the below statement.

We are fully committed to social, ethical and environmental responsibilities within our business and supply chain and have zero tolerance for slavery and human trafficking; the board review annually, at financial year-end of 30th September.

dps are an importer and supplier of fresh produce.

To demonstrate our commitment and transparency:

• dps have published their slavery and human trafficking statement in the following locations: https://www.dpsltd.com, https://tiscreport.org and www.modernslaveryregistry.org
• We have a senior manager responsible for ensuring the commitment, policies, practices, risk assessments and due diligence relating to the eradication of Slavery and Human Trafficking are upheld and progressed within our global supply chains, and businesses.

dps imports fresh produce from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas:

• Induction for new employees includes a Stronger Together video to raise awareness of modern slavery, grievance procedure details and an anonymous third-party whistleblowing line.
• dps representatives have been part of the multi-stakeholder initiative aiming to reduce modern slavery, Stronger Together http://stronger2gether.org and attended bespoke training to ensure company compliance. Additionally, we became Stronger Together business partners in 2015.
• We require our suppliers to sign a dps Code of Practice annually. This prohibits the use of forced; bonded (including debt bondage) or indentured labour; child labour; involuntary prison labour; slavery or trafficking of persons; discriminatory practice; unsafe or inhumane working conditions; unreasonable working hours and pay and suppression of collective bargaining, in line with the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code.
• We conduct on-going supplier risk assessments to capture threats and vulnerabilities within the business and supply chain in relation to human rights, trafficking and modern slavery, and country governance and accountability. Risk data sources include FNET country risk ratings, SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange), governmental data and industry-relevant assessments, ethical initiatives and reporting. Our team of trained auditors also visit individual supplying sites throughout our supply chain to conduct an analysis of the labour force where applicable.
• As committed members of SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange), we participate in the annual conference and stakeholder forums. All primary suppliers, plus all high-risk suppliers to grower level are also SEDEX members and must complete a comprehensive self-assessment questionnaire capturing labour supply.
• Our high-risk suppliers are ethically audited to grower level by third-party auditing bodies. Our South African suppliers undergo SIZA audits at a frequency determined by the auditing body, while all other applicable suppliers undergo either SMETA, Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade and GRASP audits on an annual basis. Where applicable, any critical non-compliances raised are followed up on and monitored to resolution. Additional workforce data is obtained for some suppliers relating to country-specific known ethical issues.
• dps are actively involved in several collaborative ethical initiatives to support ethical practice across our supply chains, for instance, the Spanish Ethical Trade Forum.

Directors for Direct Produce Supplies Ltd have approved this statement
Paul Beynon
Group CEO
27th November 2020

Through all of our activities, dps recognise the importance of having a restorative impact on the planet, working alongside our growers, suppliers, customers, and partners to secure a thriving and healthy future for generations to come.

Our Environmental Sustainability Commitments

We aim to optimise our environmental performance by committing to:

• Reducing our operational Food Waste
• Removing unnecessary Plastic Packaging and improving Packaging Recyclability
• Reducing our Carbon Footprint and overall Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
• Protecting, conserving and restoring Biodiversity in agriculture
• Implementing Water Stewardship practices
• Minimising office, manufacturing and agricultural Waste through the principles of Circular Economy

Our environmental sustainability commitments and targets support the delivery of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in relation to: Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, Life on Land, and Partnership for the Goals.

UN SDG Goal 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, is particularly important to dps. In 2017, we proudly adopted UN SDG 12.3 to halve food waste in our operations by 2030.

We are also UK WRAP – IGD Food Waste Reduction Roadmap signatories, further embedding our commitment to: Target, Measure and Act to help halve supply chain food waste from farm to fork. We believe in working closely with growers and our customers to reduce food waste in the supply chain and by partnering with redistribution charities such as FareShare, we are able to prevent food waste by making sure that surplus food fit to eat reaches those who need it most.