A draft of new international guidance designed to help organizations prevent and address modern slavery is now open for public enquiry. You’re invited to submit comments via BSI, the UK’s National Standards Body, before February 2, 2026.
The draft, managing the risk of modern slavery: Guidance for the prevention, identification and response to human trafficking and forced labour (ISO 37200), is the first international standard dedicated to managing modern slavery risk. It provides organizations with practical guidance to prevent, identify, respond to, mitigate, remediate, and report modern slavery across their operations, supply chains, and wider operating environments. ISO 37200 builds on a British standard, organizational responses to modern slavery. Guidance (BS 25700), published by BSI in 2022.
An estimated 50 million people worldwide are living in modern slavery, the standards body reports, making exploitation a growing and systemic risk across global supply chains. Hence ISO 37200 to provide a consistent, credible, and practical framework to manage modern slavery risk, supporting governance, accountability, and ethical business practices, helping organizations address real-world risks across their operations, supply chains, and communities, and complementing legal, regulatory, and reporting requirements.
The standards body adds that 37200 is designed to be generic and flexible, making it applicable to all, regardless of size, sector, or location; for the public, private, and not-for-profit sector, including public–private partnerships.
Dawn Hunter, Head of Standards Development (Sustainability) at BSI said: “Modern slavery is a tragic feature of global supply chains, with millions globally affected by it, and it is vital for all of us to play a part in its eradication. This will be the first international standard dedicated to helping organizations manage modern slavery risk. Building on the UK’s landmark guidance on this topic, it brings UK leadership in ethical business to the global stage and provides practical guidance for organizations of all sizes to prevent, identify and respond to modern slavery. The public consultation is a vital opportunity for stakeholders to help shape a standard that addresses real-world risks across global supply chains.”
To help shape ISO 37200, visit https://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/projects/2023-01842.
