Stone Federation Great Britain is to establish an Ethical Stone Register (although it might be given a different name by the time it is launched) and it intends to make ethical trading one of the criteria for membership of the Federation.

BRE is publishing a new standard this month (July) – the Ethical Labour Standard – to give organisations a framework to verify their systems and processes in relation to the Modern Slavery Act (European-leading legislation introduced by Theresa May when she was Home Secretary), so they can continuously improve their ethical labour sourcing practices.

That might be an ideal solution for companies with a turnover above the £36million reporting threshold required by the Modern Slavery Act, but the standard will be further than a lot of Stone Federation members have the capacity to extend to. So Stone Federation is aiming to produce its Ethical Stone Register as an alternative specifically for stone companies. It is intended to be practicable while also gradually delivering real results in terms of improving the conditions of workers in the supply chain.

David Richardson, a stone consultant and Past-President of Stone Federation, is preparing a proposal for creating the register. It will be a sector specific scheme answering questions about the sources of stone, says David. “We have decided the best value will be achieved by focusing on the sector.”