Modern Slavery Statement for Gardening Services

Our gardening services operation is firmly committed to preventing modern slavery and human trafficking in every area of our work. This Modern Slavery Statement sets out our approach to identifying, assessing and mitigating risks, with clear expectations for all garden service partners and subcontractors. We provide garden maintenance, landscaping and allied gardening service solutions with an emphasis on ethical labour practices and respect for human rights.

Our Commitment and Scope

We declare a zero-tolerance policy for forced labour, bonded work, child labour and any form of exploitation. This commitment applies across our garden services supply chain, including seasonal planting, turf installation and garden clearance. We expect every supplier and contractor to uphold the same standards and to demonstrate transparent labour practices.

Zero-Tolerance Policy

Zero tolerance means we will not tolerate any breaches of worker rights. We will act decisively if exploitation is found: terminating contracts, reporting to authorities where required, and supporting remediation for affected individuals. Our garden service teams are trained to spot indicators of exploitation and to escalate concerns immediately.

We conduct regular supplier audits and due diligence to assess risks in our garden maintenance and gardening service supply chain. Audits cover wages, working hours, recruitment practices and housing conditions where applicable. We include contractual clauses requiring suppliers to comply with employment laws and to provide evidence of legal right to work and fair pay.

Risk assessments are performed periodically and whenever new suppliers are engaged. We prioritise higher-risk activities such as manual harvesting, seasonal planting crews and subcontracted landscaping works. Our procurement team collaborates with suppliers to implement corrective action plans and to monitor progress until compliance is sustained.

To support these measures we use a combination of approaches:

• on-site visits and interviews,
• documentation checks and payroll reviews,
• announced and unannounced inspections.

Training and capacity building for suppliers and crew leaders is mandatory, and we encourage open dialogue about improving worker welfare across our gardening services network.

We provide clear reporting channels for workers, subcontractors and third parties to raise concerns. Reports can be submitted anonymously through internal hotlines or via designated safeguarding officers; all reports are treated seriously and investigated promptly. Our policies protect whistleblowers from retaliation and ensure confidential handling of sensitive information.

Monitoring and continuous improvement are central to our approach. We publish findings internally, act on audit results and review contractual relationships where necessary. Supplier audits are scheduled at least annually for core suppliers and more frequently for those in high-risk categories. Corrective actions are tracked to completion before re-engagement.

Every year we will perform an annual review of this Modern Slavery Statement and of the effectiveness of our policies and processes. The review includes assessment of risks, audit outcomes, training records and any incidents reported through our reporting channels. Where improvements are required, we will update procedures, retrain staff and strengthen supplier requirements.

In addition to the annual review, we maintain a continuous improvement cycle: risk identification, supplier engagement, monitoring, remediation and reporting. Our commitment to ethical garden services, garden maintenance and landscaping and gardening solutions is enduring. We will continue to refine our approach to eradicate modern slavery from our operations and supply chain.

We expect all personnel and partners to familiarise themselves with this policy, to participate in training, and to act if they suspect exploitation. The leadership team remains accountable for driving compliance and for ensuring that our gardening services business operates with integrity, transparency and respect for human rights.

This statement is made to demonstrate our dedication to preventing modern slavery within our gardening services and related operations. We will publish updates following each annual review and take decisive action where non-compliance is detected.