For the third year, the Unseen Business awards will be dedicating a special evening to celebrate businesses and individuals leading the way in the fight against modern slavery.
We want to thank everyone who submitted a nomination for these awards. The selection was filled with excellent nominees and we are so pleased to have such a strong shortlist for each category.
Congratulations to those shortlisted!
Winners will be announced at our business awards 2025 event in London on 25 September.
Business Impact Award Shortlist
This award recognises a business demonstrating significant progress in eradicating modern slavery from its operations or supply chain.
Bright Future Co-operative
Bright Future Co-operative has a ground breaking, survivor-centred approach to tackling modern slavery through employment. Its unique co-operative model unites over 40 businesses and charities as equal partners, embedding accountability and collaboration into every placement. By creating sustainable, trauma-informed employment pathways, Bright Future empowers survivors to regain dignity, independence, and financial security while reducing the risk of re-exploitation.
In just the past 18 months, Bright Future has expanded into Scotland, forged new regional partnerships, and increased survivor placements across diverse industries. Employers report that the programme not only transforms survivor lives but also enriches workplace culture and strengthens business purpose.
What makes Bright Future exceptional is its combination of ethical innovation, strategic collaboration, and tangible impact. Survivors consistently describe life-changing outcomes—greater confidence, inclusion, and stability—while employers gain the tools and confidence to act on modern slavery for the first time.
Each placement represents a life rebuilt and a powerful step towards systemic change. Bright Future’s pioneering model proves that businesses can be active agents in eradicating modern slavery
Built Environment Against Slavery Group - Supply Chain Sustainability School
Founded by the Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSS), the Built Environment Against Slavery (BEAS) Group is the UK’s largest collective initiative tackling modern slavery and labour exploitation in the built environment and supply chains. It unites over 70 organisations across construction, infrastructure, government, and facilities management and its long-term strategy is to transform industry practices shifting from reactive compliance to proactive prevention through to effective remediation. BEAS has developed innovative, practical solutions that improve the sector’s ability to identify, prevent, and respond to modern slavery risks, building on survivor insight and technological advances. Key innovations include a survivor-informed operational toolkit, supply chain risk guide, and technology-enabled dashboards.
BEAS has delivered tangible impact through large-scale upskilling, with over 3,100 professionals upskilled in the last 12 month, and thousands engaged in resources and toolkits endorsed by industry bodies. Supplier pathways, organisational embedding, and survey evidence show cultural shifts in organisations and BEAS work with government and industry leaders, driving systemic improvements in modern slavery due diligence.
Phoenix Group
Phoenix Group has innovated a scalable, multi-layered human rights due diligence framework for investments, integrating data analysis, risk mapping, and engagement. By combining geographic and sectoral insights, it prioritises high-risk sectors and regions, enabling targeted action.
In 2024, they conducted a country-level and sector-level assessment of their £292 billion investment portfolio. Using data from third-party providers, they analysed human rights risks across 164 countries and identified operations in 114 high-risk locations. They also assessed exposure to conflict-affected areas and countries vulnerable to modern slavery, resulting in a list of over 8,000 companies with operations in high-risk regions. Combining geographic and sectoral risk data, they identified 3,000+ companies for further analysis, which formed the basis of their engagement strategy for 2025. Their approach is scalable, repeatable, and designed for continuous improvement, with a commitment to repeat this this portfolio analysis every three years, ensuring their strategy remains responsive to emerging risks and evolving global standards.
This data-driven, innovative approach embeds human rights into investment strategy. With 69% of identified priority companies already engaged, Phoenix demonstrates measurable impact. Its scalable, repeatable approach positions it as an industry leader in responsible investing and sustainable, human rights–focused stewardship.
Their work is driven by a deep commitment to sustainable investing and a belief that financial institutions have a responsibility to protect and promote human rights.
NatWest Group Modern Slavery Working Group and Human Rights Action Group
NatWest Group is setting a powerful example of how a business can lead with purpose, using innovation and collaboration to tackle one of society’s most pressing challenges: modern slavery. Far from treating compliance as a tick-box exercise, NatWest has embedded human rights protection into the very fabric of its business model, governance, and culture.
Its pioneering modern slavery typology dashboard has transformed how risks are identified—spotting red flags in financial transactions, disrupting trafficking networks, and even helping rescue victims through intelligence shared with law enforcement. This is innovation in action, with measurable impact on people’s lives.
NatWest’s commitment extends across its supply chains, with 74% of supplier spend now covered by assessments, outperforming global benchmarks. Its dedication to colleagues is equally impressive—94% of those in high-risk roles have completed modern slavery training, while over 1,400 colleagues engaged with awareness initiatives, driving cultural change across the organisation.
What sets NatWest apart is its leadership. With Board-level oversight, strong partnerships with NGOs, government, and industry, and a focus on continuous improvement, the bank is not only raising standards internally but shaping systemic change.
Amelia Woodley - Speedy Hire
Amelia has been a champion for modern slavery and human rights for over a decade and, in the last two years working with Speedy Hire, has played a pivotal role in influencing the organisations approach, embedding modern slavery and human rights into corporate governance, risk registers, supply chain management, and recruitment. She achieved this through developing a human centric approach to modern slavery and human rights ensuring that the survivor was always at the heart of decision making
Under her leadership, 3,300 employees and supply chain partners received training, and innovative initiatives like #knowyourchain ensured ethical sourcing of eco-technologies. Amelia introduced new remediation protocols, improved supplier grievance mechanisms, survivor-focused recruitment, and partnered with Bright Future to support survivors into employment. As Speedy Hire’s executive sponsor for championing modern slavery and human rights, she has helped elevate the business to be an industry leader while keeping survivors at the heart of decision-making.
Innovation Award Shortlist
This award celebrates a business pioneering new approaches to identify and address worker exploitation.
Tanika Marais - NHS Shared Business Services
NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) is transforming the fight against modern slavery through a clear, risk-based strategy embedded across its supply chains. Guided by its Modern Slavery Statement, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), and comprehensive pre-procurement risk assessments, NHS SBS ensures exploitation risks are identified, reported, and mitigated at every stage. All staff are trained to recognise indicators, suppliers are rigorously assessed using risk models, and tailored risk classifications ensure appropriate due diligence. Collaborations with key partners strengthen survivor-informed policies, transparency, and continuous improvement. Outcomes include early interventions, enhanced supply chain accountability, and ethical procurement leadership.
Their innovative forward thinking initiatives including integrated digital reporting tools, data-driven supplier oversight, survivor-informed policy making and pre-procurement risk mapping, positions NHS SBS at the industry’s cutting edge. Their strategic clarity, effective implementation, measurable impact, and innovative use of technology and survivor input create a robust blueprint for change. NHS SBS lead by example, influencing local, national, and global supply chains, and setting a high standard for ethical, transparent, and responsive business practices within the healthcare ecosystem.
Invisible Journeys Ltd
Invisible Journeys exemplifies bold innovation in tackling modern slavery within the digital gig economy. Unlike traditional awareness or compliance approaches, it fuses rare methodologies—such as autoethnography—with a participatory digital platform that combines worker testimonies, blockchain verification, predictive analytics, and environmental data integration.
By linking CO₂ emissions to labour exploitation, it introduces a novel ESG perspective while aligning with UK and international policy frameworks. Inspired by a web’s interconnected structure, the platform transforms worker inputs into secure, anonymised data threads that fuel systemic reform. More than a prototype, it is a functioning ethical infrastructure, proving that innovation can serve dignity, accountability, and justice in an economy built on invisibility.
Amelia Knott - TV Industry Human Rights Forum
Every Role Matters is the first UK television initiative to systematically address exploitation and modern slavery risks among ancillary workers—cleaners, drivers, caterers, and security staff—who are often subcontracted, operate in precarious and often invisible roles on production sites and excluded from industry protections. Delivered from May 2024–May 2025 by the University of Nottingham and the TV Industry Human Rights Forum (Sky, ITV, Channel 4, BBC Studios, NBC Universal), the project innovatively centred worker voices by recruiting peer researchers with lived experience. Through surveys, interviews, and workshops, it generated baseline data, exposed unsafe practices and excessive hours, and produced actionable recommendations. With strong industry backing, findings are already shaping broadcaster risk assessments and procurement standards.
This project exemplifies a practical, collaborative, and worker-centred approach to ending modern slavery in a complex, outsourced creative industry. By making visible the invisible, it challenges industry complacency and offers a replicable model for other sectors grappling with similar risks. Crucially, it does not stop at identifying harm but provides a pathway for structural change that centres the voices and rights of workers most at risk.
Phoenix Group
Phoenix Group has innovated a scalable, multi-layered human rights due diligence framework for investments, integrating data analysis, risk mapping, and engagement. By combining geographic and sectoral insights, it prioritises high-risk sectors and regions, enabling targeted action.
In 2024, they conducted a country-level and sector-level assessment of their £292 billion investment portfolio. Using data from third-party providers, they analysed human rights risks across 164 countries and identified operations in 114 high-risk locations. They also assessed exposure to conflict-affected areas and countries vulnerable to modern slavery, resulting in a list of over 8,000 companies with operations in high-risk regions. Combining geographic and sectoral risk data, they identified 3,000+ companies for further analysis, which formed the basis of their engagement strategy for 2025. Their approach is scalable, repeatable, and designed for continuous improvement, with a commitment to repeat this this portfolio analysis every three years, ensuring their strategy remains responsive to emerging risks and evolving global standards.
This data-driven, innovative approach embeds human rights into investment strategy. With 69% of identified priority companies already engaged, Phoenix demonstrates measurable impact. Its scalable, repeatable approach positions it as an industry leader in responsible investing and sustainable, human rights–focused stewardship.
Their work is driven by a deep commitment to sustainable investing and a belief that financial institutions have a responsibility to protect and promote human rights.
Partnership Award Shortlist
Recognising the power of teamwork, this award celebrates businesses fostering successful partnerships to combat modern slavery.
Solar PV Group and Procurement Guidance - Action Sustainability and Partners
Globally, 27.6 million people are in forced labour, with solar supply chains identified as high risk. In response, Action Sustainability collaborated with 13 industry and government partners to create the first free, practical procurement guidance targeting modern slavery in solar PV.
Co-developed with input from over 50 stakeholders—including NGOs, government bodies, trade groups, suppliers, and investors—the guidance provides due diligence tools, contract clauses, and risk indicators aligned with international frameworks.
Unlike compliance-driven approaches, it embeds human rights into core procurement, supporting a Just Transition. Alongside the guidance, Action Sustainability delivered extensive training via the Supply Chain Sustainability School, with over 3,000 participants since launch. Feedback shows high relevance and strong intent to apply learning.
Since its release in September 2023, the initiative has achieved global uptake, influenced policy, and catalysed cultural shifts across procurement. This project demonstrates that ethical sourcing in solar is both achievable and scalable.
Madeline Fitton - Sodexo
Madeline is a passionate leader in ethical trading and ESG, with a focus on anti-slavery strategy and collaboration. She has developed comprehensive company frameworks to identify and prevent modern slavery, emphasizing practical impact over compliance. Madeline founded the BSA Modern Slavery Council (UK, 2021) and the Ireland Modern Slavery Council (2025), uniting corporations, NGOs, and government bodies to tackle exploitation collectively. She drives initiatives like the Modern Slavery Toolkit and Frontline Workers Training Pack, equipping organizations to identify, report, and prevent slavery. Through public-private partnerships, stakeholder engagement, and practical resources, Madeline has facilitated systemic change, inspired action, and created measurable impact, helping companies of all sizes address modern slavery responsibly and effectively.
Built Environment Against Slavery Group - Supply Chain Sustainability School
Founded by the Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSS), the Built Environment Against Slavery (BEAS) Group is the UK’s largest collective initiative tackling modern slavery and labour exploitation in the built environment and supply chains. It unites over 70 organisations across construction, infrastructure, government, and facilities management and its long-term strategy is to transform industry practices shifting from reactive compliance to proactive prevention through to effective remediation. BEAS has developed innovative, practical solutions that improve the sector’s ability to identify, prevent, and respond to modern slavery risks, building on survivor insight and technological advances. Key innovations include a survivor-informed operational toolkit, supply chain risk guide, and technology-enabled dashboards.
BEAS has delivered tangible impact through large-scale upskilling, with over 3,100 professionals upskilled in the last 12 month, and thousands engaged in resources and toolkits endorsed by industry bodies. Supplier pathways, organisational embedding, and survey evidence show cultural shifts in organisations and BEAS work with government and industry leaders, driving systemic improvements in modern slavery due diligence.
Individual Impact Award Shortlist
This award honours individuals who have spearheaded efforts to combat modern slavery within their organisation or with the wider sector.
Camille Ollier - Sainsbury's
Camille Ollier has been instrumental in shaping Sainsbury’s leading modern slavery strategy, driving meaningful remediation for vulnerable workers and fostering industry-wide change. Her work has strengthened governance, accountability, and proactive risk management while embedding worker empowerment and supplier collaboration. Camille has spearheaded investigations and remediation processes, ensuring affected workers receive support, including repayment of illicit recruitment fees.
Camille has engaged senior leadership, NGOs, and retailers to align practices, co-developing initiatives such as the Serious Incident Escalation Protocol, a groundbreaking framework that is now adopted sector-wide. This initiative has streamlined supplier engagement, making it easier to address incidents effectively and provide workers with swift support.
Camille also champions innovation, leveraging technology to enhance supply chain visibility and incorporating survivor voices into policy design. Recognised for advancing human rights, her strategic vision and collaboration continue to deliver tangible impact and systemic progress against exploitation.
Anthony Hanley - Alcumus
Anthony Hanley is a tireless advocate and leader in the fight against modern slavery, combining passion, authenticity, and strategic action to drive meaningful impact. Through his role at Alcumus, he leads a modern slavery strategy spanning 500 buying clients and 39,000 SMEs, that spearheads efforts to eradicate modern slavery across complex supply chains. Under his leadership, Alcumus has built vital partherships with NGOs and established new collaborative frameworks to drive systemic change.
Notably Anthony Hanley has shown exceptional dedication and leadership in supporting anti-slavery efforts, particularly in collaboration with Cardiff University’s Modern Slavery and Social Sustainability Research Group. His contributions go beyond conventional engagement and reflect a strategic commitment to advancing awareness and action within the business community.
Anthony Hanley exemplifies bold leadership, meaningful collaboration, and a long-term commitment to eradicating modern slavery from business operations. He has been a tireless advocate for the fight against modern slavery, using every platform available to raise awareness and promote the cause, even the DJ booth. Whether he’s speaking in corporate settings, organising fundraising campaigns, or spinning records at events in a t-shirt emblazoned with an anti-slavery message, Anthony brings passion, authenticity, and a deep sense of purpose to everything he does.
Amelia Woodley - Speedy Hire
Amelia has been a champion for modern slavery and human rights for over a decade and, in the last two years working with Speedy Hire, has played a pivotal role in influencing the organisations approach, embedding modern slavery and human rights into corporate governance, risk registers, supply chain management, and recruitment. She achieved this through developing a human centric approach to modern slavery and human rights ensuring that the survivor was always at the heart of decision making
Under her leadership, 3,300 employees and supply chain partners received training, and innovative initiatives like #knowyourchain ensured ethical sourcing of eco-technologies. Amelia introduced new remediation protocols, improved supplier grievance mechanisms, survivor-focused recruitment, and partnered with Bright Future to support survivors into employment. As Speedy Hire’s executive sponsor for championing modern slavery and human rights, she has helped elevate the business to be an industry leader while keeping survivors at the heart of decision-making.
Aisha Aswani - Co-op
Aisha has been a consistent champion of human rights and modern slavery, spearheading collaborative initiatives spanning over 20 years, including the Egypt Supplier Ethical Trade Forum, Spain Ethical Trade Forum, Food Network for Ethical Trade and Co-op’s Ethical Trade Strategic Supplier Forum. These initiatives have opened up conversations between supply chain partners, driven change in the identification of risks, improved processes, increased engagement and, ultimately, helped to increase the numbers of cases of modern slavery identified and how these cases are tackled.
Aisha’s commitment to this work is exemplified through the years it has taken to support and nurture these initiatives, transitioning them from retailer to supplier-led conversations with governance structures which represent rightsholders and stakeholders. She has held governance roles with FNET, Sedex, Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce and Spain Ethical Trade Forum. The impact of her work is demonstrable through the growth and longevity of each of the above organisations which, alongside other human rights issues, all work to increase awareness of modern slavery, support the industry to find solutions and make a positive impacts on workers lives. Aisha has led the delivery of Co-op’s Food Human Rights programme for 18 years where she has championed transparency, collaboration and supplier ownership.
Unseen Star of the Year Award Shortlist
This prestigious award, presented by Unseen, acknowledges an individual’s exceptional support for Unseen’s mission. The winner is chosen internally by Unseen and its trustees.
Christopher Read - Head of Construction and Standards - Lloyds Banking Group (LBG)
Chris has been instrumental in instigating a group wide project conducting worker wellbeing visits across a number of Lloyds Banking Group construction sites. Chris accurately identified a large gap in both the construction and finance sectors when it comes to assuring suppliers on modern slavery and human rights and has been working to ensure that cases are being identified and issues are being remedied.
Chris has gone further again, looking to target even higher risk sites where audits are not usually carried out recognising that this is where the company’s highest risk lies. Despite logistical challenges, Chris remains committed to effectively targeting these high-risk areas.
Chris has been advocating for the findings of this project to influence the wider construction sector and has been forward thinking in looking at how these findings can be communicated outwardly to the sector in an attempt to influence change, looking to actively use LBG’s leverage to bring key construction players to bring about change not only on LBG sites, but across the sector as a whole. Chris has already successfully leveraged a number of changes in practice for suppliers where appropriate and continues to push for more change in the future.
Samantha Banks - UK Sustainability Lead, Investec plc
Samantha has been the driving force behind the transformation in Investec’s approach to modern slavery. Many of the stakeholders she works with had never encountered the topic of modern slavery before she established and chaired the company’s first cross-functional working group. Since then, her leadership has led to several active projects, a forward-looking, publicly published roadmap, and a clear appetite to improve performance, including a focus on advancing in the CCLA benchmark and committing to working towards Level 2 TISC disclosures.
Samantha has been the key driver of Investec’s integration into Unseen’s Business Hub, and she has embedded the partnership throughout the company’s updated Modern Slavery Statement, championing Unseen’s work throughout. In 2025, Sam rolled out a modern slavery awareness campaign which ensured employees were informed not only about the realities and red flags of modern slavery but also about how to report concerns via whistleblowing channels. The campaign also included a news piece that “provided an in-depth look at the work Unseen does, the impact of modern slavery in the financial industry, and how our collaboration aims to address and mitigate these issues”.
Investec may still be early in its journey, but Samantha’s dedication has laid the foundation for real and lasting change. Her impact has been both strategic and cultural, shifting how her organisation talks about and addresses modern slavery. She is a true champion of Unseen’s work and a powerful example of what quiet, persistent leadership can achieve.
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