CloserStill Group Ltd is an international trade show, conference and events organiser, with operations in United Kingdom, USA, France, Germany, Spain and Singapore.
Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships.
CloserStill Group operates in many different countries, and there is a zero-tolerance approach to slavery or human trafficking. The principles of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work are supported by the CloserStill Group, both locally and Internationally.
The CloserStill Group is committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business. Whichever global location we run our events in we ensure we comply with the local laws and regulations. We realise that this is an ongoing and evolving obligation and we need to update our processes with regard to ongoing risk assessments in each global territory that we operate in.
This statement is in accordance with section (54)1 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes CloserStill Group’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31st December 2023.
Organisational Structure
The Board of Directors headed by the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer are based in the UK. As at 31 December 2023 there were 603 employees consisting of sales, marketing, operations and administration staff, based in the following countries: United Kingdom 435, Germany 25, Spain 21, France 2, Singapore 35, USA 83 and Remote workers 2.
The company is not involved in manufacturing and has strict employment policies and therefore we feel there is low risk amongst our direct employees.
Supply Chain
The company organises trade shows and conferences in Healthcare and Technology market sectors. Our major suppliers are the venues where the events are held, the contractors who build exhibition stands, supply furniture, carpets, logistics and data registration services. Our major suppliers all have their own procedures and policies with regard to anti-slavery and anti-trafficking and we will continue to work with them to identify areas of risk further along the supply chain. We recognise that due diligence procedures with smaller suppliers needs to be reviewed.
Customers
Our customers range from large pharmaceutical manufacturers to suppliers of kit for data centres and operators of care homes. Whilst we consider that our customer base is of generally very low risk, we undertaking a review of our processes to ensure we identify where customers originate from areas of risk and enhancing our due diligence process to mitigate this risk. Our terms and conditions of business are under review with the aim of incorporating the expectation that people we work with should adhere to the same standards we set ourselves.
HR Policies
The company has strict HR policies and procedures, which include identity verification and right to work checks. The company ensures that employees are paid fairly for their role with a competitive remuneration package. We undertake regular review and updates of our specific policies related to maintaining a high standard of employee conduct and a whistleblowing policy.
Risk Assessment and management
Our overall assessment is that the CloserStill Group has little risk related to its primary tier suppliers and customers. A key focus of the group in the forthcoming period is to accelerate a program of implementing enhanced policies and training management and staff in undertaking relevant risk assessments and recognising situations where modern day slavery may be a concern.
Approved by the Board of Directors
Gareth Bowhill
Chief Executive Officer