UK Modern Slavery Act Report
Husqvarna UK Ltd.
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the “Act”) requires certain businesses to produce a modern slavery statement each financial year setting out the steps they have taken in the most recent financial year to manage modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. This report relates to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 and describes the activities of Husqvarna UK Ltd (“Husqvarna UK” or “the Reporting Entity”).
Husqvarna UK is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Husqvarna AB, the ultimate parent company of Husqvarna Group. At Husqvarna Group, we recognize that slavery can occur in many forms. This can include slavery, servitude, human trafficking, forced marriage, forced labor, debt bondage, child labor and deceptive recruiting for labor or services. Husqvarna Group is fully committed to operating responsibly, establishing and adhering to the highest ethical standards across our group. We are committed to eradicating all forms of slavery and ensuring all workers have decent working conditions and opportunity for personal economic growth, within our business as well as our supply chain. Husqvarna Group is also committed to the principles of the UN Global Compact, which aims at aligning businesses with human rights, labor, environmental care and anti-corruption principles, and has participated in the UN Global Compact Initiative since 2013.
The report includes group-wide activities that Husqvarna UK participates in.
Structure, Business, and Supply Chains
Structure and Business
The Reporting Entity is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Husqvarna AB, the ultimate parent company of Husqvarna Group, with its registered office in Jönköping, Sweden. Founded in 1689, Husqvarna Group has evolved into a global leader in innovative products and solutions for managing forests, parks, and gardens. Its diverse product range includes robotic mowers, battery- and petrol-powered chainsaws, trimmers, riding lawn mowers, as well as watering solutions. Husqvarna Group is also a leader in equipment for sawing and drilling in concrete surfaces, floors preparation as well as diamond tools for the light construction industry. Operating mainly under the global Husqvarna and Gardena brands, its products and solutions reach consumers and professional users through direct sales, dealers, and retailers across more than 100 countries.
For more information, please see Husqvarna Group’s website at https://husqvarnagroup.com and Husqvarna Group’s annual report for 2024 at https://www.husqvarnagroup.com/sites/husqvarna/files/pr/202504073721-1.pdf.
Husqvarna UK Limited is headquartered in Newton Aycliffe, North East England and operates with two focus areas: (1) manufacturing of robotic lawnmowers for global distribution and (2) importation, sale, and distribution of equipment for Husqvarna Forest & Garden Division, Gardena Division, and Husqvarna Construction Division.
Supply Chains
Husqvarna UK’s supply chain mainly operates through other Husqvarna Group entities. Husqvarna Group is a global manufacturing organization, relying on a number of third-party suppliers who are located across the world. In addition, Husqvarna UK has approximately 90 direct material suppliers globally.
Policies and Due Diligence Processes
Policies
Husqvarna Group expects that suppliers will agree to certain terms which includes that they will abide by all applicable international and local laws, rules and regulations according to the Husqvarna Group’s Code of Conduct and Supplier Code of Business Ethics. Our commitment to address slavery and human trafficking is included in the provisions regarding the prohibition of forced or child labor. As stated in the Code, failure to comply with the Code and Group Policies, including the failure to report a non-compliance, can result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination from employment. If a business partner does not comply with the Code and other applicable laws or regulations, we will request appropriate remedial measures and, if necessary, terminate the relationship.
The expectations that suppliers must agree to are available at https://purchasing.husqvarnagroup.com/documentation#p32.
Furthermore, Husqvarna Group’s Whistleblower Policies, both group-wide and EU-specific, protect good faith reporters from retaliation and encourage confidential and anonymous reporting of compliance concerns through a variety of channels including a third-party hosted platform, which offers multi-language support.
Due Diligence Processes
Managing Relationships with Suppliers
Husqvarna Group integrates sustainability throughout its purchasing processes across all divisions, employing a risk-based approach to engage with high-risk suppliers identified by location, operational profile, and significance to the Group’s purchasing expenditure. These suppliers report their sustainability performance through EcoVadis, a third-party assessment provider, with assessments conducted on a triennial basis. New high-risk suppliers undergo sustainability assessments or on-site audits[1], a practice that enhances Husqvarna Group’s transparency, risk mitigation, and comparability across the supply chain. In 2024, 116 high-risk suppliers completed the EcoVadis assessment, up from 74 in 2023, with 45 scoring below the Group’s threshold, prompting corrective action and reassessment. Additionally, Husqvarna Group is aligning its due diligence processes with upcoming Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and other related legislation affecting its products and supply chain commodities.
Responsible Sourcing: Addressing Risks in Conflict Minerals and Battery Supply Chains
Given its focus on electrical and battery-powered products, Husqvarna Group recognizes the need to address environmental and human rights risks associated with conflict minerals in its supply chain. Minerals essential to electronics and lithium-ion batteries – such as tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold (3TGs), cobalt and mica – present significant sourcing risks, especially in regions like the Democratic Republic of Congo. Husqvarna Group’s Conflict Minerals due diligence program is intended to trace mineral origins beyond direct suppliers to prevent unintentional complicity in harmful practices. Anticipating EU regulations and aligning with OECD guidelines, the Group mandates that suppliers provide detailed sourcing information through conflict mineral and extended reporting templates, with data collection facilitated by a third-party provider and aligned with the Responsible Minerals Initiative.
In 2024, Husqvarna Group intensified its engagement with suppliers and expanded capability-building initiatives to foster transparency and encourage active participation in ethical sourcing practices. These efforts are aimed at strengthening supplier alignment with the Group’s sustainability goals, ensuring that responsible sourcing remains a priority throughout the supply chain.
Contractual Clauses
Husqvarna Group’s contract templates, such as the General Terms and Conditions for Sourcing of Direct Materials and the General Service Agreement, among others, include provisions on conflict minerals, modern slavery, code of conduct, audit rights, and Husqvarna Group’s risk-based sustainability assessments.
Assessing and Managing Risk
As a global manufacturing organization, Husqvarna Group relies on a number of third-party suppliers who are located across the world, including suppliers located in regions where enforcing sustainable sourcing standards presents significant challenges. Therefore, we have identified a negative impact in our value chain, related to the challenges of enforcing sustainable sourcing. To reduce this impact, we actively engage with our suppliers at every stage of their journey toward sustainable business practices, emphasizing critical standards such as preventing child and forced labour, ensuring safe working conditions, and maintaining fair working hours. This includes working closely with suppliers in regions where regulatory, economic, or logistical challenges make sustainable sourcing standards difficult to achieve. By collaborating with these suppliers, we support the adoption of responsible practices aligned with our sustainability goals, ensuring that workers’ rights and safety are upheld throughout our supply chain. Through ongoing partnerships and capacity-building efforts, we are building resilient supply chains that not only prioritize responsible sourcing and minimize environmental impact but also protect human rights and promote ethical labor standards.
In addition, Husqvarna Group has identified a negative impact relating to child labor in the supply chain: By sourcing from high-risk geographical regions or industries where child labor is prevalent, we may inadvertently contribute to the perpetuation of these conditions, particularly concerning the minerals essential for the transition to a low-carbon economy. To help remediate this impact, we have increased focus and efforts relating to supplier due diligence and are revising our supply contracts with certain high-risk suppliers to include strengthened compliance provisions such as audit rights. Furthermore, we have identified a potential negative impact relating to forced labor in the value chain: Sourcing from regions where workers are part of vulnerable populations and face weak regulatory frameworks heightens the risk of forced labor due to economic vulnerability, insufficient legal protections, and exploitation by recruitment agencies. As stated above, Husqvarna Group is aligning its due diligence processes with coming Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and other related legislation. See further above under “Due Diligence Processes”
Training
In 2024, Husqvarna Group assigned mandatory Code of Conduct training to white collar employees, which included a module related to human rights. In addition, Husqvarna Group hosted a voluntary webinar to all white collar employees with an external human rights expert on how we can be more aware and be part of the global solution to eradicate human rights abuses in the communities where we conduct business.
Monitoring and Evaluation
In 2024, we measured the effectiveness via our reporting channels referred to above.
