MODERN SLAVERY Statement

Background: 

At Indevin Group, people matter – in its workforce, in its supply chain and in the communities in which Indevin Group operates. Indevin Group believes that everyone has value and the right to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of background or circumstances.  

Founded in 2003, Indevin Group is one of New Zealand’s leading wine companies. Indevin remains 100% New Zealand owned and employs more than 570 employees across its entire group portfolio. Indevin consists of an exceptional portfolio of brands loved by consumers all over the world, spearheaded by the Villa Maria brand. Indevin’s other core business model is global wine supply partnerships directly servicing the world’s largest retailers and distributors. At Indevin, quality is at the core of everything we do to ensure we share the best of New Zealand with the world.  

Indevin’s grapes come from over 6,000 hectares of planted vineyards and blended in wineries across three of the great New Zealand wine regions - Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay, and Gisborne - allowing unmatched supply and consistent quality of New Zealand wine.  

Since 2007 [the Indevin Group] has partnered with some of the most progressive wine retailers in Australia, the USA and the UK to support private and own brand wine programmes. Its partnerships are industrial in scale yet intimate in approach – the wine teams work closely with their partners to create strong and lasting relationships, building wines according to the Indevin Group’s customers’ taste, with a guaranteed consistency lasting for years. In 2021 Indevin acquired renowned Kiwi brand, Villa Maria, which was founded in 1961.  

This Modern Slavery and Forced and Child Labour (MSFCL) Statement describes steps taken by Indevin Group during the year ending 30 June 2024, to identify, mitigate and remediate the risk of MSFCL in Indevin Group’s businesses and supply chains. 

CEO’s statement: 

At Indevin Group, we take great pride in the work we do and the products we create. To enable us to share the best of Aotearoa New Zealand with the world, we are committed to doing the right thing. This means doing what we can to ensure that every link in our supply chain is ethical, sustainable, and free from modern slavery. 

Our business is built on solid relationships, and to nurture these, we must prioritise this critical mahi. We hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of practice, to ensuring that we benefit everyone who is part of the Indevin story and dedicate ourselves to continuous improvement in this area. 

Simon Limmer  

CEO, Indevin Group 

Structure: The Indevin Group – footprint of Indevin Group / Key Markets

Voluntary Statement:

While this is a voluntary MSFCL statement and the Indevin Group are not deemed ‘reporting entities’ under the current applicable laws, this MSFCL Statement is intended to cover Indevin Group Limited and its subsidiaries (together “the Indevin Group”).

Supply chain:

Our value chain employ’s businesses, and connects with societies, people and environments beyond the shores of our homeland New Zealand. We are aware that as a result of this that we have an impact across these areas that extends beyond our own direct control.

Indevin values the relationships we have throughout our supply chain, and sincerely believe that our business’s positioning in our industry can provide the vehicle for positive impacts across the material areas of our value chain.

Adopting a consumer-led ethos, we strive to deliver the highest level of standards in the production, transport, marketing and sales of our products.

Understanding the modern slavery and forced & child labour risks  

Under the various international MSFCL laws, modern slavery is defined to include servitude, human trafficking, debt bondage, forced marriage, forced labour, deceptive recruiting for labour or services and child labour. It includes situations of serious exploitation where offenders use coercion, threats or deception to exploit victims and undermine their freedom. 

The Indevin Group has identified the following areas to be our areas risk of MSFCL: 

1. Temporary or contracted labour in our vineyards and wineries. 

1. National and international supply and logistics of our dry goods suppliers, bulk unpackaged and finished goods. 

1. Low skilled labour and migrant labour used by our varied service providers. 

The Indevin Group recognises there is always opportunity for it to improve its systems and processes as well as controls that assist with ensuring supplier compliance with its policy and expectations. Additionally, the Indevin Group seeks to further improve its understanding of modern slavery and forced and child labour and how it manifests in the Indevin Group’s supply chain as well as more targeted engagement with suppliers from high-risk sectors. 

Steps taken to assess and manage the MSFCL risk:

Temporary or contracted labour in our vineyards and wineries

The Risk: Vineyards and wineries make up the core of Indevin Group’s operations and both have significant labour requirements.  Some vineyard operations such as pruning are carried out using workers recruited through the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme often via specialist RSE providers. During harvest, the wineries require additional labour which it sources from the local market as well as workers using the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme and are recruited directly.

Managing the Risk: Accordingly, the Indevin Group partnered with NZ Ethical Employers Inc to ensure best practical ethical employment standards so that people thrive at work, with a focus on improving the experience of RSE workers and further requires its labour contracting companies, vineyard owners and grape growers to be a member of the NZ Ethical Employers Inc or similar association with comparable safeguards/processes.

National and International supply and logistics of dry goods and raw materials

The Risk: Packaging and Distribution of the Indevin Group’s supply chain involves suppliers of dry goods and raw materials to allow the Indevin Group, or third parties, to grow grapes, make wine and bottle and package the wine. Suppliers may import or manufacture dry goods and raw materials from countries that have low standards of employment and human rights.

Managing the Risk:    

1. Suppliers are vetted prior to relationships being developed and must at all times adhere to the Indevin Group’s Supplier Code of Conduct available here.  

2. Indevin upholds ethical, responsible, and sustainable practices throughout the supply chain. Our expectation is that our suppliers follow our lead whilst also ensuring they make every effort to undertake their services in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. 

3. Suppliers to Indevin are required to meet our best practice quality assurance program. The primary objective is to bring assurance to our supply chain across multiple bottom lines including ethical labour, sustainability, food safety and best practice manufacturing. This is the level that our customers require us to operate at and consequently we align with suppliers who assist us with meeting these market and regulatory requirements. Information on ethical labour and sustainable practices must be readily available and aligned to globally recognised practices such as the UN Global Compact. 

4. The Indevin Group can audit a supplier’s compliance at any time. 

5. For existing suppliers, the Indevin Group has undertaken the following steps to understand MSFL risk within its business and supply chain:  

   a. Identified suppliers of the Indevin Group.  

   b. Completed an internal assessment of those suppliers’ supply chain and business risk, including identifying: 

   i. whether the supplier relies on international or local sourcing of raw materials; and 

   ii. whether the supplier has modern slavery risk/policies/statement within their business.  

   c. Varied existing agreements with suppliers and third parties to incorporate Indevin Group’s Supplier Code of Conduct and require such parties to be bound by the same.  

Low skilled labour and migrant labour used by our varied service providers including cleaning and maintenance.

The Risk: Service providers may engage low skilled labour or migrant workers to perform the contracted services.

Managing the Risk:

1.            Service providers are vetted prior to relationships being developed and must at all times adhere to the Indevin Group’s Supplier Code of Conduct available here.

2.            Indevin Group can audit a service provider’s compliance at any time.

3.            For existing service providers, the Indevin Group has undertaken the following steps to understand MSFL risk within its business and supply chain:

a.            Identified service providers of the Indevin Group.

b.            Completed an internal assessment of those service providers’ supply chain and business risk, including identifying whether the supplier has modern slavery risk/policies/statement within their business.

c.             Varied existing agreements with service providers to incorporate Indevin Group’s Supplier Code of Conduct and require such parties to be bound by the same.

In particular, Indevin Group expects that Labour and Human Rights are of critical concern to the relevant supplier, and suppliers operate in full compliance with international, national and local laws and regulations applicable to their business operations.

In respect of all of the above risks, if Indevin Group considers that a party is not complying with the Supplier Code of Conduct, Indevin Group may suspend or cancel that party’s supply of labour or supply of any goods or services to Indevin or terminate any or all of that party’s contracts with Indevin. 

Policies: 

The Indevin Group also articulates its human rights expectations throughout its employment standards, and its employee code of conduct. These key documents set expectations for how its employees need to act and behave. These policies are supported by local guidance to reflect relevant regulations and norms. 

Employee Code of Conduct - Sets out expected behaviours for our employees towards each other, our customers and the wider community. 

Ethical Behaviour Policies - Sets the ethical expectations of our employees, embedding a culture of integrity, honesty and transparency.  

Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy - Sets out our commitment to providing and maintaining a healthy and safe working environment for our employees, contractors, visitors and all other people that may use our locations as a workplace.   

Human Rights Policy - confirm Indevin’s commitment to meeting its responsibility to respect human rights and the principles of non-discrimination, develop a culture which supports human rights and seeks to avoid complicity in human rights abuses and provides information about who human rights abuses can be reported to and how Indevin will address abuses. 

Procurement Policy - establishes a procurement framework to ensure Goods and Services procured are fit for purpose while ensuring Indevin’s quality, environmental and social objectives are met.  

Whistleblower Policy - documents Indevin's commitment to maintaining a working environment in which people feel able to report suspected instances of serious wrongdoing without fear of reprisal and with the knowledge that Indevin will investigate and resolve any wrongdoing. 

Harassment & Discrimination Policy - confirms Indevin's commitment to zero tolerance of all forms of harassment, promote a work environment free from all forms of harassment, provide information to Employees about what constitutes harassment, provide information to Employees about how to raise concerns or complaints relating to harassment or discrimination during their course of employment with Indevin. 

Diversity and Inclusion Policy - confirms Indevin's commitment to diversity and inclusion (D&I), outlines our D&I Principles, and clarifies expectations around D&I for our employees and leaders. 

The Indevin Group’s effectiveness of its actions in preventing MSFCL in its business:

Indevin Group is consistently managing the onboarding of suppliers and takes the opportunity at renewals and variations to ensure that its suppliers and service providers are maintaining their compliance with Indevin Group’s Supplier Code of Conduct.

The process of consultation between the Indevin Group:

The Indevin Group works closely with its subsidiaries and provide opportunities for feedback and consultation during the establishment of internal policies, procedures and training for employees.