Pre-Launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Just Transition in the Construction Industry: human rights, social and environmental impact

Design for Freedom was honored to work with The Right Honourable The Baroness Young of Hornsey OBE to arrange an important meeting at the House of Lords, Westminster Palace, London, on Just Transition in the Construction Industry.  The meeting, held on June 30, set the scene in advance of the formation of an All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs). Design for Freedom is also honoured to be supporting Baroness Young and will provide the secretariate function moving forward.  The well-attended meeting was attended by full spectrum of those in the built environment eco-system.

Our International Lead, Elaine Mitchel-Hill, made an opening speech, which elaborated on the quote provided by Baroness Young for the Design for Freedom International Guidance and Toolkit.

“Recently awareness of labour exploitation on construction sites has grown. However, labour abuses on building sites are only part of the story: sickening examples of forced labour in supply chains involving children, women, and men are frequent and pervasive. Awareness is an important first step towards the eradication of forced labour from supply chains and there remains much hard work to be done if we’re to transform the way the construction industry goes about its business,”

The panel session included Better Work Lead, Martin Buttle from CCLA Investment Management, John Morrison, CEO at IHRB, and Jo Potts, Sustainability Director at Balfour Beatty, raising key question and challenges, as well as next steps for ‘true’ collaboration and further action.

Mitchel-Hill concluded her opening remarks by saying, “A transition with integrity isn’t optional—it’s essential.  By coming together across the entire built environment ecosystem, we can embed integrity at every step—from the first design to final delivery. Every school, home, and hospital we build should reflect not only our skills—but our shared values. Let us make a deliberate choice—to lead with purpose, to collaborate with intent, and to deliver outcomes that support and uphold human rights.” 

Below are Mitchel-Hill’s full comments:

Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to speak.

Design for Freedom is a movement created by Grace Farms Foundation in 2020. Our mission is to ‘harness the power of the built environment to uphold and support human rights and remove forced and child labour from building materials supply chains.’  We have three principles; to find and address forced labour, to pursue ethical de-carbonisation, and to prioritise circularity.

We published our Design for Freedom International Guidance and Toolkit in December 2024; Baroness Young kindly provided the foreword and in it she says, “Recently awareness of labour exploitation on construction sites has grown. However, labour abuses on building sites are only part of the story: sickening examples of forced labour in supply chains involving children, women, and men are frequent and pervasive. Awareness is an important first step towards the eradication of forced labour from supply chains and there remains much hard work to be done if we’re to transform the way the construction industry goes about its business.”

The guidance majors on 12 construction products and materials which are at high-risk of forced and child labour and importantly brings forward the practical actions that businesses can take.  It provides the moral clarity and practical solutions that support the APPGs ambitions.

The construction sector is by far the largest consumer of extracted materials globally, accounting for an estimated 50% or more of all raw materials extracted each year.

And for more than two decades, I’ve worked across global supply chains that feed the UK’s construction industry. My background is commercial – I’ve worked with developers, manufacturers, suppliers, and contractors at every point in the value chain.

I understand the pressures of deadlines, margins and procurement decisions made under cost constraints.  And I deeply respect the people who keep this sector moving.

But I’ve also seen the parts of our supply chains that are rarely talked about.  I’ve stood beside children breaking stones in India sandstone quarries.  I’ve witnessed the hard realities of detention centre labour in Vietnam.  And I understand the full impact of cobalt extraction in the DRC.

These materials – and the conditions under which they’re sourced – are part of the fabric of our cities, hospitals, and homes.

So, what does this mean for us?

It means we are linked to those realities—whether we acknowledge them or not. And I hope you’d agree that we have a responsibility to act.

The UK government’s updated guidance on modern slavery, published in April, places significant emphasis on strengthening due diligence in supply chains—particularly for public sector procurement.

Before going further, I want to acknowledge Baroness Young of Hornsey. Her vision and leadership are truly inspiring. I’m proud to support her as she drives the formation of this APPG on Just Transition in the Construction Industry.

And I know many of us here share her deep commitment to embedding human rights at the heart of the construction sector.

I’d also like to express deep appreciation to Sharon Prince, Founder and CEO of Grace Farms Foundation, for her generous support in providing the secretariat function for the forthcoming APPG. Sharon’s leadership—and the visionary work of the Design for Freedom movement — continues to bring global attention to the urgent need to eliminate forced and child labour from building products and materials supply chains.

Sharon can’t be here today, but if she were she would say, “Every building tells a story of humanity – either of exploitation or dignity.  We must no longer accept the slavery discount in the colossal construction industry.”

This dialogue isn’t about pointing fingers—it’s about shared responsibility, collaboration, and meaningful action.

The UK construction sector is vast: £139 billion a year, supporting over 1.4 million jobs. But it runs on an enormous volume of imported material.  In the past year, brick imports rose by over 9%, concrete blocks by 27%, and timber demand reached record highs.

The global construction materials market was valued at $1.32 trillion in 2023 and is expected to grow to $1.73 trillion by 2030. Many of these materials comes from regions with weak protections, high corruption, and no room for worker voice.

To add to this, supply chain pressures are mounting—when post-conflict reconstruction efforts begin in Ukraine and the Middle East, demand will rise, and risks of exploitation will grow.

Twelve construction materials—including steel, concrete, timber, bricks, glass, and rubber—have been identified in the International Guidance as at high risk for forced and child labour.  These are not theoretical concerns. If we don’t integrate human rights at the design and procurement stages, we risk embedding exploitation into the buildings we depend on.

“Where does that leave us, as an industry and as individuals?”

Well, it challenges us to examine the ethical footprint of the materials we specify, ensuring that the spaces we build don’t embed exploitation into their foundations.

And let’s be clear about the scale of harm:

• 28 million people remain in forced labour.
• 138 million in child labour.
• Over 50 million of these children working in the worst forms of child labour.

I want to ask you to please hold space with me for a moment – to think about children both near and far – forced to work in the most hazardous forms of child labour.

While you’re picturing this consider how you would feel if this was a child know to you; a grandchild, a niece, a nephew, son or daughter …

The International Labour Organization defines hazardous child labour as work that is likely to harm the health, safety, or morals of children. This includes work that exposes children to dangerous environments, harmful substances, or physically demanding tasks. These hazardous forms of child labour often lead to serious injuries, illnesses, and long-term psychological damage. Many of our children will experience physical and mental trauma from which they may never ever recover.

Some of the most hazardous forms of child labour identified include those in the construction sector; in the manufacturing of products, in the mining of minerals and materials, and in agriculture. In short, those sectors producing products and materials for the construction sector; for you and for me and for our industry.

And problems also exist close to home.

The UK construction sector continues to be at high risk for modern slavery.

A shortage of skilled workers has led to deep reliance on migrant labour – many of whom face exploitation, hidden in layers of subcontracting, unaware of their rights, and vulnerable on our sites.

But there is also a reason to hope.

The latest global estimates on child labour, published earlier this month, by the International Labour Organisation and UNICEF show child labour has fallen by over 20 million since 2020.

This progress tells us something vital: that change is possible.

By working more collaboratively, we can help ensure that the UK’s infrastructure growth and net zero ambitions are grounded in human dignity.  Because a low-carbon transition built on exploitation is not a Just Transition—it simply moves harm from one place to another.

This APPG will bring together Parliamentarians, all part of the construction industry, lived-experience leaders, civil society, and international partners.

It calls for coherence across public procurement, trade, investment, and labour rights.

So, what does this mean for our work moving forward?

It means rejecting the false choice between efficiency and ethics.

It means understanding that growth and responsibility can, and must, go hand in hand.

We already have powerful levers.

Public procurement makes up nearly a third of UK construction spend.

Integrating social and environmental ethics into contracts empowers us to reshape market norms for the better.

And investors are stepping up too. ESG expectations are evolving—there’s growing demand not just for carbon data, but for transparency, human rights, and worker wellbeing.

This the UK construction industry’s moment to lead —with due diligence, supply chain transparency, fair pay, and worker voice as the cornerstones of real change.  The Modern Slavery Act means that we have had a head-start on many other geographies – and now is the time to address labour supply in its entirety – both on-site and in supply chains both domestically and globally.

Choosing integrity isn’t just a values-led decision—it’s a powerful driver of resilience, innovation, and long-term success.

Together, we can continue to shape stronger legislation, champion ethical procurement, align progress with equity, and ensure survivor and worker voices are at the heart of a fairer future.

This isn’t about compliance or box-ticking. It’s about building a future grounded in fairness.

I would also add that we all know that there is a cost to conducting high quality human rights due diligence.  But there is also a cost to not doing this which is likely to be much higher.  To our Chief Finance Officers I would say, ‘At which point do you wish to pay?’

A transition with integrity isn’t optional—it’s essential.

By coming together across the entire built environment ecosystem, we can embed integrity at every step—from the first design to final delivery.

Every school, home, and hospital we build should reflect not only our skills—but our shared values.

Let us make a deliberate choice—to lead with purpose, to collaborate with intent, and to deliver outcomes that support and uphold human rights.

Thank you

Learn more about Design for Freedom’s International Guidance and Toolkit and our Design for Freedom Podcast.