Autodesk Limited’s Statement on Countering Slavery and Human Trafficking

Introduction and policy statement

This statement is intended to confirm and record Autodesk's proactive stance against slavery and human trafficking. It has been approved by the board of Autodesk Limited for the financial year ending 31 January 2022. Autodesk recognises that modern slavery may exist to a greater or lesser extent in most, if not all, countries and in most industries. Given the number of countries in which Autodesk operates and its large number of suppliers, we are aware of the need to address the risk of modern slavery arising in our supply chains. This statement sets out the steps we are taking in this regard and is intended to meet the requirements of the UK's Modern Slavery Act 2015. 

Our values

Autodesk strives to maintain throughout its global operations the highest standards of business ethics and is committed to legal compliance and ethical business practices in all of its operations worldwide, as can be seen via our website and the hyperlinks below.

Countering the risk of slavery and human trafficking

Autodesk's core business is in software. For this reason, our business, and those of most of our suppliers, operates in areas such as technology and communication; where the roles being performed are largely technical and/or professional, and the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking is low. Autodesk nonetheless takes an active zero tolerance approach to slavery and human trafficking. We are not aware of, nor do we have any information to suggest that, any inappropriate labour conditions are present in our supply chains at the date of this statement. Nevertheless, we appreciate that modern slavery, by its nature, is difficult to identify and we shall therefore be working with our suppliers to put processes in place to eradicate slavery and human trafficking.

Our actions

We follow the lead of our parent company, Autodesk, Inc., in publicising (both within our business and on our global website) our ethical values, including when dealing with business partners in a range of organisations and business ventures. In particular, we have taken the following steps to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our business or the businesses of our suppliers by: 

  1. Publicising and obtaining contractual commitments to our Partner Code of Conduct https://www.autodesk.com/company/legal-notices-trademarks/compliance. This Code highlights our commitment to human rights and our expectation that our partners eradicate human traffic and slavery in their businesses. A violation of this Code constitutes a breach of an agreement with Autodesk, which may result in us ending a partner relationship. 
  2. Publicising, seeking supplier commitments and training all our employees on our Code of Business Conduct https://www.autodesk.com/company/legal-noticestrademarks/compliance both on joining and annually thereafter. This Code, which alerts employees to the need to abide by local laws and report any areas of concern via our Compliance Hotline, is brought to UK employees' attention in their employment contracts and they are asked to recommit to it when undergoing annual training; 
  3. Publicising our Human Rights Policy https://www.autodesk.com/sustainability/humanrights-policy which is committed to by Autodesk, Inc.'s CEO Andrew Anagnost, as well as Autodesk, Inc.'s Statement of Human Rights further to the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010; publicising our commitment to the United Nations Global Compact. The Compact is a voluntary initiative outlining ten principles in areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption; the fourth principle of which is the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour, as set out in our Sustainability Report https://www.autodesk.com/sustainability/overview; and 
  4. Auditing our suppliers on health and safety matters and making such audit provisions a term of their contracts with Autodesk.

Future planning

We are constantly looking ahead to ensure that our business, which we pride on being at the forefront of innovation and technology, remains a leader in ethical employment practices which promote dignity and reward hard work, both within Autodesk and amongst its suppliers. 

  • Signature of Autodesk Limited Director