While exploring the Lotus website, you might come across the Lotus anti-slavery statement, a document that explains the company’s commitment to staying away from any company with ties to slavery. This document may seem odd or out of place for a company that manufacturers hypercars, but anti-slavery statements like this are standard for British companies like Lotus, and there is a good reason for it. 

Lotus has a long history of excellence in sports cars

Lotus is a company that has regularly been involved in top-level racing, and its sports cars have competed with the likes of Ferrari in terms of speed and performance. However, the company does not have the instant name recognition of a brand like Ferrari, as its vehicles have always appealed to a niche market.

According to Car and Driver, Lotus began in 1948 when founder Colin Chapman, a recent engineering school graduate at the time, started modifying cars to perform better in races. Chapman and Lotus’ first car that was not a modified version of another car was the Mark IV, a race car built in 1952. While racing was always the focus of Lotus, the company created its first production car in 1960, known as the Elite. Continuing to sell cars to the public was essential for continuing to fund the company.

Today, the automaker continues to build hypercars and race cars but is now committed to building EVs. The Lotus website states that two of its current three production vehicles are EVs. Lotus claims that its new Eletre is the first all-electric Hyper-SUV in the world. Another vehicle in its lineup is the Lotus Evija, an electric hypercar that can reach speeds greater than 200 mph. 

Why does Lotus need an anti-slavery statement?

Lotus publishes an anti-slavery statement because it is required of companies that operate in the United Kingdom. The U.K. government states that companies must publish statements that demonstrate their commitment to avoiding slavery in their operations. The Modern Slavery Act of 2015 makes this a requirement for companies.

Companies in the U.K. must abide by several requirements with their anti-slavery statements. The statements must be regularly updated, and they must be available on the company’s website. Statements should outline how a company is working to prevent the use of slavery in its supply chains and other practices.

Because anti-slavery statements are required by U.K. law, Lotus is not the only British car manufacturer to have a statement published on its website. Jaguar is another example of a car company with an anti-slavery statement. Jaguar’s statement is quite thorough and discusses where Jaguar employees are located globally and how the company works to prevent involvement with modern slavery.

Details of the anti-slavery statement

Compared to the Jaguar anti-slavery statement, the Lotus anti-slavery statement is quite short. The statement begins with an affirmation of the company’s commitment to following U.K. anti-slavery laws. It then outlines the automaker’s main business output, that being manufacturing cars, and states that it is an international operation. 

Supply chains are important to anti-slavery statements. Lotus discusses how it monitors its supply chains to ensure that none of its trading partners around the world use slave labor. 

Lotus’ statement ends with a short statement about the effectiveness of its anti-slavery commitment. The company claims there are currently no known issues with slavery in the company. Like all companies that must publish an anti-slavery statement, Lotus is required to continue monitoring its practices and publishing new statements annually.