The ICE is committed to combating modern slavery. This statement has been published in accordance with section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. It sets out the steps the ICE Group has taken to prevent modern slavery, including human trafficking, in its business and supply chains

Our business

The ICE is the world’s oldest professional engineering institution. It is a body incorporated by royal charter and is incorporated as a charity with the Charity Commission in England and Wales (Charity No. 210252) and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (Charity No. SC038629).

On 31 December 2025 the institution had more than 95,000 members. It supports them and its charitable activities through an extensive network of regional offices, branches, partnerships and agreements of cooperation.

The purpose of the ICE is to promote and advance civil engineering around the world. It seeks to lead the global infrastructure debate as well as to provide professionally qualified civil engineers who are then supported in their lifelong learning.

In common with many charities, the ICE has a wholly owned subsidiary, Thomas Telford Limited (TTL), a company incorporated in England and Wales (Company Registration No. 02556636). TTL carries out non-charitable trading activities including the publication of contracts; the provision of training and consultancy services; and the operation of an events and hospitality venue.

The ICE also owns the entire issued share capital of the Institution of Civil Engineers (Hong Kong) Ltd, a company incorporated in Hong Kong (Company Registration No. 1027904). The ICE is also an equal guarantor with the Institution of Structural Engineers to Structural-Safety Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales. The ICE has a branch in Dubai, UAE, and TTL has a branch registration in Hong Kong.

The ICE Group has offices in the UK, Hong Kong and Dubai. In 2025, it had a total global income of approximately £46.1m and employed an average of 374 people, mostly in the UK. ICE Group activities are supported by members and other volunteers across the world. Recognising that some parts of the world in which it operates present a relatively high risk of modern slavery, the ICE Group takes this risk very seriously.

The ICE Group’s supply chains

Our operations require us to use an extensive range of suppliers. While the ICE Group expects its suppliers to uphold the rights of their workers, we recognise that as a customer we can influence our supply chains.

Main areas of supply chain activity include: catering supplies; recruitment; temporary staffing; travel and accommodation; publishing and printing services; training provision; consultancy; building maintenance; cleaning; IT services; and other professional services.

While the ICE Group’s business and supply chains are not especially susceptible to modern slavery, the range of products we purchase and the number of countries in which we operate present a challenging procurement landscape. The ICE Group is committed to trading ethically and will continue supporting processes of due diligence to help combat modern slavery, including human trafficking, in our supply chains.

Approaches to due diligence

Procurement and supplier code of conduct

The supplier code of conduct, introduced in 2021, sets out expected standards of policy and behaviour in respect of adherence to local wage and employment regulations, the fair treatment of employees and the avoidance of forced and child labour. The code sets out additional standards in respect of other ethical standards, data protection and the avoidance of bribery, corruption and tax evasion. All new suppliers are expected to sign up to this code as a prerequisite of being accepted as a supplier of the ICE Group or provide evidence that the policies they already have in place are at least equivalent to our standards.

Ongoing review

We keep the risks our supply chains may present under constant review, focusing particularly on suppliers with which we have spent the most money. Many of our UK-based suppliers are small consultancies or owner-managed businesses. These are deemed to present a low risk with regard to modern slavery.

Suppliers based overseas have also been specifically considered, with ratings from globalslaveryindex.org used to classify countries as low, medium or high risk. Most of our overseas engagements are with legal and professional firms that are deemed to present a low risk. Other services based abroad include longstanding relationships for IT support services and office rentals. These may present a higher risk, which is considered when managing supplier relationships.

In addition to asking new suppliers, we have largely rolled out the supplier-information and code-of-conduct process to all suppliers that were in place when the code was introduced, achieving more than 99% coverage of our supplier turnover in 2025.

Whistle-blowing policy

Our whistle-blowing policy encourages our staff, members and other parties to report any concerns they may have about a risk, malpractice or wrongdoing that affects others, including the ICE Group and its staff, suppliers and customers, or the public. Our whistle-blowing policy and procedure are designed to ensure that people can make disclosures without fear of retaliation.

Recruitment and employment

The ICE Group’s recruitment policies are designed to ensure compliance with UK or relevant overseas employment laws. We also encourage staff to report any concerns about the activities of the organisation or its supply chains. Our HR team, which manages all recruitment activities with recruiting managers, uses only reputable employment agencies and job boards to source candidates. Both the ICE Group and its agencies carry out appropriate background checks.

We are committed to paying people fairly and properly for their work. Most of our workforce is employed on a permanent or contract basis. Each employee is subject to a checking process when joining the organisation. This includes verifying their identity, their right to work in the relevant jurisdiction, their references and, where appropriate, their qualifications.

Risk mitigation plans

The ICE recognises the need to continually assess the risks of modern slavery, including human trafficking. It also recognises that it does not have a complete view of its supply chains, while the tools it can use to identify such risks have limitations. Addressing these gaps is a complex task.

We will continue to mitigate the risks by:

• Implementing an anti-slavery policy or guidance, as appropriate.
• Ensuring staff awareness of these issues and the guidance and policy on how to manage them.
• Reviewing and identifying high-risk areas in our supply chains and ensuring that mitigation measures are in place.
• Working with our suppliers, and taking action to strengthen supply chains, where necessary.
• Embedding awareness of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 through the use of appropriate training.

• Undertaking a risk assessment of any significant new markets in which the group seeks to operate.

  
  

Effectiveness

The ICE has not directly received any reports of suspected modern slavery, including human trafficking, in its business or supply chains. The rest of this statement sets out the measures the ICE has been implementing to manage the risk of modern slavery.


This is an edited version of a statement approved by the ICE’s trustee board on 24 March 2026 and published on ice.org.uk.