Demonstrating responsible business
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and investment analysts scrutinize organizations to assess that minimum standards are upheld in the workplace and ensure that workers are getting a fair deal.
These and other stakeholders, including your employees, are increasingly evaluating your organization’s commitment to ensuring a fair and equitable working environment and transparent business practices.
This climate means that your organization will be called upon more and more to demonstrate its social responsibility.
The most widely recognized global standard for managing human rights in the workplace is Social Accountability International’s SA 8000:2001. It is the first auditable standard, suitable for organizations of all sizes anywhere in the world, and provides a framework for assuring all of your stakeholders that social accountability is being stewarded by your management.
Next Steps
For more information please complete our online enquiry form or contact us.
Managing your reputational risks in the world business environment also gives you an opportunity to demonstrate good business practice and ethical trading.
A strong social accountability management system will benefit your business by:
- Enhancing your brand image and reputation
- Differentiating you from your competition
- Attracting new customers
- Improving worker morale and effectiveness
- Opening up new markets
- Attracting ethical investment
- Demonstrating transparency to stakeholders
The only way to legitimately demonstrate transparent and effective social accountability is to implement a robust management system.
Next Steps
For more information please complete our online enquiry form or contact us.
Pre-assessment process
Prior to conducting our social accountability assessment, these key steps must be followed:
Initial enquiry
In your initial enquiry to us about our social accountability assessment services, you'll need to indicate against which criteria you wish to be assessed (i.e. which standard or initiative).
Pre-application questionnaire (PAQ)
We'll request that you complete a PAQ to enable the assessment team to conduct a business risk assessment.
Quotation
We will then provide you with a full quotation.
Application
You will then submit the formal application to us, in which you are accepting our terms and conditions of contract.
Assessment process
Once the contract has been agreed with us, the social accountability assessment is conducted:
1. Assessment team appointed and audit plan
Our Lead Auditor will be assigned to your project and a detailed plan for the audit will be submitted to you for your approval. This stage will involve a degree of research into the nature of your business, the local business and social environment and preliminary discussions with stakeholders.
2. Introductory visit and pre-audit
If required, we will conduct an introductory visit to assess your organization’s readiness for the assessment. A pre-audit will review your management system documentation and the business processes.
3. Certification audit
The formal assessment by our team is entirely objective and will ensure that your systems meets the criteria of the standard or code you are seeking to achieve.
4. Certification
Upon the successful completion of the assessment, we deliver a certificate of conformity or compliance statement in respect to your required criteria.
5. Continual assessment
Depending on the particular requirements of the standard or code, continual assessment of your social accountability system will be required.
Next Steps
For more information please complete our online enquiry form or contact us.
