SGS reduces your sourcing risks by verifying the ability of your suppliers to meet their contractual requirements for quality, quantity and delivery.
We perform audits on behalf of organizations such as Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), and also ensure that suppliers abide by your corporate social responsibility guidelines.
To help you understand the capability and conditions of supplier factories before making important business decisions, we offer the following services:
Code of conduct assessment
We perform social accountability compliance audits to ensure that your business partners abide by your own company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility. Practising social accountability involves establishing and continuing to meet code of conduct, human rights and ethical requirements. Since compliance lowers your risk of contributing to social and environmental harm, the ideal situation is that your whole supply chain conforms to your program(s).
To be effective, your social accountability program(s) should be characterized by transparency, engagement with stakeholders and a long-term, systematic approach. Using our independent auditing services helps to validate transparency, consistency and integrity. The following organizations have accredited us to conduct audits:
- Aussenhandelsvereinigung des Deutschen Einzelhandels e.V. (AVE) – the foreign trade association of German retailers
- amfori BSCI: amfori BSCI is a leading supply chain management system that supports companies to drive social compliance and improvements within the factories and farms in their global supply chains.
- Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) – an alliance of global brands, retailers, trade unions, campaigning organizations and charities
- Initiative for Compliance and Sustainability (ICS) – run under the guidance of the French Federation of Retailers (FCD).
- WRAP – an independent, non-profit corporation
Factory quality assessment
This service allows you to verify the capability of a manufacturer to meet your contractual conditions for safety, quality, performance, quantity and delivery. We can tailor these assessments to your specific requirements, helping you to strengthen and protect your brand by ensuring quality at every stage of the supply chain.
Contact SGS now to find out how we can help you reduce sourcing risks and extend your corporate social responsibility program throughout the value chain.