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Commitments & Achievements

Harmonising standards across the industry

Committed to Building Trust in the Industry

Global supply chains are increasingly under pressure to demonstrate ethical and sustainable practices. Yet with hundreds of auditing, monitoring and certification programmes in the market—each varying in scope, rigor, and governance—it’s challenging for organisations to know which scheme to use. This can lead to audit fatigue, increased costs, and fragmented efforts on key issues like labour rights, health and safety, and environmental protection.

The Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI)’s mission is to cut through complexity by enabling companies to understand what lies behind auditing, monitoring, and certification programmes. It provides businesses with information on standards that demonstrate alignment with the SSCI Benchmark Criteria, to support their ethical and sustainable practices. 

The SSCI currently operates a social compliance benchmark for schemes covering activities in the Manufacturing & Processing, At-Sea Operations, and Primary Production sectors.

In 2024, The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) expanded the SSCI’s scope for benchmarking and recognition to include environmental sustainability in the Manufacturing & Processing, Primary Production, and Forestry sectors. 

Building Trust and Alignment

With hundreds of schemes on the market, each with their own sustainability standards and methodologies, choosing a programme can be challenging. The SSCI is committed to providing trusted and clear guidance on which programmes meet key sustainability standards and employ key governance and verification practices.

View SSCI-Recognised Schemes

Achievements

  • The CGF Officially Launches the SSCI

    Following a decision made by the CGF Board of Directors, the SSCI is launched. Two Technical Working Groups are created to develop the Benchmark Criteria on Social and Scheme Management Compliance under the SSCI’s first benchmarking scope on Manufacturing & Processing. More than 50 selected stakeholders are engaged for additional feedback and expert comments.

  • The SSCI Launches Partnership with the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI)

    The SCCI announces its partnership with the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) to collaborate and develop a benchmarking scope for the seafood industry at the Seafood Expo Global in Brussels.

  • The SSCI Launches First Benchmark Scope for Manufacturing & Processing Sector

    The SSCI publishes the first versions of the Scheme Management Benchmark Criteria and the Social Benchmark Criteria for its Manufacturing & Processing scope.

  • The SSCI Opens Social Benchmark to Fishing; Agriculture and Aquaculture Sectors with New At-Sea Operations and Primary Production Scopes

    The SSCI opens the SSCI Benchmark to the fishing, agriculture and land-based aquaculture sectors with the launch of Social Criteria for its new At-Sea Operations and Primary Production scopes. The Social Criteria for each scope have been developed in close collaboration with the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), bringing together the SSCI’s experience in supply chain social compliance and the GSSI’s expertise in the seafood sector, with support from IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative.

  • First Scheme Achieves SSCI Recognition: BRCGS

    The SSCI announces BRCGS has completed the Benchmark process and achieved SSCI Recognition under the Manufacturing & Processing scope. As the first scheme to be recognised, BRCGS demonstrates leadership in the effort to build credibility among sustainability standards worldwide.

  • The CGF Board Issues Statement Asking Scheme Owners to Undergo SSCI Benchmarking

    CEO members of the CGF Board of Directors publish a statement encouraging relevant supply chain partners to undertake the Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) benchmarking process by the end of 2023. The statement highlights the CGF Board’s ambition to benefit the wider industry by ensuring that third-party certification schemes and programmes are meeting evolving global supply chain due diligence requirements.

  • The SSCI Initiates Work to Benchmark Environmental Sustainability Standards

    The SSCI announces it is extending its sphere of influence to third-party environmental sustainability audit, monitoring, and certification schemes. With the support from the CGF’s member companies’ CEOs and the experience gained assessing an increasing number of schemes against the SSCI Benchmark’s social scopes, the SSCI’s Steering Committee voted in July 2022 in favour of resuming work on the development of a scope within the SSCI Benchmarking Requirements addressing environmental sustainability.

  • Second Scheme Achieves SSCI Recognition: Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard

    The SSCI announces the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS) has completed the benchmarking process and achieved SSCI Recognition under the At-Sea Operations scope. As the first scheme to be recognised under this scope, RFVS demonstrates leadership and excellence in the fishing sector.

  • Third Scheme Achieves SSCI Recognition: SIZA

    The SSCI announces SIZA, the Sustainability Initiative of South Africa, has completed the benchmarking process and achieved SSCI Recognition under the Manufacturing & Processing and Primary Production scopes. As the first scheme to be recognised under the Primary Production scope, and the first scheme to be recognised under two scopes, SIZA demonstrates leadership and excellence in the sustainability sector.

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