The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) is pleased to highlight the ongoing benchmarking process of Sedex’s SMETA 7.0 — its flagship social and environmental auditing methodology — under the SSCI’s Manufacturing and Processing and Primary Production scopes for Social Compliance. Sedex’s application represents a major milestone for the SSCI, as one of the most widely used platforms managing responsible sourcing data. 

To date, the SSCI has recognised seven schemes, and Sedex joins five additional schemes currently in progress for recognition. Sedex’s decision to engage in the SSCI Benchmarking Process reflects the growing momentum for stronger supply chain due diligence across sectors.

With a global community of over 90,000 businesses and 115,000 employment sites across 180 countries and 35 sectors, Sedex brings considerable reach to this shared mission. Through this benchmarking process, SSCI continues its commitment to building trust in social and environmental sustainability standards by recognising programmes that uphold key criteria set by leading industry stakeholders.

Jon Hancock, Chief Executive Officer of Sedex, said, “This is a significant and exciting milestone for Sedex. The Consumer Goods Forum’s SSCI is a renowned initiative that confers significant credibility on the schemes it recognises – I’m delighted that we’re taking SMETA through this rigorous Benchmarking Process. Our audit is already trusted all over the world; independent recognition from SSCI would offer our stakeholders, and our customers’ stakeholders, even greater assurance of SMETA’s robustness.”

Didier Bergeret, Sustainability Director at the CGF said, “We welcome Sedex’s decision to advance the SSCI Benchmarking Process. With its broad global reach and strong emphasis on data to inform decision-making, Sedex plays a significant role in supporting organisations working to enhance transparency and responsible practices in their supply chains. We look forward to following their benchmarking journey as part of SSCI’s commitment to support the consumer goods industry to achieve sustainable and responsible supply chains and support global corporate due diligence.” 

SMETA audits, managed by Sedex, were launched in 2004 by a coalition of UK retailers seeking to create a common social audit methodology that would improve quality and reduce duplication. Now in version 7.0, SMETA provides a robust onsite assessment tool for identifying labour, health and safety, environmental, and business ethics risks. It benchmarks against local legislation and the ETI Base Code, ensuring consistent worker protections across industries and geographies.

At the SSCI, we welcome this positive step from Sedex and look forward to reviewing its alignment towards industry values on transparency, social responsibility and sustainability. Sedex has completed an office visit and to continue monitoring the process of its evaluation, and other schemes undergoing the benchmarking, visit www.recognition.tcgfssci.com.

Learn More and Apply

Third-party auditing and monitoring schemes and programmes are invited to apply for SSCI Recognition and demonstrate their commitment to industry-defined expectations for social responsibility. Learn more about the SSCI Benchmark and download the application kits at benchmark.tcgfssci.com

For more information about the SSCI, please visit www.tcgfssci.com or contact the SSCI team at [email protected]m

Contact

For more information, please email

The Consumer Goods Forum Official Logo
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.