First Scheme Receives SSCI Recognition: BRCGS

BRCGS is a market-leading global brand that helps build confidence in the supply chain. Their Global Standards for Food Safety, Packaging and Packaging Materials, Storage and Distribution, Consumer Products, Agents and Brokers, Retail, Gluten Free, Plant-Based and Ethical Trading set the benchmark for good manufacturing practice, and help provide assurance to customers that your products are safe, legal and of high quality. By achieving the SSCI recognition, BRCGS’s Global Standard for Ethical Trade & Responsible Sourcing (Issue 2) will develop into another certification of excellence that will complement its well established and respected GFSI-recognised product safety standards.

The SSCI is committed to building trust in the consumer goods industry by recognising programmes that respect key sustainability criteria, as defined by leading industry stakeholders, in their evaluation methods. The recognition of this first scheme marks a critical milestone in the SSCI journey. SSCI is the benchmark of choice for the consumer goods industry. When businesses and organisations are looking for standards they can trust, they can look for those with SSCI recognition. BRCGS has demonstrated that it meets the industry’s expectations and is now fully recognised by SSCI.

Richard Smucker, Executive Chairman, The J.M. Smucker Co., said: “Congratulations to BRCGS for being the first programme to successfully be recognised by SSCI. Our industry has shown that benchmarking works – companies can look at the SSCI process and see which programmes are providing credible assessments on our behalf. BRCGS committed themselves early to the mission of SSCI and they thoroughly deserve this recognition by the SSCI Coalition of Action.
We encourage all relevant programmes to follow in their footsteps and get benchmarked. Our industry can AND should deserve the best social sustainability assessment possible. If you’re working with a programme and they haven’t committed to SSCI like BRCGS has, ask them why.”

John Kukoly, Director of BRCGS, said: “SSCI sets the bar for what the industry expects from third-party auditing, monitoring and certification schemes. We are delighted to be the first company in the world to be recognised by the global brands that are members of the SSCI. This makes our Ethical Trading and Responsible Sourcing programme the only true global social compliance standard that gives consumers the reassurance they seek and workers the protection they deserve”.
SSCI congratulates BRCGS on their recognition and for doing their part in creating alignment among sustainability standards, and encourages other third party monitoring and certification schemes to follow suit.

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About The Consumer Goods Forum

The Consumer Goods Forum (“CGF”) is a global, parity-based industry network that is driven by its members to encourage the global adoption of practices and standards that serves the consumer goods industry worldwide. It brings together the CEOs and senior management of some 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other stakeholders across 70 countries, and it reflects the diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format. Its member companies have combined sales of EUR 3.5 trillion and directly employ nearly 10 million people, with a further 90 million related jobs estimated along the value chain. It is governed by its Board of Directors, which comprises more than 50 manufacturer and retailer CEOs. For more information, please visit: www.theconsumergoodsforum.com.

About BRCGS

BRCGS is a market-leading global brand that helps build confidence in the supply chain. Our Global Standards for Food Safety, Packaging Materials, Storage and Distribution, Consumer Products, Agents and Brokers, Retail, Gluten Free, Plant-Based and Ethical Trading set the benchmark for good manufacturing practice, and help provide assurance to customers that your products are safe, legal and of high quality.

BRCGS is part of LGC ASSURE, that brings four global brands together to deliver a connected series of supply chain assurance solutions across critical touchpoints, with a focus on the manufacturing, laboratory, ingredients and nutritional supplements sectors. LGC ASSURE serves over 45,000 customers in over 160 countries from 13 dedicated locations around the world to provides intelligence analysis of the safety, quality and authenticity of goods and services, alongside evolving value drivers such as health, environmental, human welfare and ethical impact.

For further information, please contact:

Thomas van Haaren
Senior Manager, SSCI
The Consumer Goods Forum
ssci@theconsumergoodsforum.com

Louise Chester
Communications Officer
The Consumer Goods Forum
l.chester@theconsumergoodsforum.com

Kerry Futter
Business Development Manager – EMEA Region
BRCGS
kerry.futter@brcgs.com