The Consumer Goods Forum’s Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) is pleased to announce the opening of a stakeholder consultation for the SSCI Benchmarking Process, SSCI’s practical guidance tool. The consultation will be running for a month from the 9 July to 20 August 2025 and the SSCI encourages all stakeholders with an interest in ethical trade, human rights, and sustainability to participate and share their insights. The consultation is key for the consumer goods industry to achieve truly sustainable, responsible and due diligence within supply chains. 

The SSCI has improved its Benchmarking Process to incorporate key lessons from recent years to: 

• Improve Efficiency by proposing a new set of eligibility criteria that are consistent with the current benchmarking process. 
• Expand Participation by creating pathways for different programmes to participate, broadening the SSCI’s scope and addressing the unique circumstances of schemes without accreditation, while maintaining robust governance criteria.  
• Highlight the Annual Monitoring process to ensure ongoing compliance, relevance of continued assessment, and adaptability to various scenarios, including remote assessments.

Why it Matters

This consultation marks an important milestone for the SSCI, promoting transparency by inviting relevant stakeholders to review and provide feedback on the proposed changes. As the foundation of the SSCI’s work, the Benchmarking Process guides how schemes are assessed and recognised, outlining the essential steps they must follow to achieve SSCI Recognition. 

How to Get Involved

The stakeholder consultation is now closed. 

For inquiries please email the SSCI .  To view current SSCI Benchmark applicants and follow their progress, visit recognition.tcgfssci.com.