SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

WHAT IS SA 8000?

SA 8000 is an ethical standard ensuring ethical sourcing production of goods and services and stands for "Social Accountability 8000". Like quality and environmental management systems it can be applied to organizations of any size in any industrial sector. SA 8000 is designed for independent assessment and certification by a third party.

REQUIREMENTS OF SA 8000

SA 8000 specifies minimum ethical requirements and includes definition of those given below:

1. Child Labour
2. Forced Labour
3. Health &Safety
4. Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining
5. Discrimination
6. Disciplinary Practices
7. Working Hours
8. Compensation
9. Management Systems

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF 8000 CERTIFICATION?

- Enables companies to develop practices

- Provides an initial assessment

- Provides an ethical standard

- Acts as a guarantee for second party audit of suppliers

- Provides common benchmarking

- Take local laws and requirements into consideration

- Brings international credibility

- Improves company image

- Creates more long-term value for the stockholders


FOUR STAGES OF SA 8000 CERTIFICATION

Like all other management system standards SA 8000 is based on the "Plan-Do-Check-Act" principle. In order to comply and being certified; requirements of 4 stages need to be met.



USEFUL LINKS

http://www.cepaa.org