Control Union Certifications offers SMETA (Sedex Member Ethical Trade Audit) auditing, a method developed by the multi stakeholder consultation initiative, Sedex. SMETA’s role is to align social audit standards and monitoring practices, to ease the auditing burden on suppliers by sharing reports and driving improvements in supply chain labour standards.

SMETA 2-Pillar audits are governed by the standards contained in the ETI base code. SMETA 4-Pillar audits add more extensive environmental management requirements as well as business practices. Reporting can be done through the Sedex database, depending on your requirements. Usually, eligible sites complete a self-assessment before audits start. Ask for a pre-audit information pack when applying.

How you benefit

In the certification industry, various social audits are performed such as BSCI, WRAP, SA 8000 and ICTI. All of these social audits can be uploaded onto Sedex. It is up to the individual member to decide which audit best suits their purposes, however, Sedex hopes that by providing SMETA best practice guidance publicly, companies will ultimately establish one international audit protocol.

The Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX) is a web-based system designed to help organizations manage data on labor practices in their supply chain. Members have the benefit of being able to publish their SMETA audit reports directly on the SEDEX system for viewing by all customers.

SEDEX members have agreed the Best Practice Guide, a common methodology to improve audit standards and promote mutual acceptance of audit reports. In addition to the principles in the ETI Base Code, SMETA also review performance against the right to work of migrant workers, management systems and implementation, sub-contracting and home working and environmental issues.