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A transatlantic alliance has been formed between two organizations involved in ethical workplace monitoring.
US-based Social Accountability International (SAI), which administers the SA8000 workplace standard, will provide technical assistance to the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) to improve the Brussels-based organization's monitoring of supplier workplace conditions among its 60 European corporate members, which include Ahold, Hema, Inditex, Intersport, Kesko, Otto Group and Unibrands.
The BSCI, run by the Foreign Trade Association of Europe, has grown rapidly during the past two years as it has intensified efforts to improve working conditions at the suppliers of its participating member companies. It recently revised its code of practice to conform fully to SA8000 and now sees closer links with SAI as a logical step.
All members of BSCI audit teams, which check supplier conformity with the code, must have completed an SA8000 auditor course, and BSCI says its monitoring system 'is designed to function as a potential stepping-stone to full implementation of SA8000'. It added: 'To meet the demand for continuous improvement, we have agreed to extend SAI oversight on BSCI audits.'
BSCI, which recently became an organizational stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative, has overseen more than 1000 factory audits since its formation in 2003, mainly in Asia and eastern Europe and mostly conducted by third parties such as Bureau Veritas and Det Norske Veritas.
US-based Social Accountability International (SAI), which administers the SA8000 workplace standard, will provide technical assistance to the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) to improve the Brussels-based organization's monitoring of supplier workplace conditions among its 60 European corporate members, which include Ahold, Hema, Inditex, Intersport, Kesko, Otto Group and Unibrands.
The BSCI, run by the Foreign Trade Association of Europe, has grown rapidly during the past two years as it has intensified efforts to improve working conditions at the suppliers of its participating member companies. It recently revised its code of practice to conform fully to SA8000 and now sees closer links with SAI as a logical step.
All members of BSCI audit teams, which check supplier conformity with the code, must have completed an SA8000 auditor course, and BSCI says its monitoring system 'is designed to function as a potential stepping-stone to full implementation of SA8000'. It added: 'To meet the demand for continuous improvement, we have agreed to extend SAI oversight on BSCI audits.'
BSCI, which recently became an organizational stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative, has overseen more than 1000 factory audits since its formation in 2003, mainly in Asia and eastern Europe and mostly conducted by third parties such as Bureau Veritas and Det Norske Veritas.
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