Choosing from the many existing compliance schemes can be challenging for organisations who strive to work with suppliers that provide decent working conditions, respect the environment, and align with industry-approved commitments and resolutions from the CGF’s Coalitions of Action.
The SSCI promotes good social and environmental practices in global supply chains by benchmarking third-party auditing and certification schemes and recognising schemes that meet industry expectations. By providing an open-source list of recognised schemes, the SSCI delivers clear guidance on which schemes cover key sustainability criteria and apply the proper verification practices.
Key goals of the SSCI are to:
The SSCI is led by a high-level Steering Committee that reports directly to the CGF Board. The Steering Committee is parity-based and brings together CGF members from the retailer and manufacturer colleges. The Steering Committee is co-chaired by Ahold Delhaize and Nestlé. The SSCI is also represented at the CGF board level by its two Co-Sponsors from Sainsbury’s and The J.M. Smucker Company. The first benchmark scope criteria on Manufacturing and Processing were developed by two Technical Working Groups, who received input from stakeholders throughout the process during a public consultation phase.
Since its inception in 2000, GFSI has brought together stakeholders representing the global food industry to collaborate on advancing food safety. An essential part of that goal is to create a common and widely accepted understanding of what constitutes a good food safety system. The GFSI Benchmarking Requirements have become the world’s most widely accepted benchmark document for food safety requirements.
The SSCI benchmark structure and methodology is aligned with the GFSI benchmark and recognition process wherever feasible, whilst considering the specificities of the social compliance sector.
CGF members can sign-up to join the SSCI Coalition of Action, which then gives the ability to join the Steering Committee and the Technical Working Groups to help shape the benchmarking and recognition process. Stakeholders interested in providing input to the development of the initiative are invited to contact the CGF for further information. Public consultations on benchmark criteria will be open to all interested parties throughout the development process.
No. The SSCI will not create another social compliance standard and suppliers cannot be audited directly against the SSCI criteria. SSCI will provide a benchmarking and recognition tool for third-party auditing and certification schemes and deliver clear guidance on which schemes cover key sustainability criteria and apply the proper verification practices. Industry professionals can consult the list of SSCI-recognised schemes to choose an auditing programme which respects industry expectations for sustainability.
No. The SSCI will not provide a database for the sharing of supplier information or audit reports. SSCI will provide a benchmarking and recognition tool for third-party auditing and certification schemes and deliver clear guidance on which schemes cover key sustainability criteria and apply proper verification practices.
No. The SSCI will only be benchmarking third-party auditing and certification schemes.
No. The SSCI is not a platform or database for audit sharing, neither can suppliers be audited directly against the SSCI criteria.
No. The SSCI is not a social compliance standard and suppliers cannot be audited directly against the SSCI criteria. SSCI does not provide accreditation of audit firms.
The SSCI and the ITC Sustainability Map team are currently evaluating the possibility to potentially enable data exchange on sustainability schemes between the ITC Sustainability Map and SSCI in order to facilitate the Self-Assessment against the SSCI benchmark criteria for scheme owners.
The Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP) was set up in 2009 with the aim of harmonising existing efforts and deliver a common, consistent and global approach across sectors for the continuous improvement of working and environmental conditions in global supply chains.
Following the full integration of the GSCP into The Consumer Goods Forum, a strategic review process that included an extensive member and stakeholder consultation was conducted. Following this input, the CGF Board decided in June 2017 to set up the SSCI to provide the market with a tool that will bring clear guidance on which third-party auditing and certification schemes cover key sustainability requirements and apply proper verification practices. The SSCI has developed a streamlined approach to benchmarking and recognition under the roof of the CGF, aligning benchmarking criteria and processes with the CGF Global Food Safety Initiative, wherever feasible.
The GSCP Reference Tools remain available for download, but the overall activities of the GSCP have ceased. The GSCP Equivalence Process will now enter its next phase through the SSCI.
Key differences between the SSCI benchmark and recognition tool and the GSCP Equivalence Process benchmark are:
The GSCP Reference Tools, while available for download, will not be the basis for the SSCI benchmark.
The Equivalence Process does not accept new applications.
The benchmark methodology is streamlined with the benchmark methodology of the CGF Global Food Safety Initiative that is based on a Self-Assessment, followed by an independent expert review. The first scope of the SSCI benchmark criteria consists of two main parts:
In order to be recognised, all SSCI benchmark criteria will have to be met.
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