Social Responsibility & SA8000

Social Accountability 8000 is an assessment and certification standard; it is based on international human rights conventions that focus on improving working conditions. It was developed by Social Accountability International (SAI).
SA8000 is an international Standard published in the year 1997 by the non-profit organization SAI (Social Accountability International). Companies choose audit and certification according to SA8000 because they want to demonstrate the social responsibility inherent in their management system. This involves top management taking into account the rights of employees, the working environment, and basic human rights.
The current global business environment is motivating organizations to consider the full social and ethical impacts of their corporate activities and policies.
Those companies who are able to prove a responsible approach to broader social and ethical issues will gain a vital competitive edge and inspire the confidence of stakeholders such as clients, investors, local communities and consumers. Social concerns like child labour, forced labour and discrimination require companies to not only consider their own direct sphere of influence but also their entire supply chain. The concept and value of employing an independent, third party to monitor social responsibility is becoming increasingly important.

SA8000 is the first auditable standard in this field. In particular, it is compatible with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS18001 structure and based on conventions of the International LabourOrganisation (ILO), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 The essential requirements of SA8000 relate to the subject areas of: child labor, forced labor, health and safety, freedom of assembly, discrimination, punishment, working hours, pay, and the management system.
 
SA 8000 helps you with the effective use of systems for managing social accountability.  You can demonstrate to your stakeholders that you are accountable and responsible
Companies and their supply chains that want to demonstrate that their workers are being treated fairly and humanely.
SA8000, in simple terms, is an international standard for improving working conditions. Based on theprinciples of thirteen (13) international human rights conventions, this standard is a tool to help apply these norms to practical work-life situations.
The SA8000 standard is used to audit companies and contractors alike in multiple industries and countries. SA8000 represents a major breakthrough as it was the first auditable social standard and it creates a process that is truly independent (it is neither a government project, nor dominated by any single interest group).
To certify conformance with SA8000, every facility seeking certification must be audited by OCU.
Auditors will visit these facilities and assess corporate practice on a wide range of issues and evaluate the state of a company's management systems.  Once an organisation has implemented any necessary improvements, it can earn a certificate attesting to its compliance with SA8000. This certification provides a public report of good practice to consumers, buyers, and other companies and is intended to be a significant milestone in improving workplace conditions.
Maintaining and improving the systems put in place to achieve SA8000 certification is an ongoing process and sustantial employee participation can be the best means to ensure systematic change. The benefits of adopting SA8000 are significant and may include improved employee morale, increased reliability ofbusiness partnerships, enhanced competitiveness, less employee turnover and overall better employee - manager communication.