Social Compliance Audits Verify Responsible Business Practices

Protect the health, rights and safety of your employees, supply chain and distribution chain

Social compliance is the process of continuous improvement your organisation uses to protect:

the health, safety, and rights of your employees
workers in your supply chain and distribution chains
the community and environment that you operate in

By complying with international social compliance standards, you can improve your brand’s reputation among consumers, boost productivity and reduce health hazards in the workplace. Demonstrating social compliance across your value chains can also help you avoid legal disputes.

Any evidence of abusive, illegal or unfair treatment within your company or supply chain can reduce consumer trust and ultimately, lower profit margins. Robust monitoring and the implementation of corrective measures are crucial to address worker concerns and uphold ethical and sustainable practices.

To understand where you stand against global compliance standards, you first need to conduct a social compliance audit. Businesses must navigate growing regulatory pressure on human rights by demonstrating social compliance across their value chains to avoid legal disputes and reputational damage. Robust monitoring, corrective measures are crucial to address worker concerns and uphold ethical practices.

What are Social Compliance Audits?

Social compliance audits evaluate compliance to your own code of conduct and code of ethics, or international social compliance standards focusing on areas of concern related to labour practices and human rights. Examples of concern include child labour, forced labour, fair treatment of workers, excessive work hours, diversity in the workplace, wages and other social-related issues. Social compliance audits promote compliance across the entire supply chain, and prove alignment with a customer’s sustainability goals.

By conducting social compliance audits within the upstream and downstream supply chain, you can establish trust, demonstrate appropriate due diligence efforts, and gain the confidence of investors, end-consumers, traders and distributors. 

Our extensive experience, valuable insights, and deep industry knowledge in key industrial sectors will help you to pinpoint potential threats to reputation, enhance compliance, and manage risks relating to social aspects.  

At TÜV SÜD, we believe that social compliance audits are key to safeguarding workers’ rights and ensuring ethical practices across supply chains. These audits protect vulnerable workers and also help your business demonstrate a serious commitment to fair, responsible operations

Ewa Kostowska-Cupak

Head of Assurance Services

Improve your social compliance with TÜV SÜD’s audits

We conduct social compliance audits against your code of conduct, international standards or our own checklist. Reference is made to criteria detailed in International Labour Conventions (ILO) and other established global best practices.

If you’re not sure which solution or standard is best for your needs, please contact our technical experts who will be glad to advise. Social compliance audits are conducted on-site and normally cover specific locations identified in advance, such as production sites, manufacturing facilities, warehouse and storage areas, etc. We may also be able to provide remote monitoring and verification services, if you prefer.

KEY BENEFITS OF SOCIAL COMPLIANCE AUDITS

tick

Ensure workers are treated ethically and their rights are respected throughout your supply chain including freedom of association, fair pay, health and safety, and prohibition of child labour

Demonstrate compliance to due diligence requirements by conducting social compliance audits and improve your supplier relationships

tick Minimise risks with safer working conditions that reduce the chance of harm to employees in your supply chain and damage to business reputation

Gain a competitive advantage by demonstrating your organisation’s ethical stance to consumers and avoid damage to your brand reputation due to the actions of your suppliers

Ensure independent certification of auditor’s competencies in accordance with the Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors (APSCA) framework

TÜV SÜD is a founder member of APSCA and is committed to apply the APSCA Code of Professional Conduct while conducting its social compliance audits. Audit activities are conducted by professional auditors and their information is subject to quality control and approval before finalisation.

WHY CHOOSE TUV SUD FOR YOUR SOCIAL COMPLIANCE AUDIT?

experience-icon Years of experience: Benefit from our decades of experience in delivering reliable supplier audits. We match technical experts from our global network to your project needs.

International presence: Take advantage of our global reach, providing you with consistent and standardised audit practices across multiple regions, enhancing compliance and oversight.

Collaboration-icon Expert partnership: TÜV SÜD’s experts are recognised by authorities, both nationally and internationally, and have a history of completing successful audits across various industries.

Dedicated project manager: Enjoy the convenience of having a single point of contact with a dedicated project manager who ensures your audit project is managed efficiently and delivered on time.

Customised solutions: Receive tailored audit solutions that align with your specific business goals and compliance requirements.

Is your business committed to social compliance issues? Do you want to show consumers they can trust you and your products? Let us help you improve confidence in your supply chain with a TÜV SÜD social compliance audit.