“In 2015, a survey of 30,000 consumers in 60 countries found that 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for products or services from companies committed to positive social and environmental impact (Nielsen, 2015).” — ChangingMarkets.org
Good intentions are a start, but are measures such as “certification schemes” enough?
Read on to find out.
Is the amfori BSCI Auditing Program a Certification Scheme?
According to amfori, BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) is “neither an auditing company, an accreditation system, nor a certification scheme.”
The amfori BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) Program goes beyond certification labels. They believe that executing effective methods for ensuring “positive social and environmental impact” across global supply chains requires auditing expertise; a consistent dialogue between a company and its suppliers; and an unwavering commitment to ethical and environmental enforcement.
What Does amfori BSCI Do for Supply Chain Auditing?
In lieu of being either a certification scheme or an auditing company, amfori BSCI is focused on providing businesses with a social, ethical and environmental auditing methodology. In addition, they provide a network of independent auditing companies that have achieved the standards of the amfori BSCI methodology — standards based on over 40 years of experience in international trade.
Looking Beyond Certification Schemes
Along with statistics confirming a large consumer shift towards responsibly sourced products, ChangingMarket found another interesting fact: “Studies also show that many shoppers rely on labels and certifications as a quick and easy way to identify more responsibly made products without having to become supply chain experts (e.g., Nielsen, 2014).”
The pressure to ensure social and environmental practices has, over the last 20 years, raised the profile of “green” and “fair trade” certification schemes. Through certification, companies can slap positive-sounding labels on their products, raise prices, and still drive sales. Unfortunately, a growing body of research suggests that certification schemes can often be counterproductive to their intended aim.
Those feel-good labels cover up larger questions concerning a supply company’s true commitment and consistent practice of socially responsible behavior.
The amfori BSCI Auditing Program favors the consistent improvement of auditing techniques over more fixed certification schemes.
The Trouble with Certification Schemes
Certification schemes generally consist of a fixed set of guidelines, but with infrequent inspections. Companies can achieve certification by meeting a certain set of standards at a scheduled time of inspection. Regardless of how lax a supply chain operation becomes afterward, as long as standards are met again at the time of retesting or re-registration, the certification — and their reputation — remains intact.
However, even after initial certification is achieved, larger problems can loom under the surface of the “certified image.” Any curious observer who reports unpunished breaches of a certification body’s standards can bring lasting damage to the certification body’s reputation — along with additional harm to the infracting company.
The main company living under the assumption that their supply chain providers are operating responsibly are at risk. Suddenly, they can be perceived by the public as violators of various ethical and environmental standards, or even accused of being knowing deceivers.
On the other hand, when companies partner with auditing services that abide by the amfori BSCI methodology, they can be sure of more frequent monitoring coverage that won’t allow standards infractions to go unnoticed.