Why go Beyond Audits?
For years, companies have used social audits as a form of due diligence to manage human rights risks within their supply chains. While useful in some ways, audits are not the ultimate answer: audits are becoming increasingly recognized as an insufficient solution on their own to truly identify and mitigate human rights violations within supply chains and operations.
Why go Beyond Audits?
For years, companies have used social audits as a form of due diligence to manage human rights risks within their supply chains. While useful in some ways, audits are not the ultimate answer: audits are becoming increasingly recognized as an insufficient solution on their own to truly identify and mitigate human rights violations within supply chains and operations.
Beyond to ensure the overall well-being of the Rightsholders
Some more thoughts...
- Due to their methodological limitations, social audits often portray the reality of working conditions inaccurately and are prone to misrepresenting the situation in factories.
- Brands and suppliers spend a lot of money and time on audits, but most are ineffective at uncovering root causes or encouraging remedial action.
- Audits can also miss key issues such as discrimination, modern slavery or management resistance to allowing workers their right to freedom of association.
- In many sectors, workers have experienced the shortcomings of social audits. Given that social audits are designed to improve outcomes for people and planet but are failing workers, it is important to question whether these audits are fit for purpose.
Because audits cannot measure the full spectrum of risks that workers face in supply chains, companies should also adopt an approach that goes beyond auditing. This includes incorporating triggers into their policies that would prompt action and response upon identification of human rights risks.
Go the Extra mile, Go, Beyond Audits
Rightsholders Voices on Going Beyond Audits
Before designing our programs and services, we spoke with multiple rightsholders to understand why they felt it was important to go beyond audits. Here are some of their thoughts.
How to go Beyond Audits?
We’re at a point in sustainability where the current frameworks that we have counted on have run their course, but we’ve not yet reimagined what they need to become. While many recognize the need for a systematic shift away from audits, there are no “easy” alternatives!
- We talk about stakeholder engagement; we talk about training and capacity building,
- We talk about building fully inclusive and sustainable supply chains; we talk about integrating worker voices,
- We talk about strengthening management and governance systems; we talk about driving greater transparency.
We need the models for that…. Our flagship programs and services are the models of change to go beyond audits.
Our Flagship Programs
Putting “will workers see a positive difference” at the center of all our thoughts, we designed our flagship programs. These programs help strengthen grievance mechanisms, promote gender diversity and inclusivity, encourage women empowerment, and help improve health, safety, and overall well-being of the rightsholders.
Other Services Offerings
We are empowering businesses to achieve their sustainability goals through our expert consulting services.
