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BSCI
The Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)
The Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) is a non-profit organization, based in Brussels, aiming to improve the social compliance in the supply chain of commerce. Founded in 2003, membership currently comprises more than 190 European organizations, mainly retailers, manufacturers and importing companies. Through pooling efforts and resources, BSCI members are promoting a common monitoring and factory development system, to sustainably enhance working conditions in factories worldwide.
The BSCI Code of Conduct and Monito
The requirements of the BSCI Code of Conduct are based on the labour standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other important international regulations like the UN Charta for Human Rights, as well as on national regulations. The BSCI members have developed a common monitoring system simplifying and standardizing the requirements and monitoring procedures. By harmonizing the requirements they place on their suppliers, and by sharing audit results among each other, multiple audits of suppliers are avoided and thus time and cost savings achieved.
Auditing within the BSCI
Audits in the BSCI system can only be done by independent auditing companies which have been accredited by Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS) to provide SA 8000 certification services, such as TÜV Rheinland. The BSCI system promotes SA 8000 as best practice – SA 8000 requirements are also checked during BSCI audits, and certification to SA 8000 is encouraged. Suppliers which have been certified to SA 8000 are exempted from BSCI audits.
Optional upgrade to SA 8000
BSCI encourages suppliers to go beyond the minimum requirements of the BSCI Code of Conduct and to implement and get certified a management system according to the internal social standard SA 8000. A valid certification to SA 8000 covers all requirements of the BSCI Code of Conduct and is recognized by BSCI in order to qualify a supplier in the BSCI system without separate BSCI audits. An SA 8000 certificate is valid for a period of 3 years. During that time the continued compliance with the requirements of the standard is monitored by means of semi-annual surveillance audits.
