Amfori Steps Away From “Fully announced” Social Audits Keywords:
amfori | Social compliance audits | Social audits | Impact | Sustainable Trade amfori, a leading global business association for sustainable trade, has made a significant decision regarding its social audits.
Starting from 1 September 2024, amfori will no longer accept requests from its member companies for fully announced amfori BSCI audits.
With over 37,000 audits conducted annually through the amfori system, social audits are one of the due diligence solutions amfori provides to its member companies.
As a member-driven organisation, amfori strives to continuously improve its solutions to meet the evolving needs and requirements of its members.
The resulting changes amfori BSCI audits help amfori members to assess the social risks and performance of their business partners’ production sites within their supply chains.
This type of audits focuses on assessing the effectiveness of their social management system and is not related to quality, food safety or product safety audits, nor to any standard, qualification or certification system. There are two kinds of amfori BSCI audits: “full audits” and “follow-up audits”.
These social audits can be announced to business partners in three different ways: fully unannounced, semi-announced and fully announced. However, from 1 September 2024, amfori will only accept requests for fully unannounced and semi-announced amfori BSCI audits. Reasons behind this decision By removing fully announced amfori BSCI audits, amfori encourages its members to:
• Get better visibility and insights into the realities of their supply chains, which will further facilitate their sustainable business practices
• See decreased risks of compromised audits, and consequently reduced risk of potential reputational damage
• Feel encouraged to excel, strive for continuous improvement and implement more effective and positive changes in their due diligence efforts One solution in the amfori toolbox While social audits play a crucial role in amfori members’ due diligence efforts, they provide only a snapshot at a given point in time.

amfori BSCI audits are one solution in the amfori toolbox and can only help in improving labour standards when supplemented with other effective human rights due diligence tools.

amfori encourages its members not to rely solely on social audits but to employ additional due diligence methods, including stakeholder engagement, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the conditions in the production sites they source from.

amfori remains dedicated to promoting sustainable trade and encourages its members to leverage the full range of tools and solutions, including social audits, to foster responsible global supply chains.

1 amfori Press Release – Monday 1 July 2024 Press Release Brussels, Belgium – Monday 1 July 2024 About amfori amfori advocates for a world in which trade serves a purpose: delivering social, environmental and economic benefits for everyone. As a global business association, amfori supports its members at every step of their due diligence journey, offering a comprehensive range of ESG products and services.

From supply chain mapping and assessment to reporting, from capacity building to facilitating stakeholder engagement, amfori provides a holistic approach to responsible business practices.

Founded in 1977, and recognised for its flagship product amfori BSCI, amfori leverages decades of expertise and close collaboration with more than 2400 member companies as well as auditing companies, producers, factories, and other stakeholders such as policymakers.

Representing a diverse array of industries in over 50 countries, that cover trade streams in over 100 countries, amfori continues to have a positive impact on fostering sustainable trade. Contact details For more inquiries or media interviews, please contact: [email protected] amfori aisbl Avenue de Tervueren 270 1150 Brussels Belgium T +32 (0)2 741 64 76 www.amfori.org 2 amfori Press Release – Monday 1 July 2024