What is SMETA Audit?

As a social audit methodology, SMETA provides a framework for ensuring social and environmental sustainability in the supply chain of SEDEX member companies. SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Sharing) is a membership-based association and aims to conduct trade in accordance with universal ethical principles. SEDEX, which currently has more than 74,000 members in 170 different countries, uses SMETA (SEDEX Members Ethical Trade Audit) to conduct ethical audits or social compliance audits. Companies use SMETA audits to audit, report and improve social and environmental performance in their own operations or in the internal and external processes of their suppliers. In SMETA audits, procedures, processes and operations on issues such as business ethics, environmental compliance, labor standards, occupational health and safety, etc. are examined. You can get help from Aşan Danışmanlık to learn about the scope of SMETA audit and to prepare for audits.

SMETA Audit Criteria

In the SMETA audit criteria, the principles of the internationally recognized Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) and local laws in the countries where the organizations operate are referenced. However, different ethical audit approaches in accordance with the rules and principles of the International Labor Organization (ILO) can be used together with SMETA. In SEDEX SMETA audits, the performance and practices of organizations on the following subjects are examined:

* Protection of universal rights in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGP)
* Implementation of management systems
* Freedom to work; No one can be forced to work for any reason.
* Employees can join any they want and make a collective agreement with the employer.
* Compliance with occupational health and safety standards, international principles and local laws should be ensured at work sites.
* Child labor should not be employed in workplaces. The minimum working age should be determined based on local laws and international conventions.
* Employees must be paid wages, the amount of which is determined by local laws and/or international agreements.
* Daily and weekly working hours must comply with the law.
* Discrimination in the workplace on issues such as religion, language, race, gender, political opinion, ethnicity, etc. should not be allowed. It should be fair to everyone in processes such as wage increase, promotion, recruitment, etc.
* Employers should make regular recruits.
* SMETA criteria must be met for subcontracting and working from home.
* Employees should not be treated in any way inhumane.
* Compliance with local and international laws and standards on environmental issues should be ensured.
* Practices incompatible with business ethics such as bribery, corruption and money laundering should not be allowed.
* The interests of local people must be taken into account.

Companies that want to verify and certify that they meet the SMETA audit criteria can contact Aşan Danışmanlık and initiate the official audit process.

SMETA Audit Stages

Firms wishing to enter SEDEX SMETA audits should contact accredited auditing bodies. It should then share some documents requested by the audit body. After the general evaluations made on the documents, independent auditors inspect the workplace areas on site. These audits, which start with the opening meetings, consist of stages such as facility tours, interviews with employees (individual or collective), meetings with senior management units, etc. Afterwards, audit reports are prepared and corrective/preventive action plans are created. Firms are expected to close the detected nonconformities according to these plans. A closing meeting is held at the end of the audit.

The scope of SEDEX SMETA audit may vary depending on the size of the companies, field of activity, location, target audience and supplier network. Companies of all sizes must receive consultancy services in this process; In this way, audits can be completed quickly and in an eventful manner.

SMETA Audit Benefits

We can summarize the benefits of SMETA audits to organizations as follows:

* Improving social and environmental performance in the supply chain
* To create fair, ethical and human rights working conditions in supplier facilities
* Protecting corporate reputation and increasing sustainability and social responsibility awareness in the supply chain
* Work only with approved suppliers and subcontractors
* Facilitate the application of local laws and international standards
* Ensuring that supply chain processes are accountable and transparent