Standards & frameworks
Social accountability & human rights: standards and frameworks
Social compliance standards set out how an organisation treats the people who work for it and for its suppliers. Some lead to a certificate, others to an audit report, a published statement or better internal practice; this page shows which is which and where to start.
About this family
Decent work, shown to your customers with evidence
This family covers the standards, codes and laws that customers, brands and governments use to ask one question: are the people who make your products or deliver your services working in decent conditions? The request usually arrives through a customer. A retailer asks a garment or food supplier for a SMETA audit; a customer asks you to meet the RBA Code of Conduct and to prepare for an audit under the RBA’s assessment programme; a buyer that wants more than one audit day asks for SA8000 certification; a company that publishes an annual modern slavery statement in the UK or Australia asks its suppliers how they find and prevent forced labour. Behind these sit the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, which describe the responsibility of business to respect human rights, while ISO 30415 gives guidance on diversity and inclusion within your own workforce.
The schemes overlap in subject but differ in what you hold at the end, and that difference decides where to start. SA8000 is certified by a body accredited by SAAS, and valid certificates appear on SAI’s public register. SMETA and RBA audits end in an audit report or assessment result, not a certificate. ISO 30415 and the UN Guiding Principles are guidance and are not certified, and the modern slavery laws call for a published statement. One labour management system can still serve several of them: the same time and payroll records, recruitment controls, age checks, grievance log and safety evidence answer each auditor in turn. Sterling’s consultants build that system with your managers and workers’ representatives, either under Design™, where we develop and you implement under our expert advice and supervision, or under Drive™, where we design and build under your approval. Effivity is included at no additional cost to hold the evidence. Sterling does not certify or audit; the independent body or auditor decides.
In this family
12 standards, frameworks and schemes in this family
One certifiable standard, two audit schemes, two guidance documents and the UK and Australian modern slavery laws, each with its own page on the route, the evidence and how Sterling prepares you.
- SA8000SA8000 certification consulting for decent work: workers' rights, hours, wages, safety and voice managed and evidenced for a SAAS-accredited certification body.
- ISO 26000ISO 26000 social responsibility consulting: apply its seven core subjects in your decisions and reporting. ISO 26000 is guidance and is not certifiable.
- ISO 45003ISO 45003 psychosocial risk consulting: manage work-related stress and wellbeing within your ISO 45001 system. ISO 45003 is guidance, not a certificate.
- SMETA (Sedex)SMETA audit preparation for suppliers: gap review, labour and safety records, worker interviews rehearsed and corrective actions closed before the Sedex audit.
- RBA Code of ConductRBA Code of Conduct compliance for electronics and supply-chain suppliers: gap assessment, policies, records, training and readiness for an RBA audit (VAP).
- ISO 30415ISO 30415 diversity and inclusion guidance applied in your organisation: gap assessment, policies, HR processes, measures and training. No certificate exists.
- UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human RightsUN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in practice: policy, risk assessment, human rights due diligence, grievance channels and reporting support.
- Modern Slavery Acts (UK / Australia)Modern slavery statement support under the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and Australia's Modern Slavery Act 2018: risk assessment, due diligence and evidence.
- CSDDDCSDDD compliance and requirements after Omnibus I: scoping, risk-based due diligence, complaints, monitoring and the 2029 start, delivered in one all-inclusive proposal.
- amfori BSCIamfori BSCI audit preparation for producers: gap assessment across the 13 performance areas, remediation, worker-facing evidence and support from Sterling.
- WRAPWRAP certification for production facilities: gap assessment against the WRAP 12 Principles, policies, records, training and readiness for the WRAP audit.
- FairtradeFairtrade certification and requirements: which Fairtrade International standards apply, FLOCERT's audit, cost and timing, and how Sterling prepares you.
SA8000 has the most detailed page in this family, with requirements, cost and timeline; the others set out the route and what Sterling prepares. The full catalogue is in the menu under Standards & frameworks.
- 60+countries where Sterling has delivered certification
- 21countries with a Sterling office, eight regions, one coordinated team
- 2003the year the group began implementing ISO management systems; the same method, refined, since
- 8,100+client engagements across the group, from single-site SMEs to multinationals
FAQs
Social compliance standards: questions to settle first
Three questions that decide which route fits your customers and your sites.
Which social compliance standard should we start with?
Start with the one your customer names, because that is the evidence they have said they will accept. If a retailer asks for SMETA, prepare for a SMETA audit; if a customer asks for the RBA Code of Conduct, prepare for the RBA’s assessment programme. Where no scheme is named, or several customers ask for different audits, SA8000 certification builds a management system that keeps conditions under control between visits and produces the records the other audits also look for. ISO 30415 and the UN Guiding Principles shape how you work but lead to no certificate.
Can we prepare for SA8000, SMETA and an RBA audit together?
Yes, the preparation can be shared, but each audit stays separate. Hours, wages, recruitment, age verification, health and safety and grievances appear in all three, so one labour management system and one set of records can serve them. Each scheme keeps its own auditor, method and report, and a good result in one does not replace the others; whether a customer accepts one result in place of another is that customer’s decision.
What does the certification body or auditor actually check?
It depends on the route. For SA8000, a SAAS-accredited certification body runs a Stage 1 review and a Stage 2 audit, examines records, tours the site and interviews randomly selected workers in private, then decides on certification and returns for surveillance audits. A SMETA or RBA audit follows the scheme’s own method and ends in a report rather than a certificate. Modern slavery statements are published by the reporting company and are not certified, and ISO 30415 and the UN Guiding Principles are not audited for a certificate. Sterling prepares you for each of these and does not audit.
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