Sedex is a global technology company that specialises in data, insights and professional services to empower supply chain sustainability. We offer an unmatched blend of scalable and site-specific capabilities for efficient, in-depth analysis on social and environmental practices globally.
We offer workable solutions for supply chain due diligence and continuous improvement at scale, translating international principles into practical activities.
Our vision is to be a leader in making global supply chains more socially and environmentally sustainable. As businesses face increasing demands for responsible practices from investors, legislators and consumers, they need a strong partner to empower their efforts.
Our mission is to supply data-led insights, accessible tools and exceptional services for more sustainable supply chains. Our solutions enable companies to continuously improve environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and outcomes, and meet their supply chain sustainability goals.
Sedex has over 20 years’ expertise and provides supply chain solutions for all businesses, including SMETA, our world-leading social audit. Our community comprises over 85,000 businesses and 104,000 supply chain sites of employment/work, across 180 countries and 35 sectors globally.
Our customers use Sedex to identify, assess and prioritise environmental and social risks and impacts more effectively in their supply chains. Our assessment tools, data exchange Platform and professional services facilitate visibility and transparency between businesses in a supply chain to enable identification, decision-making and collaborative resolution.
The recent and continuing supply chain challenges highlight the importance of embedding further resilience into our supply chain. We consider Sedex a powerful tool to achieve this by gaining better data and insights into our suppliers’ operations and establishing a broader set of values upon which we do business.
Our solutions are built on international frameworks such as the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) and the Ethical Trading Initiative’s Base Code, with underlying principles including risk-based prioritisation and inter-business transparency.
We guide our members to operate in line with these, supporting both more sustainable business operations and legislative compliance.
Our solutions include:
As a solutions company, Sedex supports corporate supply chain human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) by providing tools and services. We are not a regulator; we offer resources to help businesses manage and improve their supply chain sustainability.
SMETA is Sedex’s proprietary on-site assessment. Founded on international standards, centrally the Ethical Trade Initiative’s (ETI) Base Code, it is now one of the world’s most widely used social audits.
A full SMETA audit covers four pillars of Health & Safety, Labour, Environment and Business Ethics, for a comprehensive review of a worksite’s sustainability practices. It is a powerful combination of in-person scrutiny and scalable methodology for businesses to draw comparable data on sustainability practices, conditions, workers and risks at individual worksites in supply chains.
Note: Neither SMETA nor Sedex membership are a certification, and there is no “pass” or “fail” issued by auditors or Sedex as part of the SMETA methodology.
SMETA is designed to foster visibility, continuous improvement, collaboration and further action to drive responsible sourcing practices. It enables identification and resolution of many thousands of issues (non-compliances) at worksites every year, each representing an improvement in an environmental or ethical area.
Businesses use SMETA to look at conditions, practices, workers and risks at individual sites in supply chains. They use the findings from SMETA audits to make improvements and carry out other next steps, such as more targeted deep-dive assessments into specific areas.
As a social audit, SMETA is a valuable tool within wider supply chain due diligence programmes that should incorporate a variety of tools and activities, cross-referencing findings from different assessments (including those available through Sedex).
SMETA audits are carried out by Sedex’s named independent, third-party Affiliate Audit Companies (AACs). Only these companies are approved by Sedex to use the SMETA methodology.
Sedex owns and evolves the SMETA methodology, oversees its usage and drives SMETA auditing consistency through our Audit Quality Programme. Sedex does not carry out SMETA audits directly, and is not an “audit company” in this sense.
We advise businesses to avoid any individuals or companies not on our list of partner audit companies (AACs) that are offering SMETA auditing services or any form of coaching or consulting related to Sedex/SMETA.
Non-AAC companies, and individuals not affiliated with Sedex or an approved AAC, are not authorised by Sedex to offer Sedex/SMETA-related services. We caution that these services may be sub-standard, and audit reports will likely not be accepted on the Sedex Platform or recognised as credible by others.
Please contact legal@sedex.com to report instances of non-partner companies offering “SMETA certification”, “Sedex certification”, SMETA auditing or related services.
We do not support audit deception, or coaching to ensure preferential outcomes or findings at a SMETA audit that do not reflect the true conditions, practices, workers or sustainability risks and impacts of a site.
We encourage businesses to be transparent with each other, and collaborate to acknowledge and address sustainability concerns.