Image above from VentureWell. (2022b, april 21). SA8000 Labor Certification – VentureWell.
The Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) standard is one of several certifications measuring social sustainability of factories and organisations. It was developed in 1997 by Social Accountability International (SAI), using values from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Labor Organization conventions, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. As such, it deals with worker rights, not local communities, state-level, or other social concerns. It does not track environmental concerns. It formalises these values in a structure similar to International Standards Organization (ISO) standards. As with all social sustainability certifications, SA8000 does not apply to products and cannot be measured at the level of the product–it applies to organisations and operations. If you want to prove your product is socially sustainable, you must prove your company and supply chain are socially sustainable.
Usage
As a designer or engineer, you will likely not perform the certification yourself, but it is valuable to be aware of when choosing vendors and touring factories, to know what to look for and what questions to ask. A8000 is a checklist of nine categories:
- Child labour
- Forced or compulsory labour
- Health and safety
- Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining
- Discrimination
- Disciplinary practices
- Working hours
- Remuneration
- Management system
Benefits
According to Social Accountability International (SIA) the benefits are as follows:
Benefits for Employers
- Better relationships with workers, customers, and external stakeholders.
- More effective management systems that improve workflows throughout the organization, resulting in Improved quality and productivity, Better hazard and risk detection, Increased supply chain control, Higher employee retention.
- Enhanced reputation, appeal to global buyers, and preferential status in government tenders.
Benefits for Workers
- Safe workplaces and healthy working conditions
- Increased awareness of rights and opportunities to organise.
- Better relationships with management and more input in workplace decision-making.
Benefits for Brand and Retailers.
- SA8000’s comprehensive social compliance program.
- Third-party oversight for quality assurance.
- Supplier ownership of social compliance programs.
- More resources for capacity-building and other social programs, as they are no longer needed for company code-of-conduct audits.
Limitations/Risks
- It does not measure local communities, state-level, or other social concerns–only labour conditions in factories or other workplaces. It also does not track environmental concerns.
- While SA8000 encourages stakeholder engagement and dialogue, the extent to which different stakeholders, particularly workers themselves, are involved in the certification process can vary.
- SA8000 primarily evaluates the procedures a company has in place to ensure social accountability rather than the actual outcomes.