SA 8000

The ISO standard for Social Accountability is called SA 8000.

It is similar in structure to ISO 14000 and ISO 9000 series standards. Combining 8000 and 9000 standards yields what we call a work description.

SA 8000 was initiated by Social Accountability International and basically attempts to enforce a social contract implied in international labour law. It is a comprehensive, global, verifiable standard for auditing and certifying compliance with corporate responsibility. It is applicable to both small and large companies that want to demonstrate to customers and other stakeholders that they care. The heart of the standard is the belief that all workplaces should be managed in such a manner that basic human rights are supported and that management is prepared to accept accountability for this.

The most basic commitment is that to eliminate human slavery in all workplaces. There are about 27 million people held in slavery worldwide, many of them in support or service or resource businesses that supply global enterprises.

See also Cocoa Protocol for a commodity sector approach to this issue.

External links

http://www.dnvcert.com/DNV/Certification1/Services/CorporateSocialRespons/SA8000/SA8000/