Guide to BSCI Audit Requirements
Ensuring a successful BSCI audit hinges on understanding the specific criteria that the audit evaluates.
This guide explains the BSCI audit requirements, detailing the key areas of assessment and providing a clear guide to help you prepare. From understanding worker rights and safety protocols to environmental management and ethical business practices, this resource equips you to navigate the BSCI audit process with confidence.
Understanding the amfori BSCI System Manual
The amfori BSCI System Manual is a critical resource for both amfori members (brands and retailers) looking to improve social responsibility in their supply chains, and business partners (suppliers) undergoing BSCI audits. Updated on September 25, 2023, the manual is structured into four parts, each catering to different stakeholders such as amfori members, business partners, monitoring partners, and auditors.
Part One: The amfori BSCI Due Diligence Approach
Purpose: Provides guidelines on the due diligence approach, emphasizing compliance with international standards and the BSCI Code of Conduct. It includes practical tools for responsible business practices.
Audience: amfori members and their business partners.
Part Two: The amfori BSCI Monitoring Approach
Purpose: Outlines the entire monitoring process, from scheduling to follow-up. This part will be most helpful in understanding audit requirements.
Audience: amfori members, business partners, monitoring partners, and monitoring persons.
Part Three: amfori BSCI Auditing Interpretation Guidelines
Purpose: Helps understand the BSCI audit questionnaire and interpret monitoring results.
Audience: amfori members and monitoring persons.
Part Four: amfori BSCI Guidelines for Business Partners
Purpose: Details the resources available to businesses participating in amfori BSCI. It explains the types of documents and guides offered, along with specific expectations for each performance area.
Audience: Business partners.
Accompanied by 18 guide documents, the manual provides a practical framework for implementing ethical business practices and ensuring compliance with the BSCI Code of Conduct.
For more information, see the amfori BSCI System Manual.
Key Areas Assessed in a BSCI Audit
A BSCI audit assesses a company’s commitment to social responsibility across several areas. The BSCI Code of Conduct serves as the foundation for all these assessment areas. It outlines thirteen core principles that translate into specific expectations regarding ethical labor practices, worker safety, and environmental responsibility (known as the thirteen performance areas, or PAs).
Here's a breakdown of the key requirements assessed in a BSCI audit:
Social Management System and Cascade Effect:
You must adopt and publicly communicate a human rights policy that aligns with the complexity and size of operations, approved at the highest level.
Implementation of a risk-based due diligence management system is required, tailored to the business model and consistent with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
The BSCI Code of Conduct must be actively endorsed across all company functions and communicated to all business partners and relevant stakeholders.
Training programs should be established to integrate responsible and gender-responsive business practices, cascading these principles to all partners.
Continuous improvement in compliance should be pursued through strategy, processes, and adequate resources.
Workers Involvement and Protection:
Establish and maintain responsible, gender-responsive management practices involving all workers and representatives.
Develop and communicate long-term goals to protect workers as outlined in the BSCI Code.
Implement effective operational-level grievance mechanisms accessible in relevant languages and capable of addressing issues across jurisdictions.
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining:
Respect the rights of workers to form and join trade unions and to bargain collectively without discrimination.
Ensure meaningful representation and interaction of workers’ representatives without interference.
No Discrimination, Violence, or Harassment:
Maintain a workplace environment where all workers are treated with dignity and respect, free from any form of violence, harassment, and discrimination.
Implement written disciplinary procedures, clearly communicated to workers in understandable language.
Fair Remuneration:
Ensure compliance with minimum wage laws or industry standards, whichever is higher, and strive toward paying a living wage.
Wages must be paid regularly, on time, and in legal tender.
Decent Working Hours:
Adhere to national and international standards regarding working hours, with exceptions only as specified by the ILO.
Overtime should be voluntary and compensated at a premium rate.
Occupational Health and Safety:
Establish a safe and healthy working environment, assessing and mitigating risks effectively.
Provide regular training on occupational health and safety and ensure access to necessary medical facilities.
Environmental Protection:
Implement a risk-based environmental management system to address the impacts of operations on the environment.
Ethical Business Behavior:
Prohibit acts of corruption, extortion, embezzlement, or bribery and develop controls to detect and prevent such activities.
Ensure transparency in operations and respect privacy and data protection laws.
Learn more about the BSCI Code of Conduct: What Is the amfori BSCI Code of Conduct? A Guide to Compliance with amfori BSCI
The BSCI Audit Grading System
BSCI audits are not typically scored as a pass/fail. Instead, the audit report details the supplier's level of compliance in each performance area and provides a grade.
The amfori BSCI uses a letter and percentage system to represent the overall rating and individual PAs:
A (Very Good): 86% - 100% - Demonstrates a strong commitment with minimal need for follow-up monitoring.
B (Good): 71% - 85% - Indicates a good level of compliance and allows for continued improvement without immediate intervention.
C (Acceptable): 51% - 70% - Requires a continuous improvement plan with clear actions within 60 days. A follow-up monitoring is likely.
D (Insufficient): 30% - 50% - Highlights areas needing significant improvement. A plan with corrective actions is required within 60 days, with follow-up monitoring.
E (Unacceptable): 0% - 29% - Indicates serious deficiencies. A corrective action plan is mandatory within 60 days, along with a planned follow-up monitoring.
The audit rating is determined through the auditor's responses to specific questions during the evaluation process. Each question is answered based on the auditor's professional judgment, reflecting the level of compliance observed in the company's practices and procedures. The responses can be:
Yes: This response is given when the auditor finds the evidence provided by the company to be satisfactory and fully in compliance with the audit criteria.
No: This response is selected when the evidence is unsatisfactory, indicating non-compliance or a significant deviation from the required standards.
Partially: This option is chosen when the auditor finds that some evidence meets the standards but it is not sufficient to warrant a full Yes. This suggests that while some compliance is noted, improvements are still needed.
Audit results may include identifying areas where minor or major non-conformities exist. The report will outline corrective action plans that you must implement to achieve full compliance with the BSCI Code of Conduct.
Learn more in Part 2 of the amfori BSCI System Manual, The amfori BSCI Monitoring Approach.
Ensuring Your Supply Chain Meets BSCI Audit Requirements
Here are practical steps to align your supply chain with BSCI requirements:
Conduct a Preliminary Self-Assessment: Evaluate current practices against the BSCI Code of Conduct to identify gaps. Encourage suppliers to use BSCI self-assessment tools and checklists available through the amfori BSCI platform. amfori BSCI System Manual Guides include self-assessment tools and checklists.
Develop an Action Plan: Based on the self-assessment results, create a detailed action plan that addresses identified gaps. Set clear timelines and responsibilities for implementing necessary changes.
Train Management and Staff: Educate your management and workforce about BSCI standards and the importance of compliance. Training should cover specific practices and behaviors that support ethical labor standards, safety regulations, and environmental protections. Prepare your business partners by sending them the updated amfori BSCI Code of Conduct (updated as of January 1, 2023).
Strengthen Supplier Relationships: Work closely with your suppliers to ensure they understand BSCI requirements. Offer training and support to help them comply and make it clear that adherence to these standards is mandatory for doing business with your company.
Implement Regular Monitoring: Set up regular monitoring mechanisms to check compliance with BSCI standards. This could include scheduled audits, unannounced checks, and soliciting feedback from employees and other stakeholders. This is relevant both in the preparation stage and after auditing.
Engage a Trusted Third-Party Auditor: Partner with a reputable and accredited third-party auditor like QIMA to conduct BSCI audits and follow-up checks.
QIMA streamlines your BSCI journey with expert auditors, corrective action support, and an online platform for smooth communication, document management, and reporting. Our custom compliance dashboard helps you assess supplier performance, track progress, and visualize your entire supply network, ensuring transparency and control over your compliance efforts.
Learn more about BSCI audits with QIMA, or book your audit today.
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