Introduction to Sedex and SMETA

SMETA is an audit and improvement methodology, not a certification scheme. Sedex currently identifies SMETA 7 as its latest version. Audits must be performed through an approved AAC, and the business needs an active Sedex membership.

Sedex — SMETA

What is Sedex?

Sedex provides tools and services for responsible business practices and supply-chain sustainability. Sedex was established as a not-for-profit organization; that historical description should not be treated as a statement of its current legal structure.

Its collaborative platform helps businesses share social and ethical information, understand supply-chain risks, protect their reputation and improve performance.

Two objectives described

1. Reduce the burden on suppliers facing multiple audits, questionnaires and certification requests.
2. Improve ethical and socially responsible performance in global supply chains.

The Sedex platform

enables members to store, share and report information across four main areas:

• Labour standards
• Health and safety
• Environment
• Business ethics

What Sedex does

Global membership

Launched in 2004, Sedex developed a global network for sharing ethical supply-chain data. The earlier figure of more than 38,000 organizations is historical, not a current membership count.

The earlier membership structure had three categories (A, AB and B), reflecting different functions in the Sedex system. Current membership options should be checked directly with Sedex.

Sedex is not a certification body. It develops and maintains SMETA as an audit methodology; a SMETA audit does not issue a Sedex or SMETA certificate.

The platform supports efficient information sharing, supply-chain management and continual improvement.

Sedex — official information

Historical information brochure — February 2012

What is SMETA?

SMETA stands for Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit. It is a widely used social audit methodology. Three shared elements are:

• Common guidance for conducting ethical trade audits.
• A common audit-report format.
• A common corrective-action-plan format.

SMETA is designed to address multiple customer needs and reduce duplication in social and ethical auditing.

Historical technology-partner information

The Sedex system was developed and maintained under Sedex’s product-development team, with software provided by Enablon.

Enablon sustainability-management software supports management of environmental and social performance, risk control and cost reduction. Figures of more than 300 global companies, 200,000 users and activities in over 130 countries are historical data, not current statistics.

That historical partnership was presented as supporting a secure, robust online system for exchanging ethical and social-responsibility information. It is not a confirmation of Sedex’s current technology supplier.

Enablon