Your guide to social audit reports
In the modern era of corporate social responsibility, there is a growing expectation for organisations to provide value to consumers and shareholders as well as meet environmental and social standards. The conditions in which a product is manufactured is of growing concern to consumers and social compliance is now a consideration when it comes to a brand’s integrity and reputation.
Social compliance covers everything from the health, safety and rights of employees, the community and environment in which the organisation operates, and the lives and communities of workers in their supply and distribution chains.
It’s increasingly critical for organisations to have a complete awareness of the working conditions throughout their entire supply chain, from the raw materials through to the final assembly upstream.
The main way that organisations can be sure of social compliance is through a social audit.
What is a social audit?
A social audit is an internal or external examination of how a particular business is impacting society and is a way of measuring, understanding, reporting and ultimately improving an organisation’s social and ethical performance.
Performed by internal teams or external services providers, the audit helps organisations to determine whether they are meeting their social compliance objectives.
Social audits are important tools that can help organisations to cultivate and maintain a positive brand image and foster good relations with customers.
The scope of a social audit can vary and can include not only social and ethical responsibilities but also employee wellbeing. Some of the considerations that comprise a social audit include:
- Management systems
- Subcontracting
- Transparency and honesty in reporting any stakeholder issues
- Work environment including safety
- Forced labour
- Child labour
- Equal opportunity
- Employee compensation
- Hours of work
- Contracts of employment
- Nondiscriminatory practices
- Grievance mechanisms
- Environmental performance, etc.
Once a social audit is conducted, the social audit report is written.
What does the social audit report include?
The social audit report details the facts and findings of the social compliance audit, which could include:
- An overall score of the audited facility
- A narrative breakdown of what the auditor finds on-site concerning the assessment criteria
- Any non-compliances found, with applicable ratings and standards or laws breached
- Any good examples found at the site
- A detailed corrective action plan with actionable items and deadlines
- Acknowledgement of the facility owner/person in charge, representative from workers and auditor
What should I look out for?
Some of the key things to look out for in your social audit report may seem basic but it’s important to check that the key information is correct to maximise the effectiveness of the audit. This includes:
- Is the name and address of the site correct?
- When was the report conducted? Social audit reports can have different expiration dates for validity.
- Who conducted the audit? For example, was the audit conducted by a third-party impartial audit body? Was the auditor APSCA-registered?
- Are there scope limitations?
Most reports have a summary section. This allows you to analyse the audit quickly and helps direct you to certain sections of the report which you can review in-depth. Look for key phrases such as critical, bullying, forced labour and you may have other key phrases that matter to you.
The NC (non-conformance) should be detailed and contain as much as possible of the 5W1H (what, who, where, when, how and why). The relevant law and ethical code may also be cited in the report.
Your social audit report should have a list of items considered critical or zero tolerance issues. This might include:
- Child or forced labour
- Harassment and abuse
- Hours of work and wages
- Life-threatening health and safety issues
- Attempted bribery of the auditor
- The auditor being denied access to the site
How do I ensure my social audit was conducted professionally?
The best way to ensure a third-party auditor has conducted themselves competently is by checking that they are a member of APSCA (Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors). APSCA is an industry association that represents the majority of social compliance auditors, setting standards in terms of competencies for both auditors and audit bodies.
At Eurofins, we are a Full Member Firm of the APSCA, demonstrating expertise in quality social compliance audits. Our locally-based social compliance auditors can provide quality information to help drive your supply chain decisions and highlight corrective measures for arising issues.
You can find out more about our social compliance services here.
