1. What is the Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP)?
It is an open group of companies that have made a joint commitment to put social values at the heart of their commercial decisions. They acknowledge that good business is built on a respect for human rights.
The GSCP provides a platform for building consensus on best practice for labour standards in supply chains of consumer goods. Its core aim is that harmonisation delivers a shared, consistent and global approach. It also offers a forum where the participating companies can openly discuss issues and challenges.
Above all, for the shared benefit of companies, existing monitoring initiatives, civil society stakeholders and especially workers in supply chains, the GSCP is working to create a real change in attitudes through the understanding of the root causes of problems and the development of effective and sustainable remediation.
2. Why is the GSCP needed?
The development of codes and implementation systems has built understanding and delivered some real change. However, the number of codes has proliferated and approaches have diverged. This has led to duplication of effort and confusion amongst buyers and suppliers.
The people in supply chains deserve better work. Also, buyers and policy makers need a clear framework to work efficiently. To help them, the current complexity needs to be lowered.
A new business model, based on a long term constructive dialogue between stakeholders and business, is required. Working together, with existing initiatives, across all industry sectors and national boundaries, the GSCP can improve shared understanding and build trust. In turn, this will provide the foundation for real improvements for workers.
3. What is the scope of the Programme? In particular, is it only about suppliers or also about participating companies’ own workers?
The GSCP is about all consumer products wherever they are made. However, the companies involved, as suppliers, brand manufacturers or retailers, are very different. For example, some operate in many countries and others don’t. Some deal with many different sectors, others are more specialised. Understandably, their policies are different too. However, these companies still share the same supply chains, and the same consumers.
Individual companies, whether they participate in the Programme or not, have to be accountable to their own shareholders and stakeholders for the way they treat their own employees.
In Scope
- International labour standards and environmental requirements
- Manufacture of all consumer goods
- All countries of production
- Supply chains at every level
Out of scope
- Sale of consumer goods
Note: The Programme has launched an Expert Working Group whose task is todevelop an environmental module for the integration of basic site-specific environmental requirements. The module will be optional. Companies may adopt it to complement the reference tools, if they wish to.
Working with stakeholders and existing initiatives
4. Isn’t the GSCP duplicating the work of the existing initiatives? Also, why don’t the participating companies just join one of them?
The GSCP is not a new standard or monitoring initiative. Most of the participating companies are already actively involved in existing initiatives and plan to continue. They bring their expertise to the Programme allowing a good understanding of possible areas of duplication.
The GSCP seeks to promote harmonisation by building on what has already been achieved. A neutral and inclusive global platform is offered where differences can be aired, discussed and reconciled in order to move towards harmonisation.
The programme is working to build trust through objective dialogue and collaboration. Duplication is an outcome of divergence. To correct it, the existing monitoring systems need to work together towards convergence.
5. How credible is the GSCP's governance model and why have you taken this approach to involve your stakeholders?
One of the founding principles of the GSCP is to ensure that the expectations of all stakeholders are taken into account.
The Programme’s governance includes an Advisory Board to ensure this founding principle is respected. Their role is to provide critical advice on the strategic direction of the GSCP and to monitor and evaluate progress.
Ultimately, credibility of the Programme depends on the efforts of buying companies to apply international labour standards and environmental requirements, not on the programme’s governance structure. The Programme is about individual engagement based on co-operation.
6. How do the existing initiatives get involved?
Each initiative is represented in the GSCP by its own company members that are participants.
Also, their own experts have been and will continue to be part of the consultations led by the Programme's Expert Working Groups.
The GSCP also seeks to actively communicate with each initiative to help build understanding and ensure fruitful collaboration.
How the GSCP works
7. What are the requirements for companies that want to join the GSCP? Also, what do participating companies actually do?
The GSCP is open to all retailers and brand manufacturers.
Participating companies commit to the principles and objectives of the Programme and join the Task Force. They are also expected to do the following:
- To commit a senior executive to participate.
- They can discuss key issues in remediation, consider accountability, define common guidelines and develop collaborative approaches.
- They can share leadership and participate in the work by helping to identify best practice to build the reference tools.
- To ensure this person has the resources to actively contribute and participate.
- To attend the bi-annual General Meeting
- To ensure relevant departments are informed about the Programme and its developments.
- The Chief Executives are expected to sign the Public Statement of Support.
- To share their knowledge and actively participate in web consultation.
- Not to use their participation in the GSCP and the result of its work for marketing purposes or in order to gain competitive advantage.
- Finally, to accept to support the GSCP financially.
8. Why is there a need to develop a shared set of reference tools when you could go straight into training, capacity building and developing management systems?
Part of the reason why suppliers do not concentrate enough on improving working and environmental conditions is that they spend a lot of time trying to ‘pass’ audits imposed on them by each company they are supplying.
There’s been a long standing discussion that now recognises that such audits only prove momentary compliance and used in isolation do not drive change. However, they remain an important tool that at present provides inconsistent outcomes.
There is a need to find a common understanding of the entire audit process through the developmentt of reference tools. This will help companies identify issues consistently and provide a foundation for effective remediation. In turn, this will allow retailers and brand manufacturers to spend more time and resources on working with their suppliers on remediation. They can help them develop their own solutions along with their knowledge and skills.
9. How was the GSCP Reference Code developed?
This was the first work item. The five founding members of the GSCP (Carrefour, Metro, Migros, Tesco and Wal-Mart) put out a draft reference code for consultation in June 2007. The draft was based on their existing approaches and identified best practices and the provisions that offered greatest protection to workers.
Following extensive public consultation and significant changes, a final version was agreed upon a year later with full support from the Advisory Board. The Reference Code relies on international conventions and guidelines from which it sets generic requirements.
10. Do participating companies have to sign up to the GSCP Reference Code?
Companies who join the GSCP are not asked to adopt the Reference Code or to guarantee its implementation. What is important is to use it to review their current approach. Some may choose to integrate or adopt it.
The Reference Code is not intended just for members. It is an essential document for any organisation or individual interested in this subject.
11. What are the GSCP reference tools?
To drive convergence, the GSCP is building a set of reference tools that describe best practice. The Reference Code is the first in this series.
This common interpretation for decent work will provide a tool for companies around the world, whether members of the GSCP or not, to analyse and review their own approach and system.
The second reference tool published by the GSCP is the Reference Tools on Audit Process and Methodology. These tools gather best practices for each step of the audit process in order to bring consistency to the way audits are prepared, led and followed-up. Published in October 2009.
12. What is being worked on at present?
A third reference tool is being developed at present by a GSCP Expert Working Group: the Reference Guidelines for Auditor Competence - a set of reference requirements and guidelines for Auditor Competence to ensure that the relevant level of proficiency required for auditors to provide the necessary quality of audit results is met. The Expert Working Group began its work in April 2009 and draft reference tools were open to public consultation in December 2009.
Two further steps, aiming at building understanding between the different systems, are in the process of being elaborated:
- Companies' and Schemes' Management Systems – will look at how companies and schemes can understand, share or even align each other’s best practices in their individual management systems. Several areas will be considered, such as system structure, databases, existing tools and relationship with/recognition of other schemes. Work started December 2009.
- Data Sharing - protocols for data sharing to reduce duplication and improve transparency and market knowledge
In parallel, work is progressing on the Reference Tools on Environmental Practices, which are a set of reference tools on site-specific environmental requirements, developped following the same methodology applied by the GSCP to its work on social requirements. This module was added in response to strong interest from participating companies, and its adoption by companies is optional.
The first series of tools, reference requirements and implementation guidelines for suppliers, was open for consultation and is currently being finalised. The group is now working on environmental audit protocol.
Additionally, the GSCP is working on the development of a process to help build transparency and comparability between existing schemes: the Equivalence Process. The prupose of this process is to move convergence forward by allowing for more comparability and transparency between existing systems and schemes, using the GSCP Reference Tools as a benchmark. It will (1) allow companies / schemes to assess their own tools and systems vis-à-vis the GSCP Reference Tools and understand what needs to be reviewed to reach best practice; and (2) allow companies / schemes to understand where they stand vis-à-vis each other and what tools or processes need to be improved for them to become equivalent. Work started in April 2009.
This whole working plan has been designed to enable progress on the most important work item:
- Effective remediation - working collaboratively on remediation of non-compliances and improvement of working conditions.
Work on this final item has already started as a part of the ongoing discussions between participating companies.
The common understanding of the entire audit process through the development of the reference tools has already allowed the Programme to start to discuss training, capacity building and the development of management systems.
13. How is GSCP funded?
GSCP is funded by participating companies as well as by The Consumer Goods Forum.
The budget covers facilitation of the Programme, including the creation and management of the Programme’s structure, development of strategy, management of Expert Working Groups and Boards. It also includes consulting and legal services.
The contribution to costs varies according to turnover, and is for 12 months from the date of joining.
€10,000 <€40bn
€17,000 €40 - €150bn
€24,000 >€150bn
14. What is the role of The Consumer Goods Forum?
The Consumer Goods Forum (the Forum) is the only global professional organisation that brings together the major corporations in the retail and consumer goods business. Its mission is to promote best practice and common industry positions on strategic non-competitive issues. It offers the right platform for competing companies to work on common issues with their suppliers.
The Forum has also helped to successfully build a similar initiative for the convergence of standards in Food Safety (the Global Food Safety Initiative).
The founders of the GSCP asked for and received full support from the Board of the Forum, a group of global CEOs. The Forum facilitates this programme for all participating companies. Membership of the Forum is not a requirement for involvement in the GSCP. The GSCP has developed its own governance model.
15. Who do I contact for more information?
Please contact Claudine Musitelli at CGF on
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