Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Assurance as a Tool for Scaling Up Social and Environmental Impact ISEAL Webinar Series 29 April, 2009

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Role of Assurance in a Standards System >Three core functions –Setting the standard –Assessing compliance with the standard –Measuring the impacts of compliance >Proxy for direct relationship between producer and consumer >What does effective assurance look like?

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Components of Assurance >Auditing –Competencies, training, evaluation >Certification –1 st party –2 nd party –3 rd party >Accreditation AuditingCertificationAccreditation All-encompassing term, as defined by ISEAL to include:

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business What is the Aim of Assurance? >Provide a Credible Guarantee – in the absence of direct evidence of production, what is needed to assure customers that a product or service meets a standard’s requirements? >Response has been to focus on replicable (systems-based), impartial assessment >ISO standards built around a management system approach >Strengths: –Consistent results –Impartial –Documented

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Challenges with the ISO Approach >Application to social and environmental standards –Doesn’t address sector-based auditor skills (e.g. interviewing techniques) or unique practices (e.g. group certification) So sector-based supplements are required –Defines effectiveness in terms of impartiality and replicability Necessary but not sufficient?

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Redefining Effective Assurance >What if effectiveness is defined as contribution to impact? >What is the value-added that assurance can bring? >Define effective more broadly, as assurance that is: –Replicable –Impartial –Accessible / Affordable –Transparent –Locally accountable –Scalable

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Redefining a Credible Guarantee >Look at different assurance models for different end uses –Self-assessment –Peer evaluation – participatory guarantee systems –Supply chain audits –NGO / Trade Union audits –Certification –Accreditation >Fitness for Purpose: what level of guarantee is required to be credible for each audience? >What assurance models or combinations achieve that guarantee?

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Assurance Code of Good Practice >What would each part of the assurance process look like to best meet a broader definition of effective? >Possible matrix of functions and characteristics: ImpartialityAccessibilityAccountabilityScalability Auditor competence Standards framework Operational management Audit implementation Benchmarking Accreditation

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Content of an Assurance Code >Scope of the Code – what needs to be in place to support the delivery of effective verification? >Balance between comprehensive and realistic >Focused only on aspects unique to social and environmental standards systems? >Look to requirements at each stage in the audit process: –Start with standards guidance to the auditor and CB –Certification body management –Auditor training, evaluation and calibration –Audit process

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Typology of Assurance Models >Description of different models and context in which they are appropriately applied >Assessment of strengths and weaknesses of each model in contributing to social and environmental impacts >Mix of audit tools – complementary relationships >Is this feasible? >Is it desirable?

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Specific Recommendations >Current challenges that would benefit from guidance: –Standards interpretation –Scoring / evaluation systems –Complaints procedure –Calibration / consistent assessment –Access for small and medium enterprises –Transparency and accountability

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Code Development Process >Fundraising >Technical team drafting >Broad-based collaborative development over 2 years >Start with background research to inform key questions >Parallel dialogues on key content and political issues to build support and understanding

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Questions to Frame the Code Development >To what extent does this build on existing ISO standards? >Is a sector-based supplement for social and environmental standards enough? >What is the balance between being perfect and being accessible? >To what extent does this include accreditation? >What are the political implications and what should be our strategy to address these?

Creating a world where environmental sustainability and social justice are the normal conditions of business Questions? Patrick Mallet