Glossary
A worker who works on a short-term basis or only works in certain seasons. In the context of a BSCI Audit, they are reported as temporary workers, odd-jobbers or casual workers.
The process by which a person or organisation plans, organises, executes and evaluates its actions and determines the level of performance achieved.
In the context of the BSCI, it is the process of gathering information in order to prepare for the implementation of BSCI requirements. The BSCI provides producers with self-assessment questionnaires to be used for this purpose. The information collected in these documents is a self-declaration.
Small and medium-sized enterprises having fewer than 250 employees and either an annual turnover less than €50 million or an annual balance-sheet total not exceeding €43 million (as of January 1st, 2005).
SA8000 is a voluntary standard and can be applied to any size of organisation or business across all industries. The objective of SA8000 is to ensure ethical sourcing of goods and services. The standard can replace or augment company or industry specific social accountability codes. SA8000 sets basic standards for: child labour, forced labour, health and safety, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours, remuneration and management systems.
Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS) is an accreditation agency founded to accredit and monitor organisations as certifiers of compliance with social standards, including the Social Accountability 8000 standard for ethical working conditions. SAAS began work as a department within Social Accountability International (SAI) in 1997 and was formally established as its own not-for-profit organization in 2007.
Global standard-setting, not-for-profit human rights organisation, that aims at improving workplaces.
SAI has developed the SA8000 certification standard for social accountability, which is a BSCI ‘best practice for the industry’ benchmark.
A process of exchange between social partners to promote consultation, dialogue and collective bargaining.
Words and symbols on products which seek to influence the purchasing decisions of consumers by providing an assurance about the social and ethical impact of a business process on other stakeholders. Neither BSCI Participants nor their suppliers can label their products as “BSCI Compliant” as the BSCI is not a certification scheme and traceability of the goods cannot be ensured.
A written document that sets out the global intentions and business’ orientation of a company with respect to a social standard and its requirements. BSCI requests producers the creation of such a document as it leads to greater awareness on social responsibility and facilitates communication of the issue to employees and other stakeholders.
The opposite of hard goods. They may be defined either as goods that are used up when used once or that have a lifespan of less than 3 years. They are also named nondurable goods.
An individual, community or organisation that is affected by and may affect some aspect of an organisation’s products, operations, markets, industries, and outcomes. Stakeholders may be internal (for example, employees) or external (for example, customers, suppliers, shareholders, financiers, trade unions, NGOs, the media, the government or the local community).
A widely agreed set of procedures, practices and specifications.
National legal regulations including regulations contractually set by means of industrial and/ or collective bargaining.
Company or individuals supplying the producer or its subcontractors with upstream products, (e.g. material supplier - yarns, buttons, zippers etc.), constituents, or semi-finished products or with services (printing, dyeing, etc).
A company which is appointed by the producer to take over fully or partly the final production of goods.
Entity playing a role in the supply chain of goods from the producer to the BSCI participant. Also known as agents, traders (which do not own the goods) or importers (who own the goods).
Coordinated system of organisations, people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service in physical or virtual manner from supplier to customer.
The ongoing systematic collection and analysis of data about a potentially critical situation that can lead to action being taken to control or prevent the risk to occur. In the context of BSCI, surveillance audits are quality assurance events where auditors are observed in the processes of conducting a BSCI audit.
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.