What's Your Social Fingerprint™?
Measure and improve how you touch the world. Includes ratings and 90 tips from SAI Lead Trainers.
Great for brands to use with their suppliers or for suppliers to use on their own.
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Upcoming Training Events
SA8000:2008 Standard Training Revision Course Ongoing- Web-based
SA8000 Basic Auditor Training
May 2-6, Istanbul, Turkey
May 9-13, Dongguan, China
June 6-10, New Delhi, India
SA8000 Advanced Auditor Training
May 16-18, Bangalore, India
May 23-25, Hamburg, Germany
May 30-June1, Hangxhou, China
Full training schedule
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Survey on SA8000 in Your Supply Chain
Take a quick survey and gain free access to the SAI Handbook: Implementing a Socially Responsible Supply Chain
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Invitation for SA8000 Certified Facilities
 Sign up for the SA8000 Supplier Database to help increase your business!
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The Corporate Responsibility Code Book, 2nd Edition
 Click here to order a copy
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Social Accountability International (SAI) is a non-profit,
multi-stakeholder organization established to advance the human rights
of workers by promoting decent work
conditions, labor rights, and corporate social responsibility through
voluntary standards.
SAI is headquartered in the United States with field representation in Brazil, China, Egypt, India, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Turkey, Vietnam, and UAE.
For newsletter inquiries contact:
SAI Communications & Development Coordinator- Joleen Ong, jong@sa-intl.org |
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 Honoring Raja Gopal
SAI mourns the loss of Raja Gopal, an esteemed colleague and long-time friend of SAI. Mr. Gopal suffered a fatal heart attack on March 27
Photo taken after a worker study circle training in Coimbatore, India. Raja Gopal (far right) in Coimbatore, India with SAI's former Program Manager, Elena Arengo (second from right) with a colleague from the ITGLWF.
 | SAI mourns the loss of our esteemed colleague and long-time friend, Raja Gopal, who passed away of a heart attack on March 27.
Mr. Gopal worked with SAI for a decade, starting in 2001 when SAI partnered with the global union federation, the ITGLWF, to convene worker study circles in 9 countries on 3 continents, including India, Lesotho, Thailand, and Honduras. At the time he served as Education Secretary for the ITGLWF. Although gentle in nature, Mr. Gopal was forceful with his convictions- he empowered workers and SAI staff with his dynamism and inspirational pedagogy. Since that Ford-funded project, Mr. Gopal worked with SAI and SAAS as an esteemed advisor, accreditation auditor and complaints investigator. >>Read more
A tribute to Raja Gopal is also available through the ITGLWF: http://bit.ly/lNVDhs
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Harvard eBay Tests Find High SA8000� Consumer Demand
A new working paper completed by Harvard University Prof. Michael Hiscox and colleagues tested whether consumers really vote with their dollars for products made under decent working conditions[Photo above: eBay auction listing of the polo shirts labeled as SA8000 certified]
 | "Consumer Demand for Fair Labor Standards," assessed consumer demand for goods that are certified as produced in decent workplaces. From experiments conducted on eBay between 2007 and 2008, researchers found encouraging evidence that a products label with a decent work certification has a positive effect on price and sales. Although SAI's label is B2B (to business rather than a consumer label), the Harvard team sourced the products from an SA8000� certified facility in Honduras making polo t-shirts for Cutter & Buck, for this simulation. The aim of the research was to test whether or not consumers would actually pay a price premium for certified products, as a majority says that they will when surveyed. The research team - led by Dr. Michael Hiscox, Harvard University; Michael Broukhim, Stanford University; Claire Litwin, Harvard University; and Andrea Woloski, Harvard University - set up two eBay auctions that sold identical Cutter & Buck polo shirts produced in an SA8000� certified facility. >>Read moreTo read the entire working paper on the experiment, visit http://bit.ly/fu1LwoFor more information, contact Joleen Ong, Communications & Development Coordinator at JOng@sa-intl.org. |
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Cholera Prevention in the Dominican Republic
Project Cultivar's Dialogue Roundtables Address Public Health Emergency by Raising Awareness on Taking Preventative Measures
Roundtable dialogue participants discuss strategies on how to address cholera prevention for workers in the sugarcane sector
 | On April 8, 2011, the Dominican Ministry of Public Health announced the deaths of 3 agricultural workers who had migrated from Haiti to cut sugarcane in the eastern province of La Romana, raising the total number of cholera fatalities to 10 with 712 cases of infection. Starting in November 2010, growing concern motivated multi-stakeholder roundtable dialogues (mesas de dialogo) to discuss a plan for preventing cholera across the country. Thus far, no deaths from cholera have been reported on farms participating with Project Cultivar. An estimated 30,000 Haitian workers migrate each year to its neighboring country, the Dominican Republic, and live in bateyes [migrant worker communities, traditionally in the agriculture sector] As these bateyes often lack basic services such as clean water, sanitation, and public education; residents face high risk of contagious illnesses such as cholera. >>Read more
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SAI India: Call for Applications
Development Partnership (PPP) in India invites qualified participants to apply for a 'Training of Trainers'
Expressions of interest (EOI) are invited from qualified individuals/institutions with training/consulting experience. They will be associated with the PPP's proposed Centre in New Delhi as authorized trainers/consultants. Selected candidates/institutions will undergo a 'Training of Trainers' (ToT) on a selection of the Centre's training modules through online, classroom and field qualification. The ToTs will take place in New Delhi and will be paid for by the Centre in this project phase. Candidates who demonstrate learning and training abilities and successfully pass the ToT curriculum to the Centre's standard will be contracted and assigned tasks of training/consulting delivery.
Among the key objectives of this PPP is creation of a nationwide capacity building infrastructure (a network of certified trainers/consultants). >>Read more
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SA8000� Resource: SA8000� Guidance Document
Guidance Document for the abridged 2008 Revision of the SA8000 Standard Available to Download
 The SA8000� Guidance Document for the 2008 version of the standard is available for download. Like the 2004 edition pictured here, and the earlier, 1999 version, it is based on input from experts representing diverse professional backgrounds: businesses; NGOs; trade unions; academics; and government agencies. This revision is aligned with the changes made in the SA8000 � standard from 2004 to 2008. When read with the 2004 version of the
SA8000 � Guidance Document, most questions concerning the
application of SA8000 � to any particular worksite issue should be
answered. >>Read more For more information, please contact SAI Senior Manager, Matt Fischer-Daly-MDaly@sa-intl.org. |
Social Fingerprint™: Upcoming Program in Egypt with the American University in Cairo
On May 25-26, 2011, SAI's Director of Corporate Programs & Training will co-teach a two-day course, " Investing in Human Capital: Compliance with International Labor Standards," at the American University in Cairo's Gerhart Center, in conjunction with the School of Business' International Executive Education Institute. Mr. Moss will be teaching with Mohamed El-Kalla, managing director of Cairo for Investment and Development, Egypt's largest investor in private education. >>Read more For more information, please contact Kate Critchell, SAI Assistant Manager-Corporate Programs & Training at KCritchell@sa-intl.org. |
SAI-Netherlands Board Meeting in Amsterdam
Edwin Koster, SAI Europe Representative & Board Secretariat
 | On April 15, SAI-NL convened a board meeting in Amsterdam to discuss strategic issues for scaling up in Europe. As SAI continues to grow, SAI-NL will actively cooperate with European stakeholders to help increase the effectiveness of SAI's work. SAI-NL's board members are: Gemma Crijns, CSR Consultant; George Jaksch, Senior Director Corporate Responsibility and Public Affairs for Chiquita Brands International; Edwin Koster, SAI European Representative and Board Secretary; Alice Tepper Marlin, SAI President and Chair of the SAI-NL Board; and Gunelie Winum, Senior Project Manager of ETI Norway. SAI-NL will expand board membership and ensure balanced stakeholder representation. >>Read more
For more information, please contact Edwin Koster, SAI Europe Representative at EKoster@sa-intl.org. |
SAI Presentation to Coca-Cola & USAID's WADA Alliance
Yolanda Brenes delivers a presentation on SAI's labor compliance work in Central American agriculture
Yolanda Brenes, SAI Senior Manager- Latin American Programs, presented at WADA Alliance meetings in El Salvador and Guatemala
 | On April 7 and 8, Yolanda Brenes, SAI Senior Manager- Latin American Programs, presented in El Salvador and Guatemala, to meetings of the Water & Development Alliance. WADA is a joint initiative of the Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) and USAID to address community water needs in developing countries around the world. WADA invited SAI to report on its progress and achievements in the application of labor and environmental standards in the sugarcane sector in Central America and the Dominican Republic. >>Read more
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Snapshot from Costa Rica: Basic SA8000�
Auditor Training Course
March 28-April1 2011, Guapiles, Costa Rica 
In the banana production
hub of Guapiles, Costa Rica, 17 people participated in the 5-day basic
SA8000� auditor course led by SAI Senior Manager- Latin American Programs,
Yolanda Brenes.
Click here to view the 2011 Training Course Schedule
For more information, contact SAI Assistant Manager of Corporate Programs & Training, Kate Critchell at KCritchell@sa-intl.org.
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Highlights & AnnouncementsAt Costa Rica's first Business Forum on Sustainability and the Environment, Roberto Vega, Director of Sustainability at Dole (left) and Sylvain Cuperlier, VP of CSR at Dole (right), stand with former U.S. Vice- President and conference participant, Al Gore.
 | March 16- Costa Rica's first Business Forum on Sustainability and the Environment SAI Advisory Board member Sylvain Cuperlier (Dole VP of CSR), and alternate member Roberto Vega, (Dole Director of Sustainability), attended this forum and presented on Dole's four pillars of sustainability, as well as on initiatives currently being implemented in Costa Rica.  Watch two video interviews of Craig Moss at Intertek's Ethical Sourcing Forum @http://bit.ly/gRkm4y
(Source: 3BL media) & @http://bit.ly/hywYds (Source: BCLC Blog)March 31-April 1- Intertek Ethical Sourcing Forum 2011 SAI Director of Corporate Programs & Training, Craig Moss led a workshop entitled, "Social Fingerprint™: Measure & Improve Social Performance in Your Supply Chain." Watch the two interviews through the links above. At the Globalization and Social Responsibility Conference in Santiago, SAI's Jane Hwang speaks on a panel addressing the role of civil society in advancing CSR, especially in the Chilean context. [From left: Dante Pesce, Vincular Consulting; Douglas Kativu, African Institute for Corporate Citizenship; Jane Hwang, SAI; Ole Henning Sommerfelt, ETI Norway]
 | April 6 Globalization and Social Responsibility Conference in Santiago Jane Hwang, Senior Manager of Corporate Programs & Training, and other members of the GRI working group [below] served as presenters and panelists at this conference. The conference, sponsored by Sodimac, Chilean Chamber of Commerce and
Vincular, drew over 400 executives and officials, and received much
press attention in Chile as it addressed the role of CSR in Chile's economy and
future in general.
At the Earth Fair in New York, SAI's Joleen Ong with Anvil Knitwear's EVP Caterina Conti [right] at its display of organic and traceable t-shirts.
 | April 7-8 GRI Working Group on Supply Chain Disclosure Ms. Hwang, also participated in the second international multi-stakeholder supply chain Working Group
conference in Santiago, Chile. This group is developing
recommendations on how to improve the GRI Sustainability Reporting
Guidelines to support the quality of disclosure on performance with
respect to supply chains. April 22- Happy Earth Day SAI's Communications & Development Coordinator Joleen Ong, visited Anvil Knitwear's exhibit at Earth Fair in New York, where Anvil showcased an interactive display of organic clothing and its "Track my T" supply chain traceability application. |
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