Pillars in Practice Program
 'Like' & view photos of the program on Facebook
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Training Courses
-Getting Started in Your Company
-Building Your Internal Social Performance Team
Developing & Implementing Effective Social Performance Management Systems
New York, NY
Date TBD
September 23-24
Bangalore, India
Date TBD
Shenzhen, China
July 22-26
Bangalore, India
August 5-9
Istanbul, Turkey
August 19-23
Bangkok, Thailand
September 16-20Dhaka, BangladeshSeptember 17-21
SA8000 Advanced Auditor Training
Istanbul, Turkey
August 14-16
New Delhi, India
August 19-21
Shanghai, China
August 28-30 Bangkok, Thailand
September 11-13
Shenzhen, China
September 18-20
SA8000 Online Training SA8000 Online Revision Course
NGOs & Trade Unions
Complimentary seats available for NGO & trade union representatives. For more information, email SAI Training Manager Stephanie Wilson at swilson@sa-intl.org.
View Photos from SAI's Training Courses
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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 and capacity building.
SAI is headquartered in the United States with field representation in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, India, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Switzerland, and UAE.
SAI- Human Rights at Work
For newsletter inquiries contact: SAI Communications Manager Joleen Ong, jong@sa-intl.org
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 SAI Leadership Transitions to Shared CEO Role
Starting July 2013, SAI President and Executive Director will alternate as CEO, working with new Director of Operations & Administration
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SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin and Executive Director Eileen Kaufman by PLMA Live during a video interview with PLMA Live - see video @ http://bit.ly/H564ua |
Building on over 16 years of cooperation, SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin and Executive Director Eileen Kohl Kaufman will share the CEO position, serving in alternating quarters of the year. They will work closely with Richard Cook, CFO, Jane Hwang, Director of Corporate Programs & Training, Craig Moss, Executive Advisor, and Michelle Bhattacharyya, SAI's new Director of Operations. Both Ms. Tepper Marlin and Ms. Kaufman will participate actively as SAI develops and implements its new 5-year strategic plan. "The long standing collaboration between Alice and Eileen over almost all of the entire history of SAI, is now being formalized now in rotating leadership" said SAI Board of Directors member Dana Chasin, Economic Policy Advisor to U.S. Senator Jon TesterLike the SAI Pillars in Practice Program. "No doubt this arrangement will strengthen the organization as it grows, bringing to bear their distinctive skills, perspectives, and connections."Ms. Tepper Marlin and Ms. Kaufman have worked closely together since SAI started in 1997, helping to build this global... >>Read more
For more information, please contact SAI Executive Assistant Carolyn Collantes - ccollantes@sa-intl.org. |
SAI Pilots ESMS Handbook & Toolkit for IFC in Serbia
Pilots launched at Vino Zupa's Fruit Juice and Wine Production Plants
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Group photo of the SAI team IFC staff and colleagues from Vino Zupa in Serbia. [Photo credit: Yogendra Chaudhry]
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On May 28-31, SAI carried out workshops in Belgrade and Kapaonik, Serbia for the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC). These comprised the first field visit to pilot the Environmental and Social Management Systems (ESMS) Handbook and Toolkit that SAI has developed for the IFC. The ESMS Handbook and Toolkit is designed as a user-friendly guide to help companies to develop and implement management systems for environmental and social performance, in accordance with the IFC Performance Standards 1-8. Key performance areas include: 1) environment; 2) labor; 3) community; and 4) occupational health & safety. This Handbook and Toolkit focuses on the Food and Beverage sector; SAI and IFC have plans for 14 more in other sectors. In Serbia, IFC staff and its selected local consultants were joined by SAI: Jane Hwang, Director of Corporate Programs & Training; Craig Moss, Executive Advisor, Corporate Programs & Training; and Yogendra Chaudhry, SAI Environmental Expert and Lead Trainer. On May 28, SAI and IFC HQ staff from US and France led a TOT (train the trainer) for IFC regional staff and consultants from Serbia, Macedonia and Ukraine. The purpose was for IFC staff... >>Read moreFor more information contact SAI Director of Corporate Programs & Training, Jane Hwang - Jhwang@sa-intl.org. |
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SAI's Training Team in India Grows for 'WE Programme'
Meet the trainers for Tchibo GmbH's 'WE Programme' in India
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Photo above, clockwise from top left: Deepti Mittal, Direction Towards Responsible Development; Mamta Sardana, Glades Consultants; Monica Ramesh, ASK; Raghunatha K.M., Four-D Management Consulting
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In the June 2012 newsletter, SAI highlighted the expansion of Tchibo's WE Programme with GIZ in India that promotes dialogue between workers and managers for social quality. This new chapter builds on 5 years of experience from the WE Programme's initial chapters in China, Bangladesh, Laos and Thailand. The Indian training track launched in February 2012 with a 'Training of trainers' (ToTs) in New Delhi. Four participants from the ToTs event were selected to implement the first stage of the WE Programme in India. SAI is pleased to introduce and welcome Deepti Mittal (Coach), Raghunatha Kothamangalam, Mamta Sardana and Monica Ramesh to the team. Since last year, the 'WE' trainer team has been working with ten supplier factories in India for the implementation of the WE Programme. Four worker-management dialogue trainings have been conducted in each factory by the team. Most were customized to accommodate factories' needs and requests. "Challenging issues like monitoring child labour, health and safety provisions, reducing absenteeism, working hours and quality rejects were covered in these trainings," said Deepti Mittal, Coach of the WE India training team. "Two workshops have been conducted to bring all ten factory representatives from different levels of seniority to the table to reflect on their achievements, experiences, brainstorm on common issues and outline the road ahead under WE Programme... >>Read more
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RAGS Project: Interview with Mona Gupta
SAI local trainer Mona Gupta comments on the RAGS Project in India, focusing on gender equity in the garment sector
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Mona Gupta, at a RAGS Training in India focused on gender equity in garment sector workplaces
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Joleen Ong: Can you describe your role in the RAGS Project, and how you became acquainted with it?
Mona Gupta: I have worked in the ready-made garment (RMG) and textile industry for almost two and a half decades. About a year and a half ago, I was involved in the development of SAI and UN Women's Gender Equity Seal, where I gave input about gender issues from an Indian perspective. This was useful for the draft document. My involvement was followed by a presentation on gender in the Indian garment sector, and subsequently Sutradhara - a voluntary initiative - of which I am an Honorary Founding Director - became a partner to SAI's RAGS Project.
With Sutradhara, we work on other issue areas that are relevant to India, such as gender and development, market access & micro enterprise development, child labor, home workers, human rights, poverty and sustainable development.
JO: From your experience, what are some of the biggest challenges for workers that you've witnessed in the Indian RMG sector, and how might the RAG Project help to improve some of these conditions?
MG: Challenges range from issues such as wages, health and safety, contract workers, migrant workers, to home-based workers ...>>Read more
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Stakeholder Engagement: SA8000 Revision Process
Featuring excerpts of an interview with an SA8000 Standard stakeholder on how it can be strengthened
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Venugopal Balakrishnan: Managing Director of DAS Certification India Pvt. Ltd.; CEO of IQ Global Solutions; and a Director of AV Cert International FZE/UAE.
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The SA8000:2014 standard revision is under way and gaining momentum. From now until the end of July 2013 a select multi-stakeholder group of Standard users and subject matter experts are being interviewed by Alex Katz, SAI's Senior Manager of Research and Stakeholder Relations and are submitting unique and novel ideas about strengthening the SA8000 standard. This month we are pleased to feature an interview with Venugopal Balakrishnan (Venu), the Managing Director of DAS Certification India Pvt. Ltd., CEO of IQ Global Solutions and a Director of AV Cert International FZE/UAE. Here are a sample of his comments and recommendations that we'd like to feature as food for thought, separated by element of the standard: - Purpose and scope: Need for clarity of management system processes (where people take priority over profits) in the context of SA 8000 must be stressed as part of the 'Introduction' or as part of the elements of 'Context of the Organization'
- Forced and Compulsory Labour: It should be mandatory that recruitment agents be brought under the subcontractor or compliance process with a remediation process similar to the child labor remediation. This is very important for international migrant labor...>>Read more
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SAI Supports OEKO-TEX® 'STeP' Auditor Training
SAI trains OEKO-TEX® auditors to assess social working conditions in textile facilities
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Photos, clockwise from top left: 1) OEKO-TEX® auditors during a breakout session at the training in Zurich; SAI Field Services Director Doug DeRuisseau speaks with Trainer Adrian Meili from Testex AG; 3) OEKO-TEX® auditors in Hong Kong during a small group breakout session; 4) SAI Lead Trainer Badri Gulur leads the presentation in Hong Kong. Photo credit: David Pircher, OEKO-TEX®.
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On May 27-29 in Zurich, Switzerland and June 4-6 in Hong Kong, the textile products certification standard OEKO-TEX® trained the first 50 auditors for conducting the facility audits in the framework of the new STeP certification. SAI Field Services Director, Doug DeRuisseau, in Zurich, and SAI Lead Trainer Badri Gulur, in Hong Kong, worked with OEKO-TEX ® to train auditors to assess the social working conditions in the textile production facilities, as required by STeP. The three-day training sessions were divided into different workshops to cover all aspects of the modular STeP certification system.
"The most valuable part of such a training," says OEKO-TEX ® product manager David Pircher, "is sharing experience." Regular meetings amongst OEKO-TEX ® auditors as well as with specialists from organizations such as SAI are planned to ensure the continuing exchange of experiences from the audits. "This type of partnership," Mr. Pircher explains, "is a valuable and economically practical way of achieving... >>Read more
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How Companies Can Implement the UN Guiding Principles for Business & Human Rights
Two-day training event demonstrates how companies can transform principles to practice
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Sept. 23-24, 2013
Utrecht, The Netherlands
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June 2011, the UN adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, written by UN Special Representative John Ruggie. One of the tenets of the principles is that businesses are expected to respect human rights in their company and in their supply chains. But what does this mean and how is it accomplished?The training addresses these questions. It provides understanding on:
- Content, scope and implications of the Guiding Principles
- How companies can meet their responsibility to respect human rights
- Distinguishing whether a company has caused, contributed to or is linked to adverse human rights impacts, and what actions are expected of the company as a response
- Avoiding adverse impacts in the supply chain through collaborative approaches and mutual buyer-supplier responsibility
- Key human rights risks and how to prioritize among them
- The business case for human rights
Additionally the course introduces a six-step method... >>Read moreTo learn more about SAI and ICCO's training course and handbook on how to implement the UN Guiding Principles for Business & Human Rights, visit www.sa-intl.org/unguidingprinciples. For more information, please contact SAI Training Manager Stephanie Wilson - SWilson@sa-intl.org. |
Meet SAI's New Intern: Ewa Bialoglowska
We are pleased to welcome Ms. Bialogloska, in her own words:
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SAI Intern: Ewa Bialoglowska
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Originally from Poland, I'm currently a student in the MS Program in Sustainability Management at Columbia University, New York. I also have a double M.A. in International Business and Management from the UK's University of Bradford and Poland's Kozminsky University. I earned my B.A. in Economics from Krakow University of Economics and studied Management in Singapore Management University. At SAI, I'm supporting SAI's Senior Manager of Research and Stakeholder Relations Alex Katz to coordinate the revision of the SA8000 standard. My professional experiences include working within the areas of FMCG Retail, Business Process Management, Real Estate Brokerage and NPOs, where I was involved in conducting market research and analysis on organizational strategy and business development. Being business minded and socially conscious... >>Read more
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Highlights & Announcements
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June 16, 2013: During a field visit to India for SAI's RAGS Project, SAI Project Manager Caroline Lewis (right) and SAAS Client Services Manager (left) met with an SA8000 worker representative Nandeshwari Sharma (center) at Orient Fashions Export in New Delhi, a SA8000 certified garment factory.
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Bipartisan Policy Center Convenes Meeting on Bangladesh Apparel Industry
On June 7, SAI Founding Committee Advisory Board member Mort Winston, Professor of Philosophy at the College of New Jersey, represented SAI at this meeting in Washington D.C. The meeting convened a multi-stakeholder group which included the Bangladesh Ambassador to the U.S. Akramul Qader and Executive director of the US Bangladesh Advisory Council Shamarukh Mohiuddin to listen to and discuss concerns regarding the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.
At the meeting Dr. Winston underscored the need for collaboration. He specifically noted: "It is crucial that this effort bring brokered by the BPC should be in alignment with the goals, intentions and activities of the Bangladesh Accord, in an effort to strengthen, and not divert, the needed cooperation and attention to the major task ahead in Bangladesh."
In May 2013, Timberland (a Signatory Corporate Program member) released its annual CSR Report, which demonstrated its use of the Social Fingerprint ® framework and scoring methodology to assess its Tier 1 factories' social performance. Read it @ ow.ly/lyPiU.
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