SAI Releases Annual Report
The Annual Report highlights SAI's efforts in 2011 to advance and implement 'human rights at work'
SAI is pleased to announce the publication of its Annual Report, highlighting its efforts to advance and implement 'human rights at work' in 2011.
SAI leveraged its expertise as a social standards setter to support the development of new tools and standards for various issue areas, including the IFC Handbook, UN Women Gender Equity Seal, UN Guiding Principles Handbook and the Magen Tzedek Standard. This report captures the growth of the organization through the implementation of its global capacity building and training programs across the globe in Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Honduras, India, Nicaragua and more.
The four-year Project Cultivar came to a close. This report highlights the impact of the project in the agricultural sector, and details the sustained momentum of the project’s local partners in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua.
In India, the RAGS Program scaled up its efforts to organize training workshops on how to reduce gender discrimination in the ready-made garment sector.
In China, SAI’s support to Tchibo’s GmbH’s ‘WE Project’ leveraged dialogue with workers as an educational tool to identify root causes and solutions to systemic issues in the workplace.
In Thailand, the SA8000 certified Rosy Blue Diamond factory was profiled as a notable example of how to implement a living wage to ensure employee retention. In 2011, the SA8000 Standard demonstrated a steady increase in uptake:
- SA8000 was utilized in various contexts, including the Dutch Sustainable Public Procurement initiative, a Harvard case study on consumer demand for labeled products, and investigation of Sumangali Schemes in India
- In 2011, over 1.6 million workers were employed in certified facilities in 62 countries and 65 industries.
Major world events, such as the centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York and the Arab Spring in the Middle East were dramatic reminders of the crucial need to drive improvement in working conditions in countries such as Bangladesh and Egypt. SAI’s fire safety training in Bangladesh drew in over 100 participants from garment factories. The beneficial impact of an Egyptian company’s commitment to its workers was demonstrated by its employees sticking by the company during the Arab Spring’s nationwide protests.
SAI’s Corporate Programs enhanced its services through the Social Fingerprint® program, and established its ‘Statement of Shared Mission’ to express member commitment to our shared values. SAI’s Corporate Program members were enrolled in the Social Fingerprint® program. The report features a benchmark analysis from their assessments. Over 1,000 individuals completed SAI’s global training courses, such as the SA8000 auditor training courses and professional development courses, to learn how to carry out sustainable and ethical supply chain management practices.
The 2011 report was published electronically, and is hosted on SAI's website: www.sa-intl.org/ar2011
