ICS Compliance Auditing

ICS was created in 1998 by three retailers under the aegis of the French Federation of Retail and Distribution Companies (FCD). Today the initiative has 20 active member retailers. Member retailers of the Social Clause Initiative have been working together since then to sustainably improve conditions for people at work, and responsibly support suppliers to empower them to become independent agents in pursuit of progress. This joint approach, guided by the framework defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and compliant with and integrating the universal human rights principles and local social regulations, leads members to verify the actual conditions of people at work in the production sites by implementing social audits and the resulting corrective action plans. ICS is a group of 20 retailers who share:A common project. Joining together to sustainably improve conditions for people at work, and responsibly support suppliers to empower them to become independent agents in pursuit of progress. Effective and reputable tools and process for audit exchanges and data sharing.

A joint audit methodology with three components :

• The initial audit consists in evaluating a production site previously identified via a factory profile.
• The corrective action plan drafted by the auditor following the audit, and approved by the retailer, inventories the areas of non-compliance and proposes improvements, as well as a deadline for completion.
• The follow-up audit serves to check that corrective actions approved by the retailer were implemented. It is generally agreed that the deadline for launching a follow-up audit based solely on the corrective action plan may not exceed twelve months. Beyond this deadline, the retailer must launch a full audit
• Transparent discussions with great freedom of expression
• SCI members meet regularly to share their experiences on the ground. These discussions are transparent and enable each participant to benefit from the research, expertise and observations of the other members.

Link : http://www.ics-asso.org/index.php?id=3&L=2