Pilot Alignment Assessment of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition with the OECD garment and footwear guidance

Date of publication
13 February 2019

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Read SAC's response to the OECD Alignment Assessment

THE ALIGNMENT OF INDUSTRY AND MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PROGRAMMES WITH THE OECD GARMENT AND FOOTWEAR GUIDANCE
Assessment of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition

13 February 2019 - Industry-led and multi-stakeholder initiatives that incorporate due diligence expectations can represent a strong inducement for companies to carry out due diligence and provide valuable opportunities for shared learning. However, a proliferation of expectations at a domestic level or across initiatives can create challenges for businesses operating globally who may be subject to various expectations.

The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector is the negotiated and government-backed benchmark for due diligence by industry, multi-stakeholder and government-backed initiatives. To help support a common understanding of due diligence while also enabling cross-recognition between programmes, the OECD has launched a voluntary process to assess the alignment of these initiatives with the OECD Guidance. This process, called the OECD Alignment Assessment process, is voluntary and was first piloted with the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) in 2018.

The SAC’s Higg Brand & Retail Module (Higg BRM) is a self-assessment tool that seeks to assess the environmental and social performance of SAC brand and retail members. This report sets out the findings of the OECD’s evaluation of the Higg BRM (Beta version) and corresponding guidance.