About SEDEX

Sedex is a global membership organisation dedicated to driving improvements in ethical and responsible business practices in global supply chains.

Our collaborative approach helps buyers and suppliers to share and exchange data, helping to better manage social and environmental risks within their supply chain, and positively impact responsible sourcing. You can read our corporate brochure here. Sedex provides a range of tools, services, guidance and training to help companies map and manage risks in their supply chain. We have over 50,000 members in 155 countries, across 35 industry sectors, including food, agriculture, financial services, clothing and apparel, packaging and chemicals. We have offices located in London, Reading, Santiago, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo.

One of the biggest challenges facing companies is managing risks that come with the multi-tiered complexity of their supply chain. Mapping the supply chain and multiple suppliers through each tier makes it difficult for companies to be aware of the risks affecting their business. Using Sedex tools and services can help companies make informed decisions and improve their business performance across labour rights, health and safety, the environment and business ethics.

Sedex has 15 years of expertise operating in responsible sourcing and works with some of the world’s most recognisable brands and standard setting organisations, such as the United Nations and Ethical Trade Initiative. We believe that working with the right information and technologies, business can shape the future of global trade to have an increasingly positive impact worldwide.

Sedex Advance

Our Sedex Advance product is one of the largest collaborative platforms in the world for buyers, suppliers and auditors to store, share and report on information quickly and easily.

For buyers, we make it simpler to understand how supply chains are performing, and to identify and act on opportunities for improvement.

For suppliers, we make it easy to share information with multiple buyers in an agreed format. This frees up time spent on unnecessary duplication.

SMETA & the SSF

SMETA is one of the most widely used social audit procedures in the world. It provides a globally-recognised way to assess responsible supply chain activities, including labour rights, health & safety, the environment and business ethics.

We convene the Sedex Stakeholder Forum (the SSF), the group that manages the ongoing development of SMETA and other related tools. The SSF is made up of working groups which include brands and retailers, NGOs, industry experts/associations and monitoring firms that are significantly involved in ethical trade auditing. It is currently active in the UK, China and Latin America.

Managing multi-tier data more simply

By using our products and services our members can manage their multi-tier, responsible sourcing data simply and efficiently. They can take advantage of standardised formats and reports whilst collaborating by sharing common information.

Providing cost-effective solutions

Sedex is ‘owned’ by its members, so it is completely focused on providing the responsible sourcing data, technology solutions, products and services our members need. Our scale and expertise also helps us bring together members and stakeholders to drive convergence between different industry standards and methodologies.

Driving continuous improvement

We understand supply chain management as a continuous, collaborative process of improvement. Our audit methodologies help businesses identify opportunities for improvement and work with their suppliers to make changes. They also reduce duplication and ‘audit fatigue’ by allowing suppliers to share one set of data with multiple customers.

What we don’t do

We do not audit, and we do not certify. We create an independent framework through which responsible business can develop at global scale.