SIFAV Basket of Social Standards: Update 2026
Several social standards have now been formally recognised under the Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) framework of The Consumer Goods Forum – a key step for strengthening credible and aligned social assurance systems.
Over recent years, the social standards within the SIFAV Basket of Social Standards have invested significant effort in transitioning from the former GSCP (Global Social Compliance Programme) framework to the updated SSCI (Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative) framework, which now serves as the benchmark requirement for applying the SIFAV Basket of Social Standards in high-risk countries. This transition reflects the evolution of the GSCP tools previously used by SIFAV into the SSCI benchmark.
Successful transition
SIFAV recognises the significant efforts made by standards throughout this transition, and is pleased to celebrate the successful formal independent recognition of the following standards under the SSCI – The Consumer Goods Forum’s global benchmark for social compliance:
- Sedex SMETA 7.0
- amfori BSCI
- The Sustainability Initiative of South Africa (SIZA)
- BRCGS Ethical Trade and Responsible Sourcing (ETRS) Global Standard
This recognition confirms that these standards meet international criteria for assessment of transparency, quality, and governance, aligned with the ILO Conventions and UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
SIFAV congratulates all teams involved in this achievement!
Temporary admission status
SIFAV recognizes that this transition is a significant undertaking for standards, often requiring extensive revisions to normative documents, governance structures, and assurance systems. To ensure continuity while maintaining a credible pathway towards alignment, SIFAV has granted an extension allowing standards that have not yet completed the benchmark to remain in the SIFAV Basket under a temporary admission status until the deadline of 1 July 2026.
The following standards have been granted temporary admission status:
- Fairtrade
- Rainforest Alliance
- SA8000
- Sustainably Grown
- Fair for Life
Outlook & resources
SIFAV remains committed to a strong, credible, and harmonised social assurance framework, and is confident that the majority of the standards under the temporary admission status will continue to make solid progress in the coming period.
We look forward to continued collaboration across the sector – and therefore, we invite more stakeholders to join our initiative and contribute to the shared vision of social assurance across supply chains.
For further information or to get involved, please contact Jenny van Son, Program Manager at SIFAV, at vanson@idhtrade.org.
