Topic in Focus

What competencies and ecosystem conditions are needed for social audits to support credible, worker-centred human rights due diligence?

Overview

Social audits are often discussed in terms of their limitations. This session shifts the focus to what competent social audits can contribute when they are properly designed, professionally conducted and connected to wider human rights due diligence. It will examine how auditors generate credible, risk-relevant evidence through document review, worker interviews, site observation and professional judgement, particularly in complex areas such as forced labour, migrant worker vulnerability and recruitment practices. The session will include the perspective of an experienced social compliance auditor and consider what is needed from the wider ecosystem, including buyers, schemes, audit firms and suppliers, for audit findings to support meaningful action, remediation and improvements in labour conditions.

Why it matters

Social audits remain one of the most widely used sources of site-level evidence in supply chain due diligence, but their value depends on auditor competence, audit design and how findings are used. In higher-risk labour contexts, credible audit evidence can help identify risks, inform remediation and support prevention, but only when connected to wider action by buyers, schemes, audit firms and suppliers.

Who should attend?

This session is intended for brands, retailers, suppliers, audit firms, social compliance auditors, standard-setting organisations, multi-stakeholder initiatives, international organisations, NGOs, worker-focused organisations and policymakers involved in human rights due diligence, labour risk assessment, responsible sourcing or remediation. It will be particularly relevant for those using, commissioning, reviewing or relying on social audit evidence as part of supply chain due diligence.

What participants will gain

• A clearer understanding of the competencies auditors need to assess complex labour risks, including technical knowledge, interviewing skills, professional judgement, ethical conduct and the ability to recognise risk indicators in context.

• Practical insight into how competent audits generate credible, risk-relevant evidence through document review, worker interviews, site observation and assessment of management systems.

• A field-level perspective from an experienced social compliance auditor on what can and cannot be identified during an audit, and what conditions affect audit credibility.

• A better understanding of what buyers, schemes, audit firms and suppliers need to do so that audit findings are acted on, connected to remediation and used to support improvements in labour conditions.