Pro QC has over 40 years experience in quality control and quality assurance across virtually every industry.
As global supply chains expand, ensuring suppliers adhere to ethical and socially responsible business practices is more critical than ever. A social compliance audit is a structured assessment that evaluates a supplier’s commitment to internationally recognized labor laws, ethical sourcing policies, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) frameworks.
Pro QC International is a global quality assurance company that provides comprehensive social compliance audit services, including SA8000, SMETA, and RBA, to assess suppliers’ adherence to global labor laws, health and safety regulations, and environmental standards.
With over 40 years of experience and operations in 100 countries worldwide, Pro QC has conducted thousands of audits since 1984, developing extensive expertise in identifying compliance risks and supporting buyers in collaborating with responsible manufacturers and supply chain partners.
Our social compliance audit services are designed to meet several business needs, including:
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Worker mistreatment, inadequate safety standards, hiring child labor, and excessive working hours can expose factories to serious legal and reputational consequences, impacting not only the manufacturer but also the brands sourcing from them. These risks can lead to consumer boycotts, legal issues, and supply chain disruptions, making it essential for businesses to implement stringent compliance measures.
A well-executed social compliance audit mitigates these risks by ensuring that suppliers uphold fair wages, regulated working hours, ethical treatment of workers, and proper health and safety standards. Companies sourcing from global suppliers face increasing regulatory and consumer scrutiny regarding labor conditions, worker treatment, and environmental impact, making proactive audits crucial to maintaining responsible sourcing practices.
A social and ethical compliance audit ensures buyers hold their factories and suppliers accountable for labor conditions.
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At Pro QC, our audit solutions identify risk areas, provide corrective actions, and ensure long-term compliance improvements in supplier operations.
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Audit
ESG audits assess a company’s adherence to environmental, social, and governance principles, ensuring sustainable and responsible business practices. These audits help organizations meet investor expectations, regulatory requirements, and corporate sustainability goals.
Our ESG audit process evaluates:
» Explore our ESG Audit services
SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit)
The SMETA audit is one of the most widely recognized social compliance audits. It is designed to assess ethical trade and responsible sourcing practices across global supply chains. Developed by Sedex (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange), it is applicable across multiple industries and provides a standardized approach to evaluating workplace conditions.
The SMETA audit scope includes:
SMETA audits are conducted using two- or four-pillar approaches, with two-pillar audits covering labor standards and health & safety, while four-pillar audits include environmental management and business ethics. Pro QC’s SMETA-qualified auditors ensure that businesses meet ethical trade standards, helping them improve supply chain transparency and meet stakeholder expectations.
ISO 26000:2010 Social Responsibility Audit
ISO 26000 provides guidelines for integrating social responsibility into business operations. While ISO 26000 is not certifiable, Pro QC assesses alignment with its principles to help businesses implement socially responsible practices.
Key areas evaluated in our ISO 26000 compliance audit:
SA8000:2014 Social Accountability Audit
The SA8000 standard is one of the most widely recognized corporate social responsibility (CSR) certification frameworks. It is applicable across industries, particularly in labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, electronics, and consumer goods manufacturing.
Our SA8000 audit process evaluates:
» Explore our SA8000 Audit services
Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Audit
Previously known as the EICC (Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition) audit, the RBA version 6.0 audit is designed for the electronics and technology industries but is also widely adopted across manufacturing sectors.
The RBA audit scope includes:
In addition to ISO 26000, SA8000, and RBA audits, Pro QC offers industry-specific social compliance audits, including:
Pro QC’s four-step audit approach ensures comprehensive compliance assessments and actionable improvements:
Step 1: Pre-Audit Planning
Step 2: On-Site Audit Execution
Step 3: Corrective Action Plan (CAP) Development
Step 4: Follow-Up Audits & Compliance Monitoring
Pro QC’s social compliance audits are conducted by highly qualified auditors with internationally recognized certifications, ensuring technical excellence and adherence to global standards. Our auditors hold credentials such as APSCA (Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors), SA8000 Lead Auditors, SMETA Qualified Auditors, BSCI Approved Auditors, WRAP Experts, ISO 26000 Social Responsibility Auditors, and RBA Compliance Auditors.
With years of experience, our auditors bring deep industry knowledge and localized expertise. Their in-depth understanding of local labor laws, industry regulations, and cultural nuances allows them to navigate complex compliance landscapes. Additionally, our auditors are multilingual, ensuring seamless communication with factory workers and management, conducting worker interviews in native languages, and reviewing compliance documentation in local formats. This combination of expertise, experience, and linguistic capability guarantees thorough, ethical, and reliable audit assessments, helping our clients uphold the highest social responsibility and labor compliance standards.
For businesses managing multiple suppliers, Pro QC offers supplier portfolio management services, ensuring consistent compliance across all sourcing locations.
Key services include:
Our supplier management team can create a customized checklist that meets the most specific requirements. The supplier management service is particularly suitable for small QA teams with a large global supplier base. Our project team will help reduce overhead and time spent dealing with suppliers and manage all necessary actions for each supplier. Get in touch with us and tell us how we can assist your team.
Choosing Pro QC for factory and supplier audits offers numerous advantages:
Factories have a range of local and global best practices and compliance standards to consider when aiming to be a reliable manufacturing partner. If a particular standard is not listed here, visit our Factory and Supplier Audits page to explore our wide range of supplier management services. Our team has the relevant experience to provide a bespoke approach or solution to meet any validation or certification requirement.
We assess your suppliers’ commitment to social responsibility and protect your brand
Find out more about our related services by clicking below:
VIDEO – Social and Ethical compliance
Read more
How to Ensure Social Compliance Using SA8000 and Other HSE Audits
Selecting the right social compliance standard
Forced Labor Compliance and Detection in SA8000
How to Conduct an ESG Audit: Checklist and Method
How to Reduce HSE Risks in the Furniture Risks
Sample Report – SA 8000 Audit
Sample Report – ESG Audit
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In which country are you based?AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCôte d'IvoireCabo VerdeCambodiaCameroonCanadaCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCongo (Congo-Brazzaville)Costa RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzechia (Czech Republic)Democratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorth KoreaNorth MacedoniaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestine StatePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalQatarRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited States of AmericaUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnamYemenZambiaZimbabwe
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Pro QC has been providing quality assurance, engineering and consulting services since 1984.
We offer quality solutions in over 100 countries and we are continuously expanding our network.
We offer online reporting and detailed reports within 24 hours of job completion.
Our global engineering team has the requisite industry expertise to verify quality and conformance.
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