Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI)

By undergoing benchmarking and achieving SSCI recognition, scheme owners signal a strong commitment to raising the bar while driving harmonisation. The SSCI will: support companies in their supply chain due diligence by recognising robust schemes that drive positive change and address sustainability compliance issues; increase efficiency for suppliers and buyers by reducing audit duplication through recognition of robust sustainability schemes; and contribute to continuous improvement of sustainability auditing and certification schemes and encourage them to reflect Consumer Goods Forum resolutions in those schemes worldwide.

In May 2018 the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF)’s Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) and the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) announced their collaboration to provide a benchmark and recognition tool for social compliance schemes in the seafood sector. The CGF Social Sustainability Committee selected the seafood sector as one of the priority supply chains for their social sustainability workstream. Correspondingly, the GSSI Steering Board identified social compliance as a key priority area for the seafood sector. Similar to GSSI’s Global Benchmark Tool, the SSCI Benchmark will allow the industry to have access to a list of credible, robust auditing and certification programmes.

Successful launch of new Social Benchmarking scopes (10 May 2021).

The SSCI has opened its social benchmark to the fishing, agriculture and land-based aquaculture sectors. It has launched benchmark requirements for its new At-Sea Operations and Primary Production scopes. The benchmark requirements, which include Social and Scheme Management Criteria, have been developed in close collaboration with the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), bringing together the SSCI’s experience in supply chain social compliance and the GSSI’s expertise in the seafood sector, with support from IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative. it received it first benchmarking application on 11 June 2021, from the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS).