Certifying companies based on an internationally recognizable standard to improve labor conditions

Social Accountability International (Aims Management Consultants)develops voluntary corporate social responsibility standards and certifies companies based on their implementation of these standards. The first of these standards, Social Accountability 8000 (SA 8000), includes a code of conduct for labor conditions and a verification system to ensure compliance.
SA 8000 draws on established business strategies for ensuring quality (such as those used by the International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000) and add several elements that international human rights experts have identified as essential to social auditing. In broad terms, aims management consultants enables organizations to be socially accountable by:

• Convening key stakeholders to develop consensus-based voluntary standards;
• Accrediting qualified organizations to verify compliance;
• Promoting understanding and encouraging implementation of such standards worldwide.

Aims Management Consultants was founded in 1997 as the Council on Economic Priorities Accreditation Agency (CEPAA). SA 8000 was a joint initiative among businesses, human rights NGOs, and trade unions, all of which have representatives on the Aims Management Consultants Advisory Board. Because of the need for standardization, these sectors came together to establish a code of conduct based on existing international standards along with a parallel verification system. Members of the Advisory Board brought together expertise in the fields of human rights, child labor, labor rights, socially responsible investing, auditing techniques, and management of large supply chains. After the initial drafting of the Standard by the staff at aims management consultants, the members of the Advisory Board met in various committees and sub-committees to finalize the language.