What is the Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP) ?

GSCP is a business-driven programme for companies who want to harmonise their respective efforts in delivering a shared, global and sustainable approach for the improvement of working conditions in the global supply chain.

It offers a global platform to promote knowledge exchange and best practices in order to build comparability and transparency between existing systems, whether individual or collaborative.

GSCP’s approach is to establish an inclusive and participative process for companies, across all categories and sectors, regardless of the compliance system they use. This includes retailer and international brands in textile, electronics, toys, furniture, food, footwear, etc.

To ensure the vision is understood and shared and gains genuine drive from the top, this undertaking has to be made at CEO level in each company.

Participating companies’ CEOs are asked to sign a public statement of support to work collaboratively towards the achievement of the programme’s key objectives.

GSCP also associates civil society stakeholders to guarantee the programme's integrity and inclusiveness and relies on the widest range of knowledge and expertise.

Why GSCP?

The question of working conditions in the global supply chain is an increasingly sensitive topic to which retailer and brand manufacturers have responded by developing codes of conduct, individually or collaboratively, and voluntary monitoring systems. Based on careful, methodical approaches, these codes, and the mechanisms to implement them, have brought about real benefits to workers in most sensitive countries.

However, the number of codes has proliferated and approaches have somewhat diverged. This has led to duplication (with the multiplication of overlapping audits per supplier) and sends a confused message to suppliers and to public authorities as to what is expected in terms of fundamental labour rights.

To address the need for consistency, and to focus on the resolution of root causes of non-compliance, leading global companies have decided to work together towards convergence of existing systems worldwide by launching the Global Social Compliance Programme.

How does GSCP support existing systems?

GSCP supports existing efforts by helping users identify and share best practices. It is not a new code or monitoring system, nor a substitute to existing systems.

GSCP offers the platform where differences between existing systems (individual or collaborative) can be aired, discussed and reconciled in order to move towards more convergence while preserving each system’s specificity.

The GSCP model is based on company engagement and direct participation. The link with different systems/initiatives is therefore provided by their member companies. Companies participating actively in GSCP will continue working with their systems/initiative and help foster a dialogue and the comparability, transparency and trust needed to drive real change.