What is the Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP) ?

GSCP is a business-driven programme for companies who want to harmonise their existing efforts in order to deliver a shared, consistent and global approach for the continuous improvement of working conditions in global supply chains.

To this end, GSCP 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.

The process is inclusive and participative for companies across all categories and sectors, regardless of the compliance system they use.

This includes retailers and brands in textile, electronics, toys, furniture, food, footwear, etc.

Who can participate in the Programme?

To ensure the GSCP vision is understood and shared, and that it gains genuine drive from the top, the undertaking is 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.
As of today, 26 companies have joined and support the Global Social Compliance Programme.

GSCP also associates civil society stakeholders to guarantee the Programme's integrity and inclusiveness and to rely 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, as well as 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 of efforts (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 the 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. The programme provides 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 companies’ engagement and direct participation. This creates an automatic link with existing systems/initiatives. Companies participating in GSCP continue to actively work with their own system/initiative, while helping to foster the dialogue, comparability, transparency and trust needed to drive real change.