"We work with suppliers to address identified gaps in their risk management processes. All high risk suppliers that have completed the ethical audit are provided with a corrective action plan and monitored for progress against the plan. The applicable timeframe for improvements to be made is based on SMETA best practice, which ranges between zero to 90 days depending on the nature of the issue. Since the inception of the supplier accreditation programme 1,720 gaps in risk management processes have been identified, of which 1,122 have been resolved through improvements made by suppliers following the corrective action plan. We have either terminated or not initiated relationships with 120 suppliers who have shown either no willingness to meet our requirements or no sign of wanting to make improvement within a reasonable timeframe." p.6

When our assessments find instances of non-compliance with our standards, we categorize them by different levels of urgency: minor, major and zero tolerance (for the most serious violations). Depending on the nature of the non-compliance, we impose sanctions that vary in severity, ranging from the termination of the business relationship in cases of zero-tolerance violations, to third-party investigations or formal warnings. We consider the use of force or involuntary labor as a zero-tolerance violation.5

We work with suppliers to address identified gaps in their risk management processes. All high risk suppliers that have completed the ethical audit are provided with a corrective action plan and monitored for progress against the plan. The applicable timeframe for improvements to be made is based on SMETA best practice, which ranges between zero to 90 days depending on the nature of the issue. Since the inception of the supplier accreditation programme 1,720 gaps in risk management processes have been identified, of which 1,122 have been resolved through improvements made by suppliers following the corrective action plan.6

We have either terminated or not initiated relationships with 120 suppliers who have shown either no willingness to meet our requirements or no sign of wanting to make improvement within a reasonable timeframe.6