What do the grades mean?
We assessed which of the following stages each company had reached on the three areas of investigation (companies were, by and large, quizzed specifically on these points where their policy made no mention of them). The stages are:
Wages
Grade o: Does not accept the principle of a living wage
Grade 1: Accepts the principle of a living wage, but applies legal minimum/industry benchmark.
Grade 2: Acknowledges that minimum and industry benchmark wages are not sufficient standards, but no real efforts to apply living wage.
Grade 3: Can offer concrete examples of steps to develop and implement a living wage methodology in supplier base, but only in a few pilot projects.
Grade 4: Sophisticated and serious engagement with a living wage, beginning to move beyond pilot programmes, but still not systematic across supplier base.
Grade 5: Sustained implementation of an effective living wage policy across entire supply base.
Background on wages
Freedom of association (FoA)
Grade 0: Does not accept the principle of FoA and collective bargaining (CB).
Grade 1: Accepts the rights to FoA and CB in principle, but no examples of how enforced.
Grade 2: Acknowledges that access to FoA and CB requires worker and management training, but no real efforts to ensure workers have access.
Grade 3: Can offer concrete examples of steps to facilitate access to FoA and CB in conjunction with local trade unions and labour rights groups, but only in a few pilot projects.
Grade 4: Sophisticated and serious engagement with FoA and CB, beginning to move beyond pilot programmes, but still not systematic across supplier base.
Grade 5: Sustained implementation of an effective policy to promote and safeguard access to FoA and CB across entire supply base, including in countries where trade union rights are restricted by law.
Background on FoA
Monitoring and verification (M&V)
Grade 0: Does not have an auditing system in line with accepted industry norms.
Grade 1: Suppliers regularly audited and remediation measures taken, in line with basic industry norms only.
Grade 2: Acknowledges the limitations of social audits as tools for ensuring compliance, but no examples of how moving beyond them.
Grade 3: Can offer concrete examples of steps to involve local stakeholders in oversight of M&V, but only in a few pilot projects.
Grade 4: Sophisticated and serious engagement with multi-stakeholder M&V, beginning to move beyond pilot programmes, but still not systematic across supplier base.
Grade 5: Sustained implementation of an effective and credible multi-stakeholder M&V programme across entire supply base.
