The SSI Secretariat carries out a standard due diligence procedure on every potential new manufacturer member that submits an application to join the SSI.
1. Know your counterparty
Step one involves:
- Verifying the entity that has submitted the application
- Carrying out corporate due diligence on the directors, corporate structure and beneficial ownership of the entity
2. Sanction list
For step 2 of the process, the SSI Secretariat checks that the entity is not on the UK, EU or US Sanction Lists, and that it is not on the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA) List.
3. Conflicts of interest
The SSI Secretariat then checks that there are no potential conflicts of interest between the potential new member and current SSI members, and with any past and present institutional relationships that the potential new member may have undertaken.
4. Restricted areas
As a penultimate step in the due diligence process, the SSI Secretariat checks that the potential new member is not sourcing from, operating in, or has ownership of facilities, in any restricted areas.
5. ESG salience analysis
Finally the SSI Secretariat checks the entity against the SSI’s ESG Salience Methodology to identify any ESG issues in its operations.
The Salience Methodology
To measure the salient ESG issues affecting a prospective member, the SSI Secretariat determines the salience and gravity of five key ESG indicators.
Corruption and governance
- Fraudulent misrepresentation
- Bribery to conceal supply chain practices or misrepresent compliance
- Illicit financial flows including non-payment of taxes
- Association with countries experiencing weak rule of law
Human rights
- Gross human rights violations
- Support to non-state armed groups or organised crime
- Violations of land, resource or cultural heritage rights
Labour rights
- Child labour, forced labour
- Lack of freedom of association, discrimination or workplace harassment
- Non-conformance with fair wages, working hours and other labour rights
- Recruitment practice violations
Occupational health and safety
- Workplace accidents, injuries, or fatalities
- Occupational diseases (e.g., exposure to hazardous chemicals)
Environmental stewardship
- Water, soil, or air pollution (e.g., chemical discharges)
- Tailings breaches (if applicable to raw material sourcing)
- Strength of association with high greenhouse gas emissions
- Deforestation linked to raw material sourcing
- Threat to protected areas or IUCN red list species
Decision criteria
The SSI Secretariat then makes a recommendation to the Board as to whether to approve the manufacturer member, based on scores across all categories within the process.
Application rejected:
Very High ESG salience issue scores (3) or multiple issues scoring 3 across categories
Further investigation needed:
Moderate ESG salience scores (2 or 1) may be granted membership pending further clarifications & evidence on remediation plans in place
Membership approved:
Low to Very Low salience scores (1 or 0) across all categories