Sedex-(Supplier Ethical Data Exchange)

Sedex is the abbreviation of Supplier Ethical Data Exchange.
Sedex is a network database that helps companies store information about labor standards within their business scope, and their customers can also share this information. Today, Sedex has gained the favor of many large retailers and manufacturers, including Co-op, Geest, Grampian- Foods, Hallmark Cards, Sainsbury's and Tesco.
Sedex Information Exchange Membership Code Definitions of Terms A Member means any Member designated by the Board as A in accordance with these Code;
.AB Member means any Member designated as AB by the Board of Directors in accordance with these Guidelines;
Advisory Committee means the SEDEX Advisory Committee as described in the SEDEX Articles of Association;
Board means the current Board of Directors of SEDEX;
Class B Member means any Member designated as Class B by the Board of Directors in accordance with these Guidelines;
Data refers to data on the standards applied by member supplier production sites, in particular, self-assessments by member suppliers and any recent audits.
Data Collection Forms refers to all self-assessment forms, as well as other data collection forms provided by SEDEX from time to time, the purpose of which is to store data in the information exchange system;
Information Exchange System means the online information exchange system operated by SEDEX and constituting its Website;
Member means a member of SEDEX;
Member Supplier means any AB Member or B Member who supplies products or services to other Members;
Objectives means the objectives of SEDEX as set out in Article 3 of the SEDEX Memorandum of Association;
A production facility is a physical facility where products are grown, processed or assembled, or, in the case of services, where the bulk of the labor is performed.
Guidelines means these Guidelines and Website Terms and Conditions in this document, also SEDEX
means the company limited by guarantee with registration number 05015443;
Standards refer to the criteria and practices specified in the objectives;
Supplier Anyone who supplies products or services to others for resale;
Website means a private website of a Member Supplier which is part of the Information Exchange System and to which Member Suppliers may upload their data;
1. Membership, Classification and Application Process Qualification 1. Anyone who wishes to use the information exchange system to improve the labor standards of their production plants or their suppliers' production plants is eligible to join SEDEX as a member.
Classification 2. The Board of Directors shall determine the categories of membership according to the following specific criteria and classify them as Class A Members, Class AB Members or Class B Members. Where the applicant is a member of a group of companies, only one company in the group (appointed by the head office of the group) shall be eligible to join as a member and such member company shall represent all the companies in the group and be responsible for paying the corresponding fees.
Class A Member 3. Any person who is not a supplier (but has established a trading relationship with a supplier);
And individuals who are willing to obtain and analyze data through information exchange.
.AB level member 4. Any 􀂃 is a supplier;
􀂃Established a trading relationship with a supplier;
􀂃Individuals who are willing to obtain and analyze data through information exchange; and 􀂃Individuals who are willing to upload data to the information exchange system.
B-level member 5. Any 􀂃 is a supplier;
􀂃Individuals who are willing to upload data to the information exchange system.
Application Process 6. Any individual who wishes to become a member may apply online through the Information Exchange System. For Class A Membership, a written application must be made to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may require an applicant to provide such information as is reasonably necessary to determine the appropriate category of membership for the applicant. The Board of Directors will notify the applicant of his or her category of membership as soon as reasonably practicable.
7. Members should not register production sites that they do not own or have under their jurisdiction in the information exchange system.
Members are expected to encourage their suppliers to register their production sites on the information exchange system.
8. If a member is concerned about the classification of his or her membership level, the member has the right to appeal to the Advisory Committee. The member must notify the Advisory Committee in writing of his or her intention to appeal within 30 days of the Board notifying him or her of its decision (regarding the applicant's membership category). The Board will then inform the Advisory Committee of the appeal.
9. The Advisory Committee shall have the right to review all materials upon which the Board of Directors based its determination of the Member’s classification. The Advisory Committee shall have the right to request additional information as necessary, including requiring the Member to provide additional information, while the Advisory Committee considers the claim.
10. The Advisory Committee may make recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding the Member’s membership category.
The Board of Directors should give due consideration to the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee.
11. The Advisory Committee will consider the application as soon as reasonably practicable.
2. Representative 1. Members will nominate a representative to serve as contact person with SEDEX.
3. Guidelines 1. Members' behavior shall comply with the requirements of this Guideline and the Memorandum and Articles of Association of SEDEX.
2. Members should do their best to promote the achievement of the goals.
4. Access to Data 1. Member Suppliers will make every effort to ensure that the data they upload to their website is accurate (in accordance with Rule 5.7) and up-to-date. However, Members should acknowledge that the right to access the data is granted on the premise that there is no fraud or illegal behavior, and the Member Supplier who provides the data or grants the Member access to the data will not be responsible (whether in contract or tort) for any inaccuracy, error or negligence in the data.
2. Member suppliers will manage the access to the data they upload to their website. Class A and Class AB members are not eligible to access the data of a member supplier without the written or electronic approval document of the member supplier.
3. If the member supplier grants access to their data as provided above, the A and AB members may use and analyze this data for the sole purpose of assessing compliance with their labor and other standards and promoting the achievement of their objectives. Members must keep confidential all information downloaded from the website (except for trading companies within their corporate group that have a legitimate need to know the information) and must not disclose the information to any other party.
This does not preclude Members complaining to the Board about Member Suppliers
pursuant to Rule 5. This rule does not preclude a member from making a complaint to the Board against a member supplier in accordance with Rule 5. 4. Among the members, any intellectual property rights in the data belong to the member providing the data. 5. The data format will include the questionnaire, audit report, audit report summary and action plan. The member supplier will ensure that the source of the data is clearly defined, for example, whether the data is provided by a member supplier, production site or third party.
6. Members who are granted access to the websites cannot directly enter data on those websites, nor can they amend, modify or delete any data.
7. For directors, advisory committee members or officers, or SEDEX employees, these persons shall not access the website or obtain the data on the website without the written or electronic consent of each member supplier. If the Board of Directors or the Advisory Committee is considering a complaint against a member, a decision to expel a member, or any appeal from a member, and all related matters, the Board of Directors or (as the case may be) the Advisory Committee needs to view the data on the member's website, the member will grant the Board of Directors or (as the case may be) the Advisory Committee the right to access and view the data, provided that the members of the Board of Directors or Advisory Committee who view the data promise to the member that they will keep the data confidential and will never use the data for purposes other than the original purpose for which the right to access the data was granted.
In the case of a complaint, the Board may delegate responsibility for considering and/or deciding the complaint in the manner it deems appropriate to a person whom it deems appropriate, in which case the Board will not be given access to any data.
8. Directors of the Board of Directors, Advisory Committee Members or Officers, SEDEX employees and Members will have access to data in an anonymised state, but this data will not be accessible when it is possible to trace back to which Member is the source of the data.
5. Audit and Conformance 1. To create data for their website, member suppliers will conduct self-assessments on their compliance with the adopted labor standards and other standards. Member suppliers must use data collection forms to store their data. Within 3 months of being designated as a member, the member should have completed the data collection form for its relevant production site and uploaded the form to the relevant website.
2. Supplier members will ensure that they complete all self-assessments with due diligence and ensure the accuracy of the assessments. Supplier members should not conduct any self-assessments for any production sites that they do not own or are not under their jurisdiction.
3. Members are expected to publish all relevant updates and audit information on their website. Relevant audit information usually refers to the most recent 3
Members undertake to remove an audit report from their website only after they have posted a notice on their website stating that an audit report has been removed and where a copy of the audit report may be obtained or viewed.
4. The audit will be completed independently by a third party or other party (such as an employee) designated by a member supplier. The member supplier commits to cooperate closely with the third-party auditor and provide the auditor with the assistance and data reasonably requested by the auditor. The member supplier will make reasonable efforts to ensure that all information provided to the auditor is accurate and up-to-date.
5. Member Suppliers may authorise third party auditors to input data into their website, but (without violating Guideline 4.1) they are responsible for ensuring that the data is uploaded to their website in an appropriate manner.
6. The member supplier promises that the audit report will not be modified or altered in any way. The member supplier may make their own comments or interpretations on the audit information on their website.
7. Member Suppliers undertake, among other things, to review the data on their website at least once every 6 months and upload any revised data to their website to ensure that the data is updated in all material respects.
8. If an A Member or AB Member has reasonable grounds to believe that a Member Supplier has published inaccurate, incorrect or misleading data, or has provided inadequate data, it shall attempt to resolve the issue with the Member Supplier.
If the two members concerned cannot resolve the matter, either member may file a complaint with the Board, who will then appoint an individual or committee to investigate the complaint and report to the Board.
9. Upon receipt of a report in accordance with Guideline 5.8, the Board may conduct such further investigation as it deems necessary to resolve the complaint. After completing its investigation, the Board may order any Member that is the subject of a complaint to take such action as the Board determines is appropriate, provided that such action is consistent with the objectives of SEDEX. If the Member fails to take such action, then in accordance with Guideline 7
, the Board of Directors will send him a preliminary notice of expulsion.
10. Member Suppliers commit to submit documentation of any violations confirmed by self-assessment, auditors or A and AB Members within a reasonable time frame.
11. A and AB Members will endeavor to regularly review the data on their Member Suppliers’ websites to identify any irregularities. A and AB Members will contact their Member Suppliers with the goal of achieving their objectives and agree with them on appropriate measures to be taken based on the severity of the irregularities identified (whether confirmed through data on the information exchange system or by other means).
12. Members should endeavour to avoid duplication of audits in order to reduce the audit cost burden on the supply chain.
13. A and AB Members may, from time to time, request their member suppliers to provide more information or updates on their data, provided that these requests are reasonable and consistent with the objectives of SEDEX. This may be in the form of a third-party audit, second-party audit, or other form of verification to review the current status of any violations identified by the member.
Member Suppliers shall upload all such additional or updated information about their data to their website as soon as reasonably practicable.
14. AB Members may designate a third party or list of third parties to audit a member supplier for compliance with labor standards and other practices. Manufacturing facilities. If a member supplier believes that a third party auditor or another credible means of verifying data has been unreasonably rejected by the AB Member (as appropriate), the member supplier may file a complaint. The complaint will be reviewed by the Advisory Committee, which will recommend the action it deems appropriate.
15. A and AB Members must take appropriate action on serious labour abuses that occur at member supplier sites that are inconsistent with the targets and come to the attention of SEDEX, regardless of whether such abuses are confirmed through data on the information exchange system.
6. Membership Fees 1. A-level members and AB-level members will pay a joining fee when joining SEDEX and an annual membership fee for the first and subsequent years of membership. The joining fee will be equal to the annual membership fee. The annual membership fee shall be determined according to the turnover of each member.
The annual membership fee or the method for determining such fee will be determined by the Board of Directors on an annual basis and will be communicated to all members by electronic document by the Board of Directors at least 2 months before its effective date. Members joining during the current year will pay the full joining fee plus a prorated membership fee.
2. In addition to the joining fee and annual membership fee specified above, Class AB members will pay a Class B membership fee for storing the data of their respective production plants on the information exchange system.
3. Class B Members will pay an annual membership fee plus applicable credit complaint handling fees and VAT for each production site for which they store data on the information exchange system. The annual membership fee for Class B Members, or the method for determining such fee, will be determined by the Board of Directors on an annual basis and communicated to all Members by electronic document by the Board of Directors at least 2 months before its effectiveness.
4. The annual membership fee for Class A members and Class AB members will be calculated based on the total membership fees of Class A members and Class AB members, accounting for at least 50% of SEDEX's operating expenses.
5. Class B members will bear no more than 50% of SEDEX's annual operating expenses.
6. Any fee structure will avoid imposing cost burdens on small entry-level manufacturers, which could be a barrier to their participation.
7. If a significant surplus is generated, the Board of Directors will adjust the membership fees to ensure that SEDEX's revenue and expenditure are balanced and the operating costs are reasonably shared by Class A members, Class AB members and Class B members.
8. Except for the first year's annual fee which is payable upon obtaining membership, all annual fees are payable by September 1 of each year.
7. Expulsion or withdrawal 1. If any member's behavior is inconsistent with the SEDEX objectives or membership code, the Board may issue a notice announcing the Board's intention to expel the member from SEDEX. The notice will set out the reasons for the Board's decision. The member may submit a written representation within 30 days of receiving this notice to respond to the concerns raised by the Board. If the Board considers that the member has not satisfactorily addressed its concerns, the Board will pass a resolution in favor of a majority of members to expel the member from SEDEX. Any decision of the Board will be communicated to the member as soon as reasonably practicable.
2. As stated above, when a member is expelled, the member shall have the right to file an appeal, which will be considered by the Advisory Committee. The member must notify the Advisory Committee in writing of the appeal request within 30 days of being informed of the Board's decision to expel the member. The Board will then notify the Advisory Committee to process the appeal.
3. The Advisory Committee shall have access to all materials upon which the Board of Directors based its decision to expel the Member.
The Advisory Committee shall have the right to request such additional information as the Committee reasonably requires in reviewing the claim, including requesting additional statements from the expelled Member.
4. The Advisory Committee may make a recommendation to the Board of Directors to reinstate an expelled member, whereupon the Board of Directors may reinstate the member. The recommendation for reinstatement may include a recommendation that reinstatement be conditional upon the Advisory Committee's finding that the expelled member has made a commitment, guaranteed and/or demonstrated that its conduct will be consistent with the SEDEX objectives and Membership Code in the future. The Board of Directors shall give due consideration to the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee when determining whether to reinstate the expelled member.
5. The Advisory Committee will consider the application as soon as reasonably practicable.
6. Members may withdraw from SEDEX at any time by submitting a written notice to the Board of Directors 30 days or 1 month in advance.
7. When a member supplier ceases to be a member for any reason, all data of that member will be removed from the information exchange system as soon as possible after the end of its membership and will be securely archived for 6 years, within the scope of management possibility.
8. All members who cease to be members of SEDEX for any reason shall be liable to pay all annual fees and any other amounts due to SEDEX from the date of termination of their membership.

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