VENDOR AUDIT READINESS

Vendor Audit Ready — SA8000, SMETA, EcoVadis, Sedex, Higg

For procurement teams at multinational brands (Unilever, P&G, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, IFF, Givaudan, Symrise, Natura, Beiersdorf, etc.), supplier vendor-audit-readiness is non-negotiable. Here is the unfiltered view of where Expo Organics stands across the major social + ethical + environmental supplier audit frameworks.

Audit framework status

Questionnaire-ready

EcoVadis

Comprehensive supplier sustainability rating across environment, labour & human rights, ethics, sustainable procurement. We complete the EcoVadis questionnaire within 5–10 working days.

Audit-ready

SMETA (Sedex)

Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit — labour standards, health & safety, environment, business ethics. Sedex membership available on request; SMETA audit window 4–6 weeks.

Documentation-ready

SA8000

Social Accountability standard for ethical labour practices. SA8000 documentation pack (labour practice statements, hours-of-work records, freedom-of-association policy, child labour declaration) available within 7–14 working days.

Questionnaire-ready

Higg Index (SAC)

Sustainable Apparel Coalition standard — increasingly used by cosmetic + personal-care brands. Higg FEM (Facility Environmental Module) self-assessment completable within 10 working days.

Audit-ready

CT-PAT / AEO

Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (US) + Authorised Economic Operator (EU + UK). Supply-chain security documentation for export-bound consignments.

Documentation-ready

RSPO (Palm-free)

We do not supply palm or palm-kernel oil derivatives. Palm-free declaration available on every consignment, supporting RSPO-aware buyer brands.

What our audit-readiness pack includes

Labour practice statements — Indian labour law compliance, EPF + ESI registration, fair-wages declaration, overtime policy, no-child-labour declaration
Health & safety — fire safety + chemical safety + PPE compliance + incident-reporting SOP
Environmental — wastewater treatment + air emissions + energy use + recycling policy (HDPE drum recovery)
Business ethics — anti-corruption + supplier code of conduct + grievance mechanism
Supply chain transparency — sourcing region disclosure, sub-supplier ESG assessment
Sustainable sourcing — Indian Forest Department-controlled Himalayan cedarwood, CITES sandalwood paperwork, palm-free portfolio
Anti-counterfeit + IP protection — NDA enforcement policy, customer brand confidentiality

Buyer-side audit + visit infrastructure

Plant visit for full ESG audit — half-day or full-day depending on audit scope
Records inspection — production batch records, labour records, environmental records all available during visit
Sub-supplier verification — we can introduce buyers to key sub-suppliers for chain-of-custody verification
NABL retain-sample testing — independent quality verification supports ESG narrative on product purity
Annual ESG questionnaire re-completion — most buyer questionnaires are annual; we update our pack quarterly to stay current

Where we are honest about limits

We are not at the “perfect” level on every dimension. Honest disclosure:

Carbon footprint formal accounting: in development. Approximate per-kg estimates available with caveats.
Renewable energy: limited solar; majority grid energy. Long-term plan in place.
Water recycling: partial; ongoing improvement.
Third-party labour audits: SMETA done at customer request; standing SA8000 certification in progress.
Some specialty sourcing relationships (e.g., Indonesian patchouli) have less granular sub-supplier transparency than our own facility operations.

This honest disclosure is itself the marker of an audit-ready supplier. We do not greenwash.