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Unilever Audit Requirements

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45 views2 pages

Unilever Audit Requirements

Uploaded by

pkh310803
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Unilever Responsible Sourcing Programme - Audit Requirements

Launched in 2022, the Unilever Responsible Partner Policy (RPP) replaced our Responsible
Sourcing Policy (RSP) which was introduced in 2014 and refreshed in 2017. The RPP is the
policy document defining the requirements of our Responsible Sourcing Programme.

All suppliers regardless of size, type or risk, are required to go through initial and then re-
registration on an annual basis in the Unilever Supplier Qualification System (USQS)
database. The registration consists of three elements:

1. Declaration – made by suppliers confirming that they have read the RPP and commit
that they have their own codes, policies, procedures and practices in place to ensure
that they can meet or exceed the Mandatory Requirements contained in the RPP’s
Fundamental Principles.
2. Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) – suppliers are asked to complete an SAQ
providing further information about the supplier’s business and relationship with
Unilever.
3. Audit – a risk analysis will be performed based on the responses provided in the SAQ
and audits by a third-party auditor may be required for certain types of suppliers.

Based on a risk assessment, Unilever may require an audit of your company or sites. Unielver
currently uses two types of audits based on the type of product or service delivered by the
supplier. In general:

• Suppliers handling or supplying raw materials and finished goods (includes;


Collaborative Manufacturing sites, warehouse and logistics providers): will need to
register their sites and based on risk assessment conduct an on-site social compliance
audit using the following standard. (see note* below for agricultural suppliers):
o SEDEX SMETA (4 Pillar) audit
• Suppliers providing equipment or services to Unilever: suppliers meeting certain criteria
will be required to conduct a remote/desk-top social compliance assessment. Unilever
recognises the following for remote/desk-top assessments:
o EcoVadis Sustainability assessment
The SEDEX SMETA (4-pillar) audit and EcoVadis assessments are an industry leading audit
methodologies commonly used within the industry for social/ethical audits. For any new on-
site audits, suppliers must use the SMETA (4-pillar) audit and it must be conducted by one of
the currently approved audit companies (see list below). From September 10th 2024
onwards, the SMETA 7.0 (or later) version is to be used.

In the Sedex platform, please establish a link to Unilever PLC using our identification number
ZC1079742 which will allow us to view your audits on the Sedex platform.

Suppliers are expected to cover the cost of the audit and may use the output of the audit for
the requirements of any of their other customers without any further approval from Unilever.
The transactional and financial relationship is between the supplier and the audit company;
however, Unilever must have access to the full audit report and supporting documentation

Updated September 2024 - Page 1 of 2


from the audit, and the auditor must upload the results to Unilever’s USQS system. Please
note: audit companies may charge separately for uploading results to the USQS system.

Audits have a validity of 1, 2 or 3 years based on the outcome of the audit, with a new audit
required prior to the expiry of the previous validity period. Any non-conformances found
during an initial on-site audit must be remediated by the supplier and closed out through a
follow-up audit conducted within 90 days of the initial audit. Please take the potential
need for a follow-up audit into account when contracting the services of an audit
company. Any serious non-conformances found – identified in the SMETA audit as ‘Business
Critical’ – will require a corrective action plan to be submitted to Unilever via USQS within 7
days from the date of the initial audit.

Both audit companies and suppliers have responsibilities to input and update the USQS
system to provide Unilever with the outcome of the audit. Audit companies need to upload
audit documentation and the outcome of the initial and follow-up audits, while suppliers are
required to input corrective actions against each non-conformance identified; both within
specified timeframes.

Further details can be found on www.unilever.com at www.unilever.com/responsible-partner-


policy and on our Supplier Centre. For questions, please contact our Help Desk at:
[email protected].

Unilever has made a commitment to only source from suppliers who are compliant with the
requirements of the RPP. Please note: Unilever will check compliance with the RPP every time
we create new vendors or initiate new Purchase Orders (PO) in our procurement systems.
Failure to maintain your compliance to the requirements of our Responsible Sourcing
Program may risk our ability to do business with you.

Approved Audit Companies (in alphabetical order):


- Bureau Veritas (BV)
- Control Union (CU)
- Det Norske Veritas (DNV GL)
- Elevate/LRQA
- Intertek
- Partner Africa - for use in Africa only
- SGS
- Social Compliance Service Asia Ltd. (SCSA) – for use in Asia only
N.B. This list is valid as of September 2024 and subject to change

*Agricultural raw material suppliers who conform to the requirements of Unilever’s Sustainable
Agriculture Code (2017) and the 2017 Sustainable Agriculture Code Scheme Rules, are also considered
compliant to the RPP requirements while their certification according to these rules is valid and current.
Such suppliers can submit their current and valid certification in place of the audit requirements in
USQS. For details, please read about Protecting biodiversity and regenerating Nature on our website or
our Sustainable Agriculture Code.

Updated September 2024 - Page 2 of 2

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