The Checklist

How to use this checklist +

The 14 Red Flags are warning signs that a social certification may not be a reliable indicator of corporate performance. The flags are grouped into five key themes:

Alignment with International Standards
Scope
Audits
Grievance Mechanisms
Governance & Accountability

How to use this checklist:

Use the checklist to assess an initiative against each of the 14 Red Flags. Click into each flag to explore: What it means, Why it matters for investors, and What to look for.

All red flags are equally important. No single issue can be ignored without increasing risk. That’s why it’s essential to assess a certification scheme against all 14 flags for a complete picture of its credibility and effectiveness.

This tool applies to all MSIs —whether or not they offer certifications. Throughout the tool, we use the term “member” to refer broadly to:

for certification schemes, companies that are certified or undergoing certification.
for MSIs that do not offer certification, any corporate member.

The tool refers to rights holders throughout — in other words, the individuals or groups whose rights the initiative is seeking to uphold. Who gets defined as a “rights holder” may be MSI-specific. For example, a scheme designed to address labor conditions in agriculture may consider smallholder farmers as well as farmworkers as rights holders, whereas another scheme may be designed only to address the conditions for farm workers. An investor should refer to the scheme to understand its target population.

Red Flags in Sustainability Initiatives — Assessment

Initiative being assessed:

0 of 14 flags fully assessed