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Independent Recognition for Responsible Business
Customers, investors and other stakeholders increasingly want organizations to demonstrate how they address human rights, ethical conduct, responsible sourcing, environmental impacts, climate performance and worker safety.
The Ethical Trade Alliance Corporate Social Responsibility Standards provide a practical, auditable framework for doing exactly that—and organizations can choose the standards most relevant to them.
Seven areas of responsible business
- Modern Slavery Prevention
- Anti-Bribery
- Conflict-Free Minerals
- Animal Welfare
- Carbon Reduction
- Environmental Stewardship
- Occupational Health & Safety
A practical framework for demonstrating responsible business.
The Ethical Trade Alliance (ETA) developed its Corporate Social Responsibility Standards to help organizations integrate responsible business practices into everyday operations in a structured, transparent and independently auditable way.
The standards are designed for organizations of different sizes, sectors and structures. They translate internationally recognized responsible-business principles into defined management requirements that can be implemented and independently assessed.
Rather than requiring every organization to pursue every topic, ETA allows organizations to select individual standards—or combine standards across several areas—according to their activities, risks and stakeholder expectations.
Why organizations pursue ETA certification
- Provide assurance beyond internal self-declaration
- Respond to customer and procurement expectations
- Demonstrate structured governance and risk management
- Strengthen transparency and accountability
- Gain recognition for responsible practices already in place
- Build a broader responsible-business credential over time
Start with the issue that matters most to your organization.
One of the strengths of the ETA framework is its modular structure. An organization can certify to an individual standard, add another when a customer or stakeholder need arises, or build a broader portfolio of responsible-business recognition.
For many organizations, Modern Slavery Prevention is a natural starting point.
Modern slavery and supply-chain due diligence are increasingly visible in customer questionnaires, procurement requirements and responsible-business discussions. ETA Modern Slavery Prevention certification provides a structured way to demonstrate that your organization has established policies, governance, risk-based due diligence, controls and oversight around this important issue.
From there, you can add other ETA standards where they are relevant—without turning responsible business into one enormous project.
Explore Modern Slavery PreventionChoose the recognition that fits your organization.
Each standard addresses a distinct area of responsible business while sharing a common management-system architecture around policy, governance, risk, controls, monitoring, communication and independent verification.
Modern Slavery Prevention
Demonstrate a structured approach to identifying and managing modern-slavery risks in your operations and supply chains, including policy commitments, risk-based due diligence, supplier controls, grievance mechanisms, remediation and monitoring.
Explore Modern Slavery Prevention →Anti-Bribery
Demonstrate that ethical business conduct is supported by a formal approach to bribery risk, governance, third-party relationships, reporting, controls and independent oversight.
Explore Anti-Bribery →Conflict-Free Minerals
Provide stronger assurance around responsible minerals sourcing through proportionate supplier due diligence, sourcing evidence, risk assessment and independent recognition—even when mineral origins sit several tiers upstream.
Explore Conflict-Free Minerals →Animal Welfare
Demonstrate a structured commitment to animal welfare where animals or animal-derived products are relevant to your operations or supply chain, with risk-based controls and responsible sourcing practices.
Explore Animal Welfare →Carbon Reduction
Measure emissions, strengthen carbon data, establish reduction targets and demonstrate progress through ETA's progressive certification structure—allowing organizations to start at a practical level and build over time.
Explore Carbon Reduction →Environmental Stewardship
Extend responsible-business recognition to the environmental impacts of your operations, including pollution prevention, resource conservation, environmental controls, monitoring and continual improvement.
Explore Environmental Stewardship →Occupational Health & Safety
Demonstrate that worker protection is part of your responsible-business commitment through risk-based safety management, worker consultation, operational controls, incident management and continual improvement.
Explore Occupational Health & Safety →Build a responsible-business portfolio that makes sense for you.
The seven standards are designed as a family. Organizations may pursue one standard because of a specific customer or stakeholder need, or combine several to demonstrate responsibility across multiple areas.
Start Where It Matters
Choose the standard most relevant to your customer expectations, operations, supply chain or responsible-business priorities.
Add Recognition Over Time
Additional standards can be added as your organization, customer requirements or responsible-business goals develop.
Integrate Where Practical
Common governance, training, document control, corrective action, monitoring and audit arrangements can often be shared across several ETA standards.
Build on what you already have—not another layer of bureaucracy.
Organizations with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 or other established management systems may already have useful governance, risk, document-control, training, corrective-action, audit and management-review processes that can support ETA implementation.
ETA complements—not replaces—your ISO certifications.
For organizations seeking a comprehensive internationally recognized environmental or OHS management system, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 remain important standards. ETA Environmental Stewardship and OHS can instead extend those strengths into a broader responsible-business credential alongside the other ETA standards.
Use the foundation you've already built.
Compliancehelp looks first at what your organization already does well. Where existing processes meet ETA requirements, we use them rather than creating duplicate systems simply for the sake of certification.
That can make additional ETA recognition considerably more straightforward than organizations initially expect.
We make management standards practical.
Compliancehelp brings extensive management-system implementation and audit experience to ETA certification preparation. Our role is to help turn the requirements into something that fits your real organization—not create unnecessary paperwork.
Built Around Your Organization
We adapt the system to your operations, risks, people and existing processes rather than forcing you into a predetermined template.
Use What You Already Have
Existing ISO, compliance, procurement, risk, safety and environmental processes are incorporated where appropriate.
Keep It Proportionate
The ETA framework is risk-based. We help keep the system proportionate to what is genuinely relevant rather than manufacturing unnecessary work.
One or Multiple Standards
Whether you need one ETA credential or a broader suite, common management elements can be integrated to reduce duplication.
Experienced Auditors
We understand what independently audited systems need to demonstrate and can identify gaps before they become certification-audit problems.
Through to Audit Readiness
We help establish the framework, support implementation, verify readiness and prepare your organization for independent certification assessment.
Independent recognition may be more achievable than you expect.
Responsible-business certification can sound like a large and expensive undertaking. ETA's modular, risk-based structure means organizations can focus on the standards that matter, integrate existing processes and expand their recognition progressively.
For organizations already doing many of the right things, the path to meaningful independent recognition may be surprisingly straightforward.
Talk to CompliancehelpAbout ETA standards and certification
Do we have to implement all seven ETA standards?
No. Organizations can choose individual standards or certify across multiple areas according to their activities, risks, customer requirements and stakeholder expectations.
Which ETA standard should we start with?
That depends on why you are seeking recognition. Modern Slavery Prevention can be a natural starting point for organizations responding to customer, procurement or supply-chain expectations. Other organizations may have a more immediate need around anti-bribery, responsible minerals sourcing, carbon reduction, environmental stewardship, animal welfare or workplace safety.
Can several ETA standards be integrated?
Yes. The standards share a common structural approach, so common governance, document control, training, monitoring, corrective-action and audit processes can often be integrated while each standard retains its own subject-specific requirements.
Can ETA standards work with our existing ISO system?
Yes. ETA encourages organizations to integrate the standards into existing governance, risk and compliance processes where practical rather than automatically creating separate standalone systems.
Are ETA Environmental Stewardship and OHS replacements for ISO 14001 and ISO 45001?
No. They serve a different purpose within the broader ETA responsible-business framework. Organizations seeking comprehensive internationally recognized environmental or OHS management-system certification should still consider ISO 14001 or ISO 45001 according to their objectives.
Does Compliancehelp perform the certification audit?
No. Compliancehelp provides consulting, implementation, internal audit and certification preparation. Certification audits and certification decisions are conducted independently.
Not sure which ETA standard fits?
Tell us what your customers are asking for, what you already have in place and what you would like to demonstrate. Compliancehelp can help you identify a practical starting point.
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