What SMETA Stands For
SMETA is the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit. Sedex itself stands for Supplier Ethical Data Exchange — the membership organisation that owns the audit methodology and runs the platform where completed reports are shared with customers.
So the acronym unpacks twice, which is part of why it confuses people:
| Term | Stands for | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| SMETA | Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit | The audit methodology |
| Sedex | Supplier Ethical Data Exchange | The organisation and the platform |
| ETI Base Code | Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code | The code SMETA audits against |
SMETA does not define its own requirements. It audits against the ETI Base Code plus applicable local law, and where the two differ the higher standard generally applies.
SMETA Is Not a Certification
Worth stating early, because plenty of providers blur it and buyers arrive expecting a certificate.
There is no SMETA certificate, and nobody is "SMETA certified". SMETA is an audit methodology. What you receive at the end is an audit report and a corrective action plan, uploaded to the Sedex platform, which you then choose to share with specific customers.
| SMETA | SA8000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Audit methodology | Certifiable standard |
| You receive | A report and corrective action plan | An accredited certificate |
| Shared how | Via the Sedex platform, per customer | A certificate you can publish |
| Audited against | ETI Base Code and local law | The SA8000 standard |
| Accredited scheme | No | Yes, via SAAS |
That is not a criticism of SMETA — a report shared through Sedex is exactly what many retail and consumer-goods buyers ask for. It simply is not a certificate, and knowing the difference stops you buying the wrong thing.
The Two and Four Pillars
SMETA comes in two scopes, and your customer decides which they need.
| Pillar | Covers | 2-pillar | 4-pillar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Standards | Child and forced labour, wages, hours, freedom of association, discrimination | Yes | Yes |
| Health & Safety | Workplace safety, facilities, emergency preparedness | Yes | Yes |
| Environment | Environmental management and impact | No | Yes |
| Business Ethics | Anti-bribery, anti-corruption, fair business practice | No | Yes |
2-pillar is the more commonly requested version. Check what your customer actually asked for before booking — scope drives audit duration and cost, and being audited on four pillars when two were required is money spent for nothing.
The labour and health-and-safety pillars overlap heavily with SA8000 and ISO 45001, so existing work in either transfers.
Who Needs a SMETA Audit
SMETA is almost entirely customer-driven. Suppliers rarely commission one unprompted.
The usual trigger: a retailer or brand customer requires their suppliers to hold a current SMETA report on Sedex as a condition of continuing to trade. That is common in retail, apparel, food, and consumer goods supply chains, and it flows down to sub-suppliers.
Who it applies to: manufacturing sites, processing facilities, farms and packhouses — anywhere the working conditions being audited physically exist. Like SA8000, this is a site-level audit rather than a head-office one, because auditors examine conditions where the work happens.
How the Audit Runs
1. Sedex membership and self-assessment. You join Sedex and complete the self-assessment questionnaire, which shapes the audit scope.
2. Book an audit body. SMETA audits are conducted by audit firms, and your customer may specify which ones they accept.
3. Pre-audit gap assessment. Optional, and the stage we deliver. Finding wage, hours or safety gaps before the audit is far cheaper than finding them in the report your customer reads.
4. The on-site audit. Document review, site inspection, management interviews, and — as with SA8000 — private worker interviews. Workers are selected by the auditor and interviewed confidentially.
5. Report and corrective action plan. Non-conformities are recorded with agreed timescales and uploaded to Sedex.
6. Follow-up. Closing corrective actions, sometimes requiring a follow-up visit for significant findings.
As with SA8000, coaching workers on what to say is the fastest route to a failed audit and is treated as a serious finding in itself. The productive preparation is fixing the conditions — see how worker interviews work.
SMETA or SA8000?
They overlap substantially on labour and health and safety, and they answer different commercial questions.
Do SMETA when a specific customer requires a Sedex report as a trading condition. It is the faster route and it answers their request directly.
Do SA8000 when you want a certificate that stands on its own — recognised across supplier programmes rather than shared per customer, valid three years, and backed by accreditation.
Do both when one customer demands SMETA and you also want a credential you can publish. The remediation work is largely shared: wages, hours, safety and freedom of association appear in both.
If a customer has asked for something broader than labour practices, an ISO 26000 attestation covers the wider social responsibility ground — see how these compare.
Book a SMETA Pre-Audit
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What is the full form of SMETA?
SMETA stands for Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit. Sedex itself stands for Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, the membership organisation that owns the methodology and hosts the platform where audit reports are shared with customers.
Is SMETA a certification?
No. SMETA is an audit methodology, not a certification scheme. There is no SMETA certificate and no such thing as being "SMETA certified". What you receive is an audit report and a corrective action plan, uploaded to the Sedex platform and shared with the customers you choose.
What is the difference between 2-pillar and 4-pillar SMETA?
The 2-pillar audit covers Labour Standards and Health and Safety, and is the most commonly requested version. The 4-pillar audit adds Environment and Business Ethics. Your customer decides which they require — check the request before booking, because scope changes the audit duration and cost.
How long is a SMETA audit report valid?
Customers typically treat a SMETA report as current for about twelve months, after which a further audit is usually expected. The report is not a certificate with a formal expiry date, so the practical validity is set by what your customers accept rather than by a fixed rule.
What standard does SMETA audit against?
The ETI Base Code, published by the Ethical Trading Initiative, together with applicable local law. Where local law and the Base Code differ, the higher standard generally applies. That makes SMETA an audit against an existing code rather than a standard of its own.
Should I do SMETA or SA8000?
Whichever your customer asked for. SMETA is an audit producing a shareable report and is common in retail and consumer goods supply chains. SA8000 is a certifiable standard producing an accredited certificate. Many suppliers do SMETA because a specific buyer requires it and pursue SA8000 when they want a certificate that stands on its own.
Related Services
See SA8000 certification if you need a certificate rather than a report, ISO 26000 attestation for broader social responsibility, ISO 45001 for health and safety as a certifiable management system, or how these standards compare.
Reference: Sedex · ETI Base Code.
Pass the audit your customer asked for
Pre-audit gap assessment across the pillars in scope, before the report your buyer reads.