RBA Audits (Responsible Business Alliance)
Demonstrate responsible and ethical business conduct throughout your global supply chain.
RBA Audits (Responsible Business Alliance)
Consumers nowadays are becoming increasingly conscious of the ethical implications of their purchases; businesses are under more pressure than ever to demonstrate their commitment to responsible practices.
The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) provides the world’s largest industry framework for promoting responsible practices in supply chains, especially within the electronics sector but increasingly across other industries. It supports companies seeking to protect workers, reduce environmental impacts, strengthen governance, and demonstrate commitment to responsible sourcing – supporting more resilient and trusted supply chains Audits to RBA help organizations assess their social, environmental, and ethical performance against a common Code of Conduct and provide credibility in meeting stakeholder expectations for responsible operations.
What are RBA audits?
RBA audits evaluate a facility’s conformance with the RBA Code of Conduct requirements set to to ensure responsible practices across labour, health and safety, environment, business ethics, and management systems.
The audit examines:
- Environmental performance: including waste management, emissions control, energy use, and environmental stewardship.
- Labour and social standards: covering treatment of workers, fair compensation, safe working conditions, and freedom from discrimination or forced labour.
- Ethical practices: assessing business integrity, anti-corruption controls, responsible supplier management, and governance structures.
RBA audits enable organisations to demonstrate ethical conduct and meet increasing consumer and stakeholder expectations for transparency and social responsibility.
Value of RBA audits
Undergoing an RBA audit provides:
- Independent verification of social, ethical, and environmental performance
- Market credibility when demonstrating compliance with industry recognized expectations
- Improved supply chain due diligence, enabling identification of risks and non-conformities
- Better working conditions, supporting worker wellbeing and productivity
- Structured improvement, through corrective action plans and follow-up mechanisms built into the RBA framework
The RBA framework helps companies enhance sustainability performance across global supply chains and strengthen responsible business conduct.
Customers
Certificates
People trained annually
Countries
How to get get an RBA audit
To undergo an RBA audit by an independent certification body like DNV, organizations need to select the audit type they wish to be subject to, prepare documentation, and undergo on site verification. RBA offers several audit types:
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- Includes document review, interviews, and site inspection.
- Findings are categorised as minor, major, or priority, each with defined timelines for remediation.
- Corrective action plans (CAPs) must address root causes and prevent recurrence.
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Companies may choose not to undergo VAP but must still follow the VAP protocol.
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Audits must be conducted by approved firms with RBA approved auditors.
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- A modular approach where only selected elements of the RBA Code of Conduct are assessed.
- Offers flexibility and cost-effectiveness for specific risk areas or customer requirements.
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- Address gaps related to labour, safety, environment, or ethics.
- Strengthen oversight of contractors and suppliers where relevant.
- Document corrective actions.
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- Select SMETA 2 pillar (core social compliance) or SMETA 4 pillar (adds environment and business ethics).
- Auditors will review documents, interview workers and management, and inspect the site.
- Findings are issued in a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) and uploaded to Sedex.
RBA Audits - FAQ
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The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) is a global industry coalition that sets standards for responsible supply chains, focusing on labor rights, environmental performance and ethical business practices. An RBA audit is an independent assessment that evaluates a facility’s compliance with the RBA Code of Conduct to identify risks and improve supplier performance. -
RBA audits are conducted by independent third‑parties like DNV who are approved and trained by the Responsible Business Alliance’s Validated Assessment Program (VAP). These accredited firms use RBA’s standardized methodology to assess facilities against the RBA Code of Conduct.
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An RBA audit covers a facility’s performance in labour rights, health and safety, environmental practices, ethics and management systems as defined by the RBA Code of Conduct. It evaluates how well the organization protects workers, manages risks and upholds responsible and ethical supply chain practices.
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No. SMETA is not a certification, but a social audit methodology used to assess labour standards, health & safety, environmental practices and business ethics. It results in an audit report (not a certificate) that suppliers can share with multiple buyers through the Sedex platform.
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Yes. SMETA audit results can be shared with multiple customers through the Sedex platform, which is one of the main advantages of SMETA. This helps suppliers avoid duplicate audits and meet the requirements of several buyers with a single assessment.
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