Why Azolla

Azolla Certified serves to provide peace of mind to businesses, helping brands achieve sustainable and ethical practices. Ethical accountability refers to the fair treatment of workers, working conditions and the upholding of human rights. Sustainability refers to a business delivering products or services whilst also making a continuous effort to reduce environmental impact.

Ethically and environmentally certified businesses minimise the risk of mispractice. For example, the discovery of poor working conditions for workers in factories manufacturing your product can destroy a business’s reputation and credibility. Our accreditations protect businesses and their directors while providing trust for customers.

Consumers are beginning to turn against unsustainable brands, and they are voting with their dollars. Current industry giants will need to continue to adapt their strategies in order to cater for changes in customer concerns. Some of the necessary transformations can be accomplished by reinventing product lines, large FMCG companies finding that “sustainable living” brands are delivering a large percentage of their turnover growth [1].

Small businesses in this space are also attracting the bigger players’ attention - with big brands looking to purchase sustainable brands with loyal followings.

Customers are inclined to pay more for the reassurance of ethical practice. Two in five Australian consumers are willing to pay more for ethical and sustainable products [2]

Confidence in Compliance

In 2018, Australia implemented the Modern Slavery Act. This requires entities based or operating in Australia with annual revenue of over $100 million (or $50 million in NSW) to report on modern slavery risks, any actions taken and their effectiveness. Many large businesses pass down this responsibility to businesses within their supply chain, many of which are smaller companies with an annual turnover far below the minimum requirement. 

As the act is expected to increase in strictness with future amendments, businesses of all sizes will be forced into accountability for their ethical and environmental manufacturing practices. Businesses and consumers can have assurance in Azolla Certified offering an industry-leading certification that will continuously adapt to changes in local and global standards.

 

Demonstrate Credibility

Competing accreditations from large accounting firms are basing their ethical certification offerings on ISO 20400 – Sustainable Procurement, which is a highly elaborate and expensive process. Azolla Certified can serve to offer frontline evidence to support your ISO 20400 reporting or exist as a stand alone accreditation designed to focus on the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act only.

Azolla Ethical Certified targets the one area a business can have direct influence over within their supply chain, the factory. The factory is also the most probable point of the supply chain to be at risk. Our factory audit is tailored specifically to the requirements of the act making it the most cost-effective option for businesses looking to produce a Modern Slavery Act statement, or demonstrate due diligence and report findings to larger customers for the purposes of their statement.

The most common ethical findings our audits uncover:

  • Improper documentation of OH&S 
  • No workplace training on ethics
  • Incorrect direction/placement of emergency exit doors
  • None or inadequate PPE signage or labelling
  • None or expired fire safety approval
  • No written procedure to report ethical violations
  • No health risk evaluation process

Azolla Environmental Certified is the ideal accreditation designed to additional credibility to your environmental and social governance reporting. As stakeholders continue to become more in tune with environmental issues, an environmental certification protects your business against public backlash and creates a stronger connection to customers who identify with sustainable brands.

Environmental concerns detailed in our audits relate to:

  • Factory air pollutant emissions
  • Toxic waste disposal
  • Water contamination

Global Reach, Local Trust

Azolla Certified businesses have assurance that all audits are carried out at their supplier's factory, in-person and by our accredited auditors. This ensures confidence in the audit process. Our local partners then review the factory audits, provide assessments and issue certification. See how it works for more information

Contact us to discuss your certification requirements

1300 AZOLLA 

(1300 296 552)