LWG launches two additional audit protocols
The Leather Working Group has launched two new standards for auditing — one for manufacturers completing subcontracting operations on behalf of customers and one for companies that are subcontracting out all of their operations.
Currently, subcontractors used by a leather manufacturer that is being assessed by the LWG Environmental Audit Protocol get audited using a “mini audit report”. This means that a subcontractor company work might be assessed multiple times (as multiple customers are being audited) without receiving their own certification.
The Subcontractor Audit Protocol (SCAP) seeks to address this by providing subcontractors with their own certification and membership in LWG. Subcontractors that are audited and become LWG-certified will be added to a pre-approved list for certified manufacturers.
The Commissioning Manufacturer Audit Protocol (CMAP) was developed for companies that buy leather and send it out for subcontractors to handle all manufacturing operations. CMAP requires a company to have their entire production chain audited and certified by LWG. (The new SCAP audit allows an entire production chain to be audited and certified by LWG.)
“Whether they subcontract out to a full scope tannery (that has been audited via the LWG Environmental Audit Protocol) or to a small company completing some minor operations (that has been audited via the new LWG Subcontractor Audit Protocol) – all members of the production chain must be audited, according to LWG”.
