Data from the Business Map, developed by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC) and by the Federal Data Processing Service (Serpro), pointed to a growth of 19.8% in the closure of companies in Brazil, which went from 1.4 million in 2021 to 1.7 million deals closed in 2022, a challenging scenario for organizations that want to survive and be relevant in the market.
To value the quality of products developed and/or sold, the company must consider the entire supply chain as an essential part of the organization and must maintain the same standard of quality and ethics. With that in mind, Sedex (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange), a global entity that promotes improvements in business practices, created SMETA, one of the most widely used ethical audit models in the world.
SMETA, suitable for companies of all sizes and sectors, has four evaluative pillars: health and safety, labor standards, environment and business ethics. The assessment carried out with the guidelines of this audit allows the company to measure its socio-environmental performance and outline strategies to improve it, even if the results are already positive.
“The numbers presented only demonstrate a perfect reflection of the current market”, evaluates Paulo Bertolini, director general of APCER Brasil, certifier of Portuguese origin with international operations. “The first step to survive the competition is to value ethical behavior, followed by other essential factors, such as innovation”, he adds.
The SMETA audit process is not certifiable, but opting for it eliminates the need for multiple certifications and brings visibility to the company, since it has international recognition.
“The image of an organization is linked to its supply chain. If, for example, there is a supplier using child labor, this crime will also be the responsibility of the contracting company!”, points out Bertolini. “When the SMETA audit is carried out by a third party, it tends to have greater credibility due to the impartiality maintained in the process”, he adds, indicating that the company should look for a certifying body to start the evaluation process.
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