Among the many ways Dole demonstrates its commitment to corporate social responsibility is its membership on the advisory board of Social Accountability International (SAI). SAI is the New York-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that created SA 8000, a social accountability standard.
Dole has adopted the SA 8000 certification process due to its efficient measurement of companies' commitment to social accountability and due to Dole's commitment to continuously improve in this area.
SA 8000 is a global certification system that assesses, monitors and influences the social accountability of companies seeking certification as well as their suppliers. The standard focuses on nine essential areas:
- Child Labor
- Forced Labor
- Health and Safety
- Freedom of Association
- Discrimination
- Disciplinary Practices
- Working Hours
- Remuneration
- Effective management implementation and review of continued SA 8000 compliance
With independent certification of recognized standards and regular audits conducted by third-party experts, SA 8000 helps companies ensure that their activities adhere to a set of enforceable management standards.
SA 8000 is currently used by businesses and governments around the world and is broadly recognized by trade unions and NGOs as one of the strictest workplace standards. Compliance with SA 8000 promotes management systems that upgrade working conditions. Retailers, brand companies and other employers around the world with annual sales representing over US $100 billion are currently using SA 8000.
This standard, established in 1997 by SAI, was initially limited to the toy, clothing and footwear industries. In 1998, Dole started working closely with SAI to adapt SA 8000 to agriculture through various pilot audits in Dole operations.
Dole-SA 8000 Facts:
- In 2007, Dole in Colombia became SA 8000 certified
- In 2006, Dole Thailand's main cannery was the first food company in Thailand to be SA 8000 certified
- In 2005, all of Dole's Company-owned banana and pineapple farms located in Costa Rica were certified to SA 8000
- In 2004, all Stanfilco-managed farms in the Philippines became SA 8000 certified
- In February 2001, Stanfilco, one of Dole's subsidiaries in the Philippines, became the first banana division in the world to be certified
- In March 2001, Dolefil, another Dole subsidiary in the Philippines, had both of its canneries, and farm operations certified
- In 2000, a then-owned Dole subsidiary's production center in Spain became the first agricultural operation in the world to be SA 8000 certified
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