As an international company with global supply chains, The ALDI SOUTH Group is aware of our responsibility towards the protection of human rights. The ALDI SOUTH Group is certain that long-term business success can only be ensured if human rights are acknowledged and protected. We believe that companies should be committed to respecting human rights and preventing human rights violations. Our commitment therefore encompasses our own business operations and our business relationships, as well as those indirectly caused by our actions. For more information about the protection of human rights within the ALDI SOUTH Group, please click  here. You can also view the ALDI SOUTH Group’s Human Rights Policy  here  which outlines our human rights due diligence process and future commitments.

Our Ethical Trade Programme aims to improve working conditions at sites that make Aldi products, particularly those in high-risk countries or product categories. All suppliers in the programme must be a member of a supply chain management platform, either Sedex (the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) or amfori BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative).

To show that they can meet our ethical standards and requirements, suppliers must also arrange for one of the following independent third-party ethical audits or certifications of their production sites located in a ‘high-risk’ country as defined by:

• amfori BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative)
• SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit)
• ICTI Ethical Toy Program
• SA8000 (Social Accountability International standard)
• Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) audit
• Better Work

We recognise that standards in our supply chain may not initially reach those set out in Aldi’s Social Standards in Production. In such cases, Aldi is committed to working with suppliers to achieve continuous improvement.

We expect our suppliers to take responsibility for monitoring and improving working conditions at all sites along their supply chains which are used to produce our products. We also expect them to adopt an approach to ethical trade that goes ‘beyond compliance’ and focuses on continuous improvement. However, we know from experience that third-party audits may not always provide a true picture of working conditions at a supplier site. In addition to third-party audits, we also carry out our own ethical audits and site visits through our Aldi Social Assessments.