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Ambadi Enterprises Awarded SA 8000
Certification
On January 1, 2005 Ambadi Enterprises was the proud
recipient of the Social Accountability 8000 (SA 8000) certification
for implementing the internationally defined Human Rights Management
Systems. Ambadi Enterprises is the first company in the carpet industry
to be certified by UL, USA, and is one among only 70 companies in
India to receive this certification. The other companies are from
diverse industries like accessories, agriculture, apparel, automotives,
building materials, business services, chemicals, construction,
consulting, energy, household appliances, metals, textiles and transportation.
On January 1, 2005, around 500 units were certified for SA 8000
from 40 countries, representing 51 industry groups.
With this certification, Ambadi Enterprises has set
itself as a benchmark for other companies in the Indian carpet industry.
Broadly, the carpet industry here is unorganised and vendors run
their units with little knowledge of legal compliance relating to
human rights and issues relating to the health and safety of the
workers. Ambadi Enterprises has been successful in implementing
a rigorous discipline up to tier II of the supply chain and adhering
to values of respecting and practicing human rights requirements
as laid down in SA 8000. With globalisation comes a need to stand
out among the rest, to be globally accepted, and the team at Ambadi
Enterprises decided that the SA 8000 certification would be the
right strategic tool for its global positioning.
Underwrites Laboratories in India audited the company
for eleven days, inspecting Ambadi Enterprises' six locations. They
also audited the supply chain to check the company's efforts to
educate the suppliers for effective implementation of SA 8000.
The implementation has been well received from front
line people at vendor premises. Minimum wages of the vendors were
reviewed and brought at par with the local laws. Good health and
safety measures and a suitable working environment including providing
potable drinking water at the supplier premise, made a positive
impact on the productivity of these units. Great efforts have been
made to educate the suppliers and motivate them to comply with SA
8000 norms. This has also inspired the suppliers to invest in their
units, to upgrade to an extent that they are able to showcase their
areas to the customers of Ambadi Enterprises. This partnership will
without doubt prove to be a success.
With the SA 8000 certification, Ambadi's customers
can be confident that:
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The products supplied from the enterprise are
free from child labour |
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The Ambadi enterprise adheres to all legal requirements
relating to working hours, wage, and health and safety systems.
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The efforts for the SA certification started in
May 2003 and it was implemented in all its locations — Cannanore,
Erode, Warangal, Varanasi, Panipat and Gurgaon. All the activities
related to the implementation for certification were carried out under
the leadership and guidance of Mr. R. Eswaran, Head of Operation.
Kudos to him and the Ambadi personnel team who were involved throughout
its implementation. |
