Social compliance audits on a website: amfori BSCI, SMETA, WRAP.
A social compliance audit usually cannot be shown on a website as a certificate, because the two most common programs, amfori BSCI and Sedex’s SMETA, are not certifications. In both, the report is confidential, and use of the program’s name and logo requires permission. WRAP, by contrast, gives the facility an annual certificate. What can be written on the site is as much as each program’s own rules allow.
Is a social compliance audit a certificate?
It depends on the program. amfori BSCI’s own help page says plainly that it is not a certification; the result is an audit rating from A to E. According to Sedex, neither Sedex membership nor a SMETA audit is a certification; nor is there a pass or fail verdict. WRAP, on the other hand, gives a certificate to the facility that passes the audit. So the honest answer to a buyer’s question “do you have a social compliance certificate?” is often “we have an audit report”.
The buyer often looks for this information before a sales conversation. In Gartner’s survey of 646 B2B buyers in fall 2025, 67% of buyers prefer a rep-free buying experience. Nielsen Norman Group’s older (2006) observation points the same way: visitors first weigh a company by its website. The social compliance question is a routine part of supplier questionnaires; if the site has no answer, the question turns into an email and the email into a delay.
| Program | Certification? | Result | Name and logo | How does the buyer verify? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| amfori BSCI | No | A–E audit rating; full audit within two years at the latest for A and B, follow-up within 2–12 months for C, D, E | Requires prior written permission | Full report confidential; seen only by amfori members and the audited supplier |
| SMETA (Sedex) | No | No pass/fail; current version SMETA 7 (2024) | May not be displayed without a contract or written approval | Report; the buyer asks the supplier for it |
| WRAP | Yes: annual “Certification of Compliance” | Per facility; no levels since March 1, 2026 | “Certified Facility” logo only while the certificate is valid | WRAP’s facility map: WRAP ID, status, validity |
What the three social compliance programs are on a website
- 01amfori BSCI
- 02SMETA (Sedex)
- 03WRAP
- ACertification?
- BName and logo: with permission or conditions
- CPublic verification route
How is an amfori BSCI result written on the site?
With permission first. amfori’s terms and conditions make use of the name and logo subject to prior written permission. Members are known to be able to give their suppliers a conditional license, but the conditions of this license are not public; so we do not propose a template here as if there were a rule. What to do: ask the amfori member customer who had you audited for the license and its conditions in writing, and build the sentence you will write on the site according to those conditions.
Even with permission, two things do not change. First, the result is not a certification; “BSCI certified” or “BSCI certificate” is not written. Second, the rating has a time limit: at ratings A and B the full audit is renewed within two years at the latest, and at ratings C, D and E a follow-up audit comes within 2 to 12 months. If a rating is written on the site, it is written with the audit date and updated at the next audit.
How is a SMETA audit referred to?
As an audit, not a certificate. Sedex asks to be notified of anyone selling “SMETA certification”; so writing “SMETA certified” on the site is a phrase the program’s owner explicitly considers wrong. Under Sedex’s terms and conditions, the “Sedex” and “SMETA” trademarks may not be displayed without a contract or written approval. Detailed rules on logo size and placement are in the material Sedex gives its members; since we have not opened that material, we do not write them here.
The current version is SMETA 7 (2024). If an audit is mentioned on the site, the version it was carried out under and its date are written; the result is not presented as a grade or rating, because the program has no such result.
What is a WRAP certificate, and how is it shown?
WRAP gives the facility that passes the audit an annual “Certification of Compliance”. Since March 1, 2026, two-year Platinum certificates are no longer issued and the Gold and Platinum levels have been removed; existing Platinum certificates remain valid until their own expiry dates. The certificate is given to the facility, not the company: each facility of a manufacturer with two facilities gets a separate certificate, and the site states which facility is certified.
The logo rule is tied to dates: the “Certified Facility” logo may be used on the website, business cards and social media only while the certificate is valid; the phrase used on the product is “Made in a Certified Facility”. If the certificate is not renewed, the logo should come off the site the same day. Writing a pre-2026 level name (“WRAP Gold”) on the site as if it were a new certificate is now outdated information too.
In contract manufacturing, the same rule works in reverse: because the certificate is given to the facility, the WRAP certificate at your contract manufacturer’s facility is not your certificate. If the site mentions the contract facility’s certificate, it states clearly whose facility it is.
Why is the word “certified” risky?
Because two of the programs have no certificate, and in business-to-business sales a false certificate claim falls under the unfair competition provision of the Turkish Commercial Code: a false or misleading statement about one’s own business. Sedex’s request to be notified of those selling “SMETA certification” shows that the program’s owner also sees this phrase as a problem. The broader list is in the corporate website mistakes guide.
- Wrong: “We have a BSCI certificate.” Right: the audit’s name, date and (if permitted) rating.
- Wrong: “SMETA certified facility.” Right: “SMETA 7 audit, date.”
- Wrong: “WRAP Gold certified.” Right: the valid annual certificate, for which facility and until when.
How does the buyer verify an audit result?
WRAP has a public route: WRAP’s facility map shows the facility’s WRAP ID, status and validity date. In amfori BSCI, the full report is confidential; only amfori members and the audited supplier see it, so a buyer who is not a member asks you for the report. In SMETA, too, the result is a report; the buyer asks you for it. That is why stating the verification route clearly on the site helps: for WRAP the ID number, for the other two the sentence “report shared on request” and a contact route.
Where does audit information belong on the site?
Next to the certificate record but under a separate heading: “Audits”, not “Certificates”. Separating the two lists lets the buyer see at first glance what is a certificate and what is a report, and keeps the word “certificate” from spilling over to audits. Each audit line carries the same fields:
- The program’s name and version (after permission is obtained, if required)
- The audited facility and its address
- Audit date and the expected period of the next audit
- Form of the result: rating, report or certificate
- Verification route: ID number, or “report on request” and contact
These lines correspond to questions the buyer already asks in the supplier questionnaire; which part of the questionnaire can be answered on the site is covered in the supplier assessment questionnaire guide.
How to test it: search your site for every place the words “certificate”, “certified” and “certification” appear, and write the program’s name next to each. If the program is amfori BSCI or SMETA, the word comes out of there. If it is WRAP, look at the certificate’s expiry date.
Program rules can change; WRAP’s 2026 change is an example. The information here is not legal advice; verify the phrase you will write on the site against the program’s current text and, if necessary, with a lawyer.
Let’s go through the audit and certificate phrases on your site program by program, and write down which stay and which change.
For a site that shows your certificates as a record buyers can verify, B2B website builds and measures the certificate page, the product scope and the path to a quote together.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is there such a thing as a BSCI certificate?
No. amfori BSCI is an audit program; its result is a rating from A to E, and the full report is confidential. “BSCI certificate” is not written on the site.
Can I publish my SMETA report on the site?
Sedex’s trademarks may not be displayed without a contract or written approval. Before publishing the report, ask about the audit arrangement and Sedex’s approval; in most cases the right route is to say “report shared on request”.
My WRAP certificate has expired; what happens to the site?
The “Certified Facility” logo may be used only while the certificate is valid. Until the certificate is renewed, the logo and the certificate claim come off the site.