SAQs:
SIZA members are putting in fantastic efforts to remain up to date with their practices and getting their SAQs approved and completed every year. Let’s have a look at the 2021 year and what producers achieved:
Since 1 January 2021, a total of 1 548 Social SAQs and 878 Environmental SAQs have been sent in for review. This is an excellent achievement by SIZA members and showcases the commitment and efforts put in by these businesses throughout the year. Well done!
Implementing best practices and maintaining a commitment to achieve a greater risk percentage every year, it is great to see that 1 196 (77%) members achieved above 90% compliance for their social SAQ. This proves that members are committed to driving continuous improvement in their business every year.
As environmental compliance remains on the rise, it is wonderful to see SIZA members committed and motivated to maintain their compliance every year. 262 (30%) of the Environmental SAQs achieved above 90% compliance. As environmental compliance is still new to many producers, it is very positive to see that producers are taking up the responsibility of environmental stewardship within their businesses.
These percentages are not based on completion of the SAQ but instead means that producers are scoring higher for their compliance criteria every year by implementing better practices and driving continuous improvement.
SIZA CARES Site Visits:
In preparation of Environmental third-party audits, SIZA would like to congratulate all members who successfully completed their SIZA CARES site visits during another challenging year. As environmental sustainability is becoming a global focus for all sectors within the industry, a total of 85 site visits have taken place over the course of 2021. During these site visits, a total of 578 improvements were identified of which 502 have been closed out with great success, with 76 improvements still within their given timelines to complete. This shows that SIZA members are committed to driving continuous improvement and environmental sustainability across the industry. Very well done to all who participated in the SIZA CARES programme.
SIZA Third-Party Audits:
SIZA Social Audits:
A total of 701 ethical audits took place over the course of 2021, which shows that farms and packhouses in South Africa are committed to driving continuous improvement and best practices across the industry. Out of this pool of audits, more than 51% of audits resulted in Platinum status which is the highest risk rating that members can achieve. A further 25% achieved a Gold status which is the second highest tier that can be achieved. This results in more than 76% of the total social audits achieving the highest risk ratings! This is very well done by the South African agricultural industry.
As we all know, conducting the audit is only one part of the process. The most important part of an audit is ensuring that the non-compliances are adequately corrected by implementing adequate and acceptable corrective actions. During 2021, a total of 5 584 non-compliances were raised during social audits. 4 743 (85%) of these non-compliances have already been closed and resolved in full! The remaining 841 (15%) is in the process of implementing adequate corrective action. This means that 4 743 corrections have been made on farms where the South African growers strive to drive continuous improvement. Well Done!
SIZA Environmental Audits:
As environmental sustainability and the request for audits continue to grow, SIZA has seen an increase of audits taking place during the course of 2021 with a total of 23 Environmental audits being conducted on farms and packhouses in various provinces in South Africa. A fantastic achievement to see is that 78% of these audits resulted in Platinum status. A further 13% achieved a Gold risk rating which is the second highest tier that can be achieved, resulting in more than 91% of the total environmental audits achieving the highest risk ratings! This is very well done by agri-businesses seeing that environmental requirements are still new, and this is the first time many businesses are being measured against these standards.
During 2021, a total of 80 non-compliances were raised in environmental audits. A total of 71 (89%) of these non-compliances have already been closed and resolved successfully, leaving the remaining 9 (11%) still in the process of completing the corrective actions.
SIZA Digital Recordkeeping:
With a vision of enabling South African agriculture to be a global leader in ensuring sustainable, ethical trade and environmental stewardship, SIZA went live with the first phase of its Digital Recordkeeping Tool Programme at the end of September 2021. As recordkeeping and target setting form the foundation of continuous improvement, a total of 58 members, which consists of more than 100 sites already signed up for the SIZA Digital Recordkeeping programme and is actively busy calculating their production inputs. This is very well done, as its shows that our members are not only committed to driving environmental sustainability, but also to improve on the efficiency of their practices.
