Social Accountability International (SAI)

What Social Accountability International (SAI) does

Social Accountability International (SAI) is a US-based 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City. It develops and operates the SA8000 Standard, the world's first auditable social certification for decent workplaces, alongside a portfolio of complementary products including Social Fingerprint (a 10-category social performance measurement system), TenSquared (a 100-day accelerated workplace change methodology co-developed with Rapid Results Institute and The Walt Disney Company), and the International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS, co-developed with the International Organization for Migration). The organization also operates Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS), which accredits the 32 certification bodies globally authorized to issue SA8000 certifications, with only SAAS-accredited bodies able to award valid certifications.

The technology platform is built around management-systems auditing rather than AI — the SA8000 framework (most recently revised to SA8000:2026, published January 2026) uses a continual-improvement model grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ILO conventions, and national laws, supported by a publicly searchable SA8000 certification database. Customer-facing programs include Corporate Programs (consulting for brands and suppliers), Training Programs (SA8000 auditor and consultant training delivered in 15+ countries and online), and the Social Accountability Consultant Registry (operated with HAP International). Programs extend into adjacent verticals such as palm oil (Palma Futuro, MY Voice Project), agricultural supply chains in Mexico (Sustentar), and waste recycling (iWrc), while partnerships span USAID, U.S. Department of Labor, UN Women, IOM, and ISEAL Alliance.

SAI serves two primary commercial segments — brands and retailers seeking supply chain social accountability, and manufacturing suppliers pursuing SA8000 certification — plus secondary segments of governments, trade unions, international organizations, and NGOs. Revenue is generated across multiple streams: training and capacity building (course fees of $1,050-$2,250 USD), SAAS accreditation fees from certification bodies, corporate consulting engagements, consultant registry fees ($250 application + $150 annual), and verification/database services. Scale indicators include 5,761 certified facilities across 49 countries and 71 industries, protection of over 3 million workers, and training of more than 50,000 professionals globally.

Name

Social Accountability International (SAI)

Legal name

Social Accountability International

Website

https://sa-intl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Social Accountability International (SAI) is a global nonprofit that develops and operates the SA8000 social certification standard for workplaces. It serves brands, manufacturers, governments, and NGOs across 49+ countries through certification, training, accreditation, and supply chain consulting programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Compliance Certification Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

International Standards Development & Standardization Bodies (BPADANAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Standards, Metrology & Accreditation Bodies (BPAIAOAC), Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ), International Standards, Norms & Technical Regulatory Bodies (BPADAAAJ)

Keywords

• Social compliance certification
• Workplace human rights
• Supply chain auditing
• Auditor training services
• Accreditation body services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Training and Capacity Building Services: SAI offers SA8000 Basic and Advanced Auditor Training, Consultant Training, IRIS Auditor Training, and specialized courses. Training is delivered in-person globally and online. Revenue generated through course fees ranging from $1,050 to $2,250 USD depending on location and course type.
2. SAAS Accreditation Services: Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS) provides accreditation for certification bodies to perform SA8000 audits. Revenue from accreditation fees for conformity assessment bodies seeking SA8000 certification authority.
3. Corporate Consulting Programs: Custom consulting engagements helping companies measure and improve working conditions in supply chains. Services include Social Fingerprint evaluations, supplier management training, and multi-stakeholder panels for corporate clients.
4. Consultant Registry: Registry program bringing transparency to social accountability consulting. Application fee of $250 USD plus $150 annual fee, plus $750 for consultant training course.
5. SA8000 Certification Verification: Public database providing verification of SA8000 certified organizations. Maintains official list of certified organizations updated continuously.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Social Accountability International develops and operates social certification standards, audit accreditation, and supply-chain human rights programs built around its flagship SA8000 Standard. It sells training, corporate consulting, accreditation, and measurement services (Social Fingerprint, TenSquared) to brands, retailers, manufacturers, governments, and certification bodies across 49 countries.

Product overview

Social Accountability International (SAI) offers a multi-product portfolio centered around its flagship SA8000® Standard certification program for social accountability. The organization provides a platform of interconnected programs including Social Fingerprint® for measuring social performance, TenSquared for 100-day workplace improvement initiatives, and Audit Assurance through SAAS (Social Accountability Accreditation Services) for certifying and overseeing conformity assessment bodies. Additional offerings include Training Programs (SA8000 auditor training, consultant training), the International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS), Living Wage initiatives, Corporate Programs for supply chain improvement, and a Social Accountability Consultant Registry. These products work together to advance human rights at work through standards, measurement tools, training, and capacity building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Social Fingerprint: A measurement tool that evaluates and maps a company's preparedness to manage a socially responsible workplace or supply chain, measuring social performance.
• TenSquared
• SAAS (Social Accountability Accreditation Services)

Products and services

• SA8000 Standard The world's leading social certification program providing a framework for organizations of all types, in any industry, and in any country to conduct business in a fair and decent manner for workers, demonstrating adherence to the highest social standards.
• Social Fingerprint A measurement tool that evaluates and maps a company's preparedness to manage a socially responsible workplace or supply chain, providing a rating system based on 10 categories to help companies implement management systems for social performance improvement.
• TenSquared A structured, 100-day accelerated change program that unites workers and managers to collaboratively address root causes of workplace issues, measurably improve specific challenges, and foster a culture of continual, sustainable improvement.
• Corporate Programs Consulting and capacity building services helping companies measure and improve working conditions in supply chains, taking human rights commitments from idea to reality with measurable, sustainable impact.
• Audit Assurance (SAAS) Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS) provides assurance services ensuring quality and consistency in social certification programs, accrediting certification bodies to perform SA8000 audits and other social accountability certifications.
• Training Programs Wide range of training and capacity building services including SA8000 Auditor Training (Basic and Advanced), Living Wage Training, IRIS Ethical Recruitment Auditor Training, and Social Accountability Consultant courses benefiting over 50,000 professionals.
• International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS) A social compliance scheme designed to promote ethical international recruitment, defining standards and auditing for ethical recruitment practices across supply chains.
• Social Accountability Consultant Registry A registry bringing transparency and professionalism to social accountability consulting, training, and capacity building activities with publicly verified consultants meeting baseline requirements.
• Living Wage Program Program advancing decent wages and work toward a living wage as a core principle for decent work, working across all SAI programs to promote wage improvements and decent work practices.
• Palma Futuro Program aiming to build up robust social performance systems that improve conditions for workers at every level of the palm oil supply chain in Colombia and Ecuador, from industrial processing plants to smallholder farms.
• MY Voice Project Project to combat forced labor and child labor in the production of goods in Malaysia's palm oil and garment industries.
• Sustentar Project to build and strengthen sustainability systems in the tomato and chile sectors in Mexico, enabling good labor practices through strong management systems supported by worker voice and community engagement.
• FairCapacity Program Program reducing labor risks through better production planning and transparency, improving capacity measurement and forecasting practices to reflect true costs of production.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of TenSquared teams achieve ambitious goals within 100 days
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered featured and core.

• ISEAL AlliancefeaturedStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009SAAS became a full member of ISEAL in 2009, demonstrating leadership in the field of international social and environmental accreditation. Due to structural changes in 2018, SAAS no longer maintains its own membership in ISEAL.
• Rapid Results InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to create TenSquared methodology - a structured, 100-day accelerated change program uniting workers and managers to address workplace challenges collaboratively. The partnership combined SAI's social accountability expertise with Rapid Results Institute's results-based methodology.
• The Walt Disney CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-created TenSquared program with SAI and Rapid Results Institute. Disney's involvement as a major brand provided real-world application context and credibility for the program.
• International Organization for Migration (IOM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIOM collaborated with SAI and consortium partners to create IRIS (International Recruitment Integrity System) - a social compliance scheme designed to promote ethical international recruitment.
• HAP InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership between SAI and HAP to operate the Social Accountability Consultant Registry, bringing transparency and professionalism to social accountability consulting, training, and capacity building activities.
• UN WomenfeaturedStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UN Women Egypt to develop the Gender Equity Seal - an auditable standard and certification system leveraging SAI's extensive experience in management systems approaches.
• USAIDfeaturedStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSAID Environmental and Labor Excellence (ELE) Program for CAFTA-DR region working to build ethical market access for producers through labor and environmental standards compliance in Costa Rica and Dominican Republic.
• U.S. Department of LaborfeaturedStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed FUNDPADEM in Comply & Win project to strengthen labor inspections in Central America and Dominican Republic, providing tools and training to build capacity among labor ministries.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fair Trade USA: US-based fair trade certification body for labor and ethical sourcing across agricultural and consumer goods supply chains. Directly comparable to SAI as a third-party social certification organization targeting enterprise buyers and global supply chains.
• Fairtrade International (FLO-CERT): Global fair trade standards body and certifier (with FLO-CERT as the certification arm). Closest peer to SAI/SAAS in terms of international multi-stakeholder governance, auditable social standard, and global producer/buyer network.
• amfori BSCI: amfori's Business Social Compliance Initiative is a supply-chain social compliance system widely used by European retailers. Directly comparable to SA8000 as a leading social auditing and improvement scheme targeting manufacturers in global supply chains.
• Sedex: Supplier ethical data exchange platform (SMETA audits) used by 70,000+ buyers and suppliers. Comparable to SAI as a primary social-compliance platform for global supply chains, with a more technology/data-driven model versus SAI's standards-and-certification model.
• Responsible Business Alliance (RBA): Industry coalition (formerly EICC) governing the Code of Conduct and VAP audits for electronics and adjacent supply chains. Directly comparable to SAI as a multi-stakeholder social standards and audit framework serving large enterprise members and their suppliers.

Broad incumbents

• Rainforest Alliance: International sustainability certification covering agricultural supply chains with explicit social criteria. Comparable as a multi-stakeholder certification NGO, broader in environmental scope but overlapping significantly with SAI on labor-rights and supply-chain social compliance.

Emerging players

• EcoVadis: SaaS sustainability ratings platform scoring suppliers across labor, ethics, environment, and procurement. Comparable to SAI on the social/supply-chain dimension but differentiated by a continuous, data-driven ratings model rather than SAI's certification-and-audit approach.
• B Lab (B Corporation): Certifies companies against social and environmental performance standards via the B Impact Assessment. Comparable to SAI as a multi-stakeholder social certification with broad enterprise uptake, though focused on whole-company certification rather than workplace/supply-chain audits.

Others

• Verité: Research, consulting, and field-based labor-rights investigation organization operating across global supply chains. Adjacent peer to SAI — overlapping on forced-labor research and supplier assessments, but operating as a service/insight provider rather than a standards body.
• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): Global multi-stakeholder standards and certification body with social criteria alongside environmental ones. Structurally comparable to SAI/SAAS as an international standards and accreditation ecosystem, though focused on forestry rather than workplaces.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/social-accountability-international
• Xx.com/SA_INTL
• Facebookfacebook.com/SocialAccountabilityInternational

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Social Accountability International (SAI)