500+
Audits supported
40+
Countries covered
£885
Starting price
Whether it’s Dunelm, TP or another major retailer, SMETA is now the standard proof of ethical compliance. Verisio ensures your site is prepared, your documentation is right, and your audit goes smoothly.
SMETA assesses your site against the ETI Base Code and relevant local law, covering Labour Standards, Health & Safety, Business Ethics, and Environment. Results are shared via the Sedex platform and can be used with multiple buyers, reducing audit duplication and cost.
Labour Standards
Working hours, wages, child and forced labour, freedom of association, discrimination
Health & Safety
Workplace conditions, worker protection, emergency procedures, and H&S; policies
Environment
Waste, energy use, environmental compliance, and legal obligations
Business Ethics
Anti-bribery, transparency, grievance mechanisms, and integrity policies
The right choice depends on your buyers, your industry, and your regulatory obligations. We’ll help you determine which is right for you.
Labour Standards + Health & Safety
Most commonly used audit
Suitable for most buyer requirements
Typically 1–4 days on-site, depending on the number of workers.
Most audit providers show up on the day. Verisio works with you before, during, and after, so there are no surprises.
Free discovery call
We assess your site’s readiness, confirm your audit scope, and outline exactly what’s involved – no obligation.
Pre-audit preparation
Documentation guidance and we discuss the scope of the audit in detail. The auditor will say which manager needs to be available, the scope of the audit and the audit plan.
On-site SMETA audit
Conducted by qualified auditors using the full SMETA 7.0 methodology – document review, worker interviews, and site walkthrough.
Corrective Action Plan & report
A structured post-audit improvement plan addressing findings, with clear steps to demonstrate ongoing compliance to your buyers. Report shared via Sedex platform.
Commercial pressure from buyers is combining with regulatory requirements to make SMETA audits a practical necessity across global supply chains.
Requires supply chain transparency and risk management
Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence — requires supplier audits for larger companies
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive mandates supply chain due diligence
Supply chain act requires documented supplier due diligence
Talk to a SMETA audit specialist. We’ll assess your site’s readiness, confirm your audit scope, and walk you through pricing and timelines – no sales pressure.
“Verisio’s proactive, solution-focused approach has helped us drive higher supplier standards, overcome challenges, and expand the impact of our ethical programme.”
“Verisio is an essential partner for N Brown in managing our supply chain. Support from the team is invaluable, and their expertise is always close by. Chasers and risk-grading are all customised to our company’s needs, ensuring we have the exact processes we want. We would recommend Verisio for any company that needs support with its supply chain management.”
“We initially approached Verisio to support us with developing a particular audit process that met the requirements of one of our key customers. From the start, the Verisio team acted professionally and promptly and fully accommodated the constraints we were working with. From vague concepts, Verisio helped develop an audit process that added value by identifying risk within our supply chain instead of being a meaningless tick box exercise. The subsequent audits were arranged smoothly and Verisio went out of their way to support the tight timescales we required.”
“Verisio is a valued partner to our Group, bringing independent, expert oversight to our supplier Online Risk Assessments and effectively managing our ethical and technical factory audits. The Optimus system allows us to manage all of our assessment data, supporting evidence and corrective action plans – keeping an audit trail for all activity. The Verisio team is great to work with, very reliable and, importantly, always looking for ways to improve the services that they offer.”
SMETA stands for Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit. It is one of the most widely used social compliance audit methodologies in the world, developed by Sedex (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange). A SMETA audit assesses a supplier’s site against the ETI Base Code and relevant local law, covering labour standards, health and safety, environment and business ethics. Over 60,000 SMETA audits are conducted globally each year, and the results can be shared with multiple buyers through the Sedex platform, reducing audit duplication for suppliers.
A SMETA audit typically takes 1–4 days on-site, depending on the size of your facility and the number of workers. The audit report is then available on the Sedex platform within a few days of the site visit. We guide you through the full pre-audit preparation process in the weeks beforehand, so audit day runs efficiently.
Verisio’s SMETA audit service starts from £885, based on a 1-day audit plus professional fees and expenses. Final pricing depends on the location of your site, the number of workers, and the overall scope. Book a free discovery call and we’ll provide a clear quote based on your specific requirements.
A SMETA audit report is valid for 24 months from the date of issue. Some buyers require audits annually, though some higher-risk supply chain relationships may require more frequent assessments. It’s good practice to begin the preparation and booking process 3–4 months before your existing audit expires to avoid any compliance gaps.
Start with a discovery call with Verisio. We’ll confirm the audit scope your buyer requires, ensure your site has the right Sedex membership in place, guide you through the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), identify any documentation gaps in advance, and assign a qualified auditor. We handle the complexity so you can focus on running your site.
Yes, this is one of SMETA’s key advantages. Because results are shared through the Sedex platform, a single audit report can be shared with multiple buyers simultaneously, significantly reducing audit fatigue and duplication. This makes SMETA particularly cost-effective for suppliers working with several major retailers at once.
Non-conformances are a normal part of the audit process — they don’t automatically mean a failed result. You’ll receive a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) that details each finding and the steps required to address it. Verisio supports you through the CAP process, helping you prioritise actions and demonstrate improvement to your buyers. Many non-conformances can be resolved within weeks with the right guidance.
SMETA itself is not mandated by law, but it is widely accepted as a way to demonstrate compliance with legislation that is. The UK Modern Slavery Act, EU CSRD, EU CSDDD, and the German LkSG all require businesses to evidence supply chain due diligence. SMETA is one of the most recognised frameworks for doing so. In practice, most major retailers now require SMETA as a contractual condition of doing business.