SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) is an audit methodology for assessing labour, health and safety, environmental and business ethics practices at a worksite. It is built on the ETI Base Code and local law, and reports are shared with customers through the Sedex platform, which reduces duplicate audits across multiple buyers.
SMETA is not a certification scheme: the audit produces a report with findings and corrective actions, not a certificate. Audits are conducted in 2-Pillar format (Labour; Health & Safety) or 4-Pillar format (adding Environment and Business Ethics). Many UK and European retailers and brands request a recent SMETA audit during supplier approval, including for food processing sites.
