Dundar Sahin is appointed as a Trainer for B.S.C.I. (Business Social Compliance Initative), F.T.A. (Foreign Trade Association), SAI (Social Accontability International) and I.T.K.I.B. (General Secretariat of Istanbul Textile & Apparel Exporters Associations) joint project.

The Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) proposes to work together with Social Accountability International Netherlands (SAI-Netherlands) and the General Secretariat of Istanbul Textile & Apparel Exporters´ Associations (ITKIB) to deepen and expand the culture and practice of CSR in Turkey, in a project designed to improve social conditions while increasing the competitiveness of Turkey’s industry, generating learning on good practice and sharing the learning and benefits of CSR locally and internationally.

Drawing on multi-stakeholder consultations, BSCI´s project will develop joint training tools and deliver intensive training to managers of factories in and around Istanbul, which supply BSCI members. BSCI has already commissioned audits in these factories and the results of these and future progress reports are being tracked in the BSCI database. The goal is to utilize focused training and technical assistance to assist and encourage participating suppliers to improve their rating within the BSCI auditing program, first for compliance with the BSCI code, then for compliance with the full SA8000 standard. Trainers will focus on two critical issues, in particular:

• how the management systems standard in SA8000 can improve the factories’ overall social performance and compliance with the codes,
• and the tools and systems most effective for monitoring and ensuring that subcontractors also maintain safe and decent working conditions.