Latest Better Buying data shows reducing duplicative audits now a cornerstone of good purchasing practices
The Better Buying Purchasing Practices Index (BBPPI) 2025 shows increasing numbers of brands now accept existing audits, including a growing percentage that are accepting SLCP assessments. While this is a positive step towards better buying behavior, there is further work to do to reduce the audit burden on suppliers.
Cascale’s 2025 BBPPI results are in, and – for the fifth year in a row – the percentage of buyers accepting existing audits from their suppliers has increased, with a huge 92.5% of suppliers who were asked reported that their buyers accept existing audits. Increasing acceptance of SLCP assessments is driving this trend; reported by 41.5% of suppliers in 2025, this figure has doubled since the survey first began tracking SLCP acceptance in 2021.
With over 85% of suppliers surveyed reporting that their buyers request an audit or verification of some kind, broad social and labor assessments remain one of the principal tools used by brands to identify, track and monitor risks to human rights in their supply chains. Fortunately, the growing acceptance of existing assessments such as SLCP reduces the burden of redundant and repetitive audits on suppliers. This year’s BBPPI data shows 65.9% of suppliers whose buyers accepted SLCP reported reduced staff time devoted to auditing, and 53% experienced savings on audit expenses.
The BBPPI results also clearly demonstrate that reducing repetitive audits supports efforts to create lasting improvements to working conditions. Of the suppliers who saved money due to their buyers accepting SLCP, 76.9% reported using the savings made on investments in the workplace, while 70.1% offered new programs or services to workers, and 22.2% reinvested the savings directly into higher wages.
While the overall trend towards audit convergence is promising, feedback from manufacturers to SLCP underlines the cost of audit fragmentation for suppliers – yet another reason why brands should replace their proprietary audits with SLCP; even a single buyer refusing to accept an existing audit can double the time and resource spend on auditing.
SLCP and Cascale urge all buyers to join over 100 leading brands already on SLCP’s public acceptance list who are driving change in working conditions by reducing audit fatigue.
For more information about how to subscribe with Cascale’s BBPPI for 2026, see here.
Quote attributed to Steve Harris, COO, Social & Labor Convergence Program:
“It’s fantastic to see the BBPPI results emphasizing the important impact of audit harmonization. We need more and more brands accepting SLCP and dropping their proprietary audits so we can continue to see the benefits of convergence for manufacturers. At the end of the day, we want more manufacturers to be experiencing savings from adopting SLCP and to be able to redirect those savings into improvements in working conditions. This only works if brands play their part.”
Quote attributed to Nikhil Hirdaramani, Director of the Hirdaramani Group:
“For manufacturers, multiple, redundant audits are a waste of our resources. Being able to complete an assessment with programs like SLCP means that one assessment can serve many purposes, and this frees up time and money to be spent on improving working conditions. Buyers are clearly beginning to understand how valuable this is for manufacturers – and how it makes it so much more realistic to make meaningful improvements for workers.”
Quote attributed to Jeremy Lardeau, Senior Vice President of Higg Index, Cascale:
"It's encouraging to see the steady, year-over-year progress being made on audit harmonization among the buyer companies participating in the Better Buying rating cycle. But we need to do more. Audit harmonization is a critical purchasing practice, with duplication and fragmented frameworks acting as a drag on industry efforts to improve labor conditions, and reduce pressure on suppliers. With Better Buying now part of Cascale, enhancing and deepening the industry data collected via the Higg Index tools, we have an opportunity to scale up data-driven action, via a unified, whole-industry approach which brings all buyer companies on board."
