Sustentar Project Comes to a Close  

Our Sustentar project (funded by USDOL) began in May 2022, focusing on reducing child labor and forced labor in Mexico's chile pepper and tomato sectors and implementing a holistic methodology to address labor challenges both inside and outside of the workplace.

As Sustentar comes to an early close, we are proud to reflect on the project’s impact, made possible by the dedicated efforts of the project team and many stakeholders committed to improving the lives of workers in Mexico.



• 29 companies worked with Sustentar to complete baseline assessments of their Social Compliance Systems, develop improvement plans, and establish Social Performance Teams.
• 1,837 private sector stakeholders and workers were trained on child labor, forced labor, and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
• 11 Community Circles were formed in worker communities, in which 222 members were trained on social compliance and remediation.
• The Sustentar team kicked off an awareness-raising campaign with a radio announcement about child labor on a local station in Baja California, reaching nearly 30,000 listeners.

TenSquared Expands to Vietnam

SAI recently expanded its unique accelerated change program, TenSquared, to Vietnam with four suppliers of Dell & Cisco. TenSquared addresses workplace challenges through an innovative methodology that brings workers and managers together to collaboratively identify and address the root causes within 100 days.

All four factories in Vietnam completed their ambitious goals within the 100-day program, addressing issues in fire safety, hazardous chemical control, enhanced PPE standards, and overall safety compliance. Read more.

Social Compliance System Handbook and Toolkits for Palm Oil Companies in Latin America

From 2019 to 2024, Palma Futuro (funded by USDOL) aimed 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 large-scale plantations, to thousands of smallholder farms—and disseminate best practices to other palm oil-producing countries.

The project compiled lessons learned and good practices into a handbook and three toolkits, available in English and Spanish, to support widespread labor performance improvement and strengthen Social Compliance Systems in the Latin American palm oil industry. These resources are now available on the SAI website.

Remembering Dorianne Beyer

We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of our long-time colleague and friend, Dorianne Beyer. As a founding member of SAI’s Advisory Board, Dorianne was integral to the early development of SAI and the initial publication of the SA8000 Standard, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. Outside of SAI, she was a dedicated attorney and fierce advocate for labor rights, working as a national and international labor standards lawyer, author, trainer, and lecturer for over 30 years. 

So many of us were lucky to be great friends with Dorianne and will miss her wit, warmth, and energy. Read more about Dorianne's lasting impact.