September 2026 Newsletter

New SA8000:2026 Transition Hub

SAI has published a dedicated transition page bringing together everything organizations, auditors, and certification bodies need as SA8000:2026 continues to roll out. Find the certification program timeline, important notifications, procedures, tools, and templates — all in one place, updated as new guidance becomes available.

Visit the SA8000:2026 Transition Page →

Have feedback on the transition tools and documents? Share it here.

Upcoming SA8000:2026 Webinars & Workshops

Get questions answered and dig into the details of SA8000:2026 with our upcoming sessions:

SA8000:2026 Q&A Webinars — free virtual sessions on the transition process, auditing, and implementation (Oct 14, Nov 9, Dec 8)
Wages and Hours Webinars — free online forums to provide attendees with an opportunity to raise questions about the intent and interpretation of SA8000:2026 policies and procedures – including the formal transition process, auditing to the Standard, and implementation of SA8000:2026 requirements within certified organizations (Oct 1, Nov 4)
Wages and Hours In-Person Workshops — in-person training in Mexico City, Delhi, Coimbatore, Venice, and Rome to provide system users with further context on the living wage benchmark hierarchy, nonconformity handling, and transitional provisions to support consistent understanding and implementation (throughout November)

See dates, times, and registration →

September Snapshot & Looking Ahead

📈 Four Dell and Cisco supplier factories in Vietnam saw dramatic improvements in PPE compliance and workplace safety after participating in the 100-day TenSquared program. Congratulations to the whole team on these outstanding results!

💻 Join Hannah Ross Crane (SAI's Associate Director of Corporate Programs) at the Better Business Bureau's Forum on Corporate Responsibility in a free webinar "People and Purpose: The Human Element in Business" tomorrow October 1 at 12:20-2:30pm ET!

Drawing on SAI's CIRCLE and TenSquared programs, she'll highlight why genuine community engagement and worker wellbeing are real opportunities to build capability and resilience into truly sustainable supply chains. Register here →

🎤 On October 20, our CIRCLE team joins a panel at AAFA's Apparel & Footwear Compliance Conference in Vietnam, "Beyond the Factory: Community Engagement as a Tool for Stronger HRDD."

The session explores how engaging workers, families, and local communities can surface labor risks earlier, strengthen remediation efforts, and support more stable, responsible production. SAI's Dr. Jia Yen Lai and Ngan Tran will join panelists from Li & Fung and The Centre for Child Rights and Business.

Anker Research Institute

The Anker Research Institute recently released:

A report on living wage for Western and Eastern Cape Provinces, South Africa for 2025 (with a focus on honey-bush producing districts). Read it here →

A working paper on living wage and minimum wage in a national context that shares lessons from selected countries in the global south. Read it here →

SAI is the institutional host for the Anker Research Institute.

Trainings

Introduction to Living Wages Online Training + Applied Learning Session

This online, on-demand training introduces key concepts of living wages and their importance for responsible business conduct. It can now be paired with a live, virtual Q&A session with SAI and Anker Research Institute experts to discuss a company’s due diligence approach related to living wages.

Working together, we will assess company needs and practical next steps to put knowledge into practice. The training and applied learning session are available in English and Spanish.

Learn More

SA8000:2026 Upgrade Training Requirement

This online, on-demand training is now available to SA8000 training certificate holders to stay current with updated requirements, terminology, and human rights due diligence principles. This training course focuses on changes from SA8000:2014 to SA8000:2026.