The PSCI is pleased to announce the publication of its updated Principles. The Principles underpin the work of PSCI, and form the basis of our mission. As such, we encourage all members, suppliers, and auditors to ensure they understand and are familiar with them.

The Principles have been in place, in their original form, since they were agreed by PSCI’s founding members in 2006. They were updated for the first time in December 2019. As part of our three-year periodic review, the PSCI has spent the last year in consultation with members, suppliers, partners, advisory panellists, and external stakeholders to refresh our foundational document.

Following this consultative process, all members were invited to vote to approve the new version of the Principles, which was formally adopted at the PSCI Spring Meeting on 23 May 2023.

The refreshed Principles take effect for members immediately. To ensure proper implementation, all members are now invited to start reflecting the changes in their policies, codes, processes, and practices. The first check-in will take place during the annual member calls in March 2024. All PSCI member companies are expected to have integrated the revised PSCI Principles by November 2024.

Significant changes to the Principles are:

• ‘Governance and Management Systems’ is now the first Principle, reflecting its foundational nature and impacting the other four sections (Ethics, Human Rights, Health & Safety, and Environment)
• Broader scope of the human rights section, now covering the rights of local communities and the commitment to conduct regular human rights risk assessments
• New clauses on establishing a culture of responsible practices, providing remediation, setting up grievance mechanisms, protecting products and quality, upholding the right to collection bargaining, supporting the wellbeing of workers, and conserving biodiversity
• Strengthened clauses on resource efficiency and climate change (covering suppliers' scope 3 emissions)

As ever, the Principles are made available freely and publicly to anyone with an interest in responsible supply chains for our sector. To view the Principles, visit them in our Resources library.

Any comments to the refreshed Principles, or their implementation, should be submitted to the Secretariat.