AVE SECTOR MODEL FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (1999)

The Sector Model for Social Responsibility of the Foreign Trade Association of the German Retail Trade [Außenhandelsvereinigung des deutschen Einzelhandels, AVE] is based on the “AVE Declaration Concerning a Code of Conduct for the Procurement of Goods to Ensure the Protection of Social Standards,” which was issued in 1999. This model was established as a public-private partnership (PPP) within the framework of the program for development partnerships with the business community run by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development [Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, BMZ]. In this declaration the AVE member companies agreed to make the ILO labor standards an essential component of the terms and conditions of business with their suppliers. The aim was to ensure acceptable working conditions in suppliers’ production facilities, particularly in developing and emerging economies.

 The AVE Sector Model for Social Responsibility is a joint monitoring system of the German (and Dutch) retail trade aimed at implementing and/or improving social standards in production facilities all over the world.
Over the medium term, the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) will replace the AVE Sector Model in all of Europe.