EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT
An effective management system is the backbone that enables herders to achieve the other global principles of goat welfare, biodiversity and land use, fibre quality improvement and decent work. A management system is coordinated by the head of the herder organisation and includes the policies, processes and procedures used by herders to ensure that they can fulfil all the tasks required to meet the requirements of the SFA Cashmere Standard and the SFA Chain of Custody, and to enable continuous improvement in herding practices. The management system also plays a vital role in safeguarding the credibility of the SFA’s group assurance model, which involves auditing a selection of households from a herder organization.
Plans & Procedures
The desired outcome of this criteria is that all producers have clear strategies and protocols to safeguard their livelihoods and the welfare of their goats, and are competent and well-trained in the production of cashmere and mitigating associated sustainability and welfare risks. This is usually organised and supported through the network of Producer Organisations (Herder Organisations) that work with the SFA.
- Producers must comply with applicable law and regulations in the jurisdictions in which they operate.
- Producers must understand the requirements of the SFA Cashmere Standard.
- Producers and any contracted workers must be aware of the SFA Cashmere Standard criteria that are applicable to them.
- Steps must be taken to mitigate livelihoods and goat welfare risks.
- Producers must provide full access to the rangeland and/or operations that fall under their certification scope to the certification body or their representatives.
- Producers must provide the information required to assess the status of compliance with the SFA Cashmere Standard that fall under their certification scope to the certification body or their representatives.
- Producers must be SFA Certified at the time the SFA Certified fibre is sold.
- Producers must ensure that SFA Certified fibre is kept separate from non-certified fibre.
Continuous Improvement
The desired outcome of this criteria is for herders to develop an inclusive, efficient approach to more sustainable cashmere production through continuous improvement, with the potential to reach a large number of producers globally and enable transformational change.
- Producers must monitor performance and progress against indicators as identified in their continuous improvement plan.
- Producers must apply learning to their activities to enable progress against identified improvement indicators.
Training on Best Practices
The desired outcome of this criteria is for producers to be competent and well-trained in the production of cashmere and mitigating associated sustainability and welfare risks.
- Producers must be trained or experienced and competent in handling goats, and must possess and practice the ability, knowledge, and competence necessary to maintain the health and welfare of the herd.
- A training plan must identify the key sustainability issues to be addressed and how the training will be delivered to SFA Producers and workers.
- Training materials are available on the SFA Cashmere Standard requirements, with a focus on key sustainability issues and best practices for the local context and are disseminated to the workforce in the local language.
- The producers must participate in health and safety training in a form and language they can understand.
- Producers must monitor the level of adoption of best practices promoted through the training and evaluate the content and delivery of training materials on a regular basis to improve their effectiveness.
Data Management System
The desired outcome of this criteria is for producers to collect and report complete and accurate data and information about their activities to the SFA. Management indicators ensure that progress against fibre production criteria is monitored and assessed, and that field-level data is accurately maintained and systematically reported.
- Producers must collect and maintain accurate and complete data on their organisation/farm and its members on an annual basis or sooner if required.
- Records must be kept for a minimum of 10 years.