What Does a BSCI Audit Rating Mean for a Drinkware Supplier?
Retailers and importers often ask a drinkware supplier for its amfori BSCI audit before they place an order. The result comes as a single letter, but that letter is built from 13 separate areas and decides when the next audit is due. Here is how to read it and what it does not tell you.
By Feng, Head of After-Sales Service & Online Marketing Lead
An amfori BSCI audit rating is a letter from A to E that summarises how a production site performs on social and labour standards. Auditors answer 81 questions across 13 performance areas, each area gets its own rating, and the overall rating follows set rules: for example, a C allows up to two areas rated D and none rated E. amfori uses the rating to time the next full audit: two years for A or B, one year for C or below, when a follow-up audit can also be decided. BG Drinkware, a drinkware manufacturer in Yongkang, China, had its Haohu Road site audited on 26–27 March 2026 with an overall rating of C, valid until 4 April 2027. A BSCI audit does not test products, so buyers check product quality separately, through samples, test reports and inspection.
What is an amfori BSCI audit?
It is a social audit of a production site, run under amfori BSCI, a programme of the business association amfori. An independent auditor visits the site and checks working conditions against amfori’s questions, covering social, labour, health and safety, environmental and ethical business topics. Buyers who are amfori members can see the results.
A BSCI audit belongs to the site that was audited, not to a brand name or a sales office. When a supplier sends a summary, check that the audited site, the company name and the address match the place where your drinkware will be made. See manufacturer vs trading company.
How is a BSCI audit rating worked out?
The auditor answers 81 questions with yes, no, partially or not applicable. The questions sit in 13 performance areas, and each area receives a rating from A to E. Twenty questions are marked crucial and weigh more, especially those on child labour, bonded labour and occupational health and safety. amfori does not publish its scoring algorithm.
| Overall rating | Rule for the 13 performance areas | Next full audit |
|---|---|---|
| A | At least 7 areas rated A, none rated C, D or E | Two years |
| B | Up to 3 areas rated C, none rated D or E | Two years |
| C | Up to 2 areas rated D, none rated E | One year; follow-up audit can be decided |
| D | Up to 6 areas rated E | One year; follow-up audit can be decided |
| E | Up to 7 areas rated E | One year; follow-up audit can be decided |
amfori describes A as very good and E as unacceptable, and does not publish wording for the letters in between.
What does a C rating tell a buyer?
That no performance area was rated E, and at most two were rated D. The other areas sit between A and C. Because the site is rated C, amfori times the next full audit for one year later rather than two, and a follow-up audit can be decided. The full report shows which areas need work.
The overall letter is a summary. Two C-rated sites can have different findings, so ask for the full report or the findings summary and read the areas that matter to your company’s code of conduct. A buyer that is an amfori member can look up the result on the amfori Sustainability Platform with the site’s amfori ID.
Does a BSCI audit cover product quality or safety?
No. A BSCI audit looks at how a site treats and protects its workers and runs its business, not at the drinkware it makes. Food-contact safety, insulation, coating adhesion and leak performance are checked through test reports, sample approval and production inspection, which a buyer arranges separately for each order.
Social audit
Working conditions, health and safety, business ethics.
Test reports
Food-contact and material tests on the parts you order.
Sample approval
The golden sample that bulk is checked against.
Inspection
AQL inspection of bulk before shipping.
See golden samples and AQL inspection.
What is BG Drinkware’s BSCI audit result?
BG Drinkware’s Haohu Road site in Gushan Town, Yongkang, run by Yongkang Yuanyue Industry & Trade Co. Ltd, a company in its group, received an amfori Social Audit on 26–27 March 2026. It was a full monitoring, semi-announced audit with an overall rating of C, valid until 4 April 2027.
- amfori ID: 156-053538-000 (site 156-053538-001).
- Monitoring ID: 26-0385611.
- Full report: owned by amfori, not published, and shared with buyers on request in line with amfori’s terms.
- Test reports: two food-contact reports for the 304 inner wall of tested samples are published separately.
How should a buyer check a supplier’s BSCI audit?
Match the audit to the site, then read it. Check the audited company, address and amfori ID against the factory that will make your order, confirm the audit dates and validity, and read the findings for the areas your company cares about most. Then check product quality separately, before any order is confirmed.
- Site matchCompany, address and amfori ID match the production site.
- DatesAudit dates, audit type and the validity date.
- FindingsThe full report or findings summary, not only the letter.
- Platformamfori members can look the site up on the amfori Sustainability Platform.
- Product checksTest reports, sample approval and inspection for the order.
BSCI audit FAQ
Short answers to the questions buyers ask most about amfori BSCI audits for drinkware suppliers: what the letters mean, how long an audit lasts, who can see the report and whether it replaces product testing. The answers draw on amfori’s published guidance.
Is a BSCI audit the same as a certificate?
No. An amfori BSCI audit is a monitoring audit of one site, with a rating and a date for the next audit, rather than a certificate. It shows how the site performed when it was audited. Check the audit dates and the site details, and ask for a newer audit when the next one falls due.
How long is a BSCI audit valid?
amfori uses the rating to time the next full audit: two years later for a site rated A or B, and one year later for a site rated C or below. Check the date on the audit summary. BG Drinkware’s Haohu Road audit took place on 26–27 March 2026 and is valid until 4 April 2027.
Can I see a supplier’s full BSCI audit report?
The full report belongs to amfori, so suppliers usually share it on request rather than publishing it. Buyers that are amfori members can look up the result on the amfori Sustainability Platform using the site’s amfori ID. BG Drinkware shares its full report with buyers on request, in line with amfori’s terms.
Does a good BSCI rating mean the drinkware is safe?
No. A BSCI audit covers social and labour conditions at the site, not the products. Food-contact safety and product performance are checked through test reports on the parts you order, sample approval and inspection of bulk. Ask for those separately for every new model or finish.
Sources
This guide summarises amfori’s published guidance on the BSCI audit rating and BG Drinkware’s own audit summary. Related guides: Yongkang drinkware manufacturers, manufacturing and customer cases.
Need supplier documents for your buyer?
Tell us the documents your buyer asks for, the model, destination market, quantity per colour, payment terms and trade terms.
