What is the SAQ?

The SAQ is a comprehensive risk assessment tool designed for facilities to self-assess their compliance with the RBA Code of Conduct. The SAQ covers various aspects of responsible business practices, including labor, health and safety, environmental, ethics, and management systems. It is intended to help facilities identify areas of improvement and develop action plans to address any issues found. 

The SAQ serves multiple purposes:

Self-Assessment: It allows facilities to evaluate their practices against the RBA standards and identify areas for improvement.

Risk Identification: By systematically assessing various operational areas, facilities can pinpoint potential risks related to labor, health and safety, environmental practices, and ethics.

Action Planning: The results of the SAQ can guide facilities in developing action plans to address non-compliance issues and enhance their responsible business practices.

Reporting: Facilities can use the SAQ to report back to member companies of the RBA about their compliance status and progress toward meeting the standards Steps to Complete the SAQ

The 2024 Facility SAQ was previously the Facility Risk SAQ. It has been adopted as the main SAQ in line with the revision of the RBA Code of Conduct VAP 8.0.1 and the risk-based due diligence approach.

The SAQs have a 3-step structure that also introduces an opportunity for scores to be improved by the provision of evidence of control mechanisms, and through an optional desktop validation of those controls.  Only the first step in the structure is required by RBA before requesting a VAP assessment.  See below graphic for guidance:

The previous SAQ is now known as the VAP Prep Tool and is optional as a support tool to prepare for a VAP assessment. For more information about the SAQ please visit the SAQ FAQ here. 

How to access the Self Assessement Questionnaires (SAQs)

The SAQ can be accessed from the RBA Portal by following the steps below:

1.     Log into the RBA Online Portal: https://www.rba-online.org/. Follow the Password Reset Instructions if you do not remember your access details.  
2.     On the left navigation bar, locate My SAQ’s Menu, which will expand, and then select Facility.

      3.   Next on the listing view, you will see a list of SAQs available. Locate the most current one and click on options on the right, then select ‘Edit’.

       The SAQ form will appear for the user to be completed. 

Note that you can download a copy of the questions template by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page. 

4.   Click on the Risk Questions Tab to begin editing the SAQ. The SAQ form can be completed either online using the web browser or offline by selecting the ‘Download to Excel’ Button at the bottom of the page.

•     If you decide to complete the Form online, then we recommend that you save the form every 5 minutes to ensure that the platform saves any new information added to the form. 
•     If you decide to complete the Risk questionnaire offline, you will see a user access prompt. Choose to save the file locally before you start the edit. Then press Ok to proceed.

5.   After you are done completing the Excel document, the next step would be to log back into the RBA Online Portal as shown earlier to upload the questionnaire. Once on the SAQ menu, you will need to select the ‘Upload’ button to attach the newly completed form.

Select ‘+Upload a file’

then press on close.  The online form will update after a few seconds. After the SAQ is 100% complete, the user will see a button appear at the bottom of the form which allows the user to “Release” the submitted information to their Trading Partners.

6. Once released you will notice that the survey will now display the Control questions. Repeat activities completed in steps 4 & 5 and release the report.

6.  After the SAQ has been released the user will have the ability to edit the SAQ or download the report. The SAQ status will be set to Released and a VAP/CMA/AMA assessment can now be initiated for this facility.

If you have any questions regarding the Facility SAQ send your queries to Helpdesk@Responsiblebusiness.org