UPPS Standard

UPPS 501: Social and Ethical Product Disclosures

Establishes disclosure requirements for labor practices, supply chain conditions, and product-level societal impact.

Version 1.0 — Draft

UPPS 501 defines the social and ethical disclosures that organizations shall provide to ensure consistent, comparable, and decision-useful product-level information.

1. Introduction

UPPS 501 establishes disclosure requirements relating to the social and ethical characteristics and impacts of products.

This Standard defines the disclosures necessary to enable consistent, comparable, and decision-useful information regarding labor practices, supply chain conditions, societal impact, and governance characteristics associated with products.

While environmental disclosures have been the primary focus of product-level reporting, social and ethical dimensions are equally critical to understanding the full impact of products across global supply chains.

UPPS 501 provides a structured and measurable framework for disclosing product-level social and ethical information in a neutral and comparable manner.

2. Objective

The objective of UPPS 501 is to ensure that organizations disclose information that enables users to:

  • Understand labor practices and working conditions associated with products
  • Assess exposure to high-risk or sensitive sourcing regions
  • Evaluate supply chain due diligence and oversight
  • Analyze the distribution of economic value across stakeholders
  • Assess broader societal and community impacts

UPPS 501 establishes consistent requirements for social and ethical disclosures that support transparency, comparability, and accountability.

3. Scope

UPPS 501 applies to all products for which social and ethical information is disclosed under UPPS.

Organizations shall apply this Standard in conjunction with:

  • UPPS 101 — General Product Disclosures
  • UPPS 201 — Environmental Product Disclosures
  • UPPS 301 — Circularity Product Disclosures
  • UPPS 401 — Supply Chain and Traceability Disclosures

Disclosures shall cover relevant stages of the value chain, including sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution.

4. Conceptual Approach

UPPS 501 is based on the principle that social and ethical impacts can be represented through measurable indicators rather than normative judgments.

Disclosures under this Standard are structured across four dimensions: Exposure, Distribution, Impact, and Governance. This approach ensures neutrality, comparability, and applicability across jurisdictions.

Disclosures under this Standard are structured across four dimensions:

  • Exposure — where and how products are linked to social risks
  • Distribution — how economic value is distributed across stakeholders
  • Impact — the effects of production and supply chains on people and communities
  • Governance — how organizations manage and oversee social and ethical risks

This approach ensures neutrality, comparability, and applicability across jurisdictions.

5. Social and Ethical Product Disclosures

Organizations shall disclose the following information for each product.

5.1 Labor Practices and Working Conditions

Disclosure Requirement

Organizations shall disclose information relating to labor practices and working conditions across the product value chain.

Required Disclosures

  • Presence of child labor risk
  • Presence of forced labor risk
  • Worker health and safety conditions
  • Working hours and labor protections

Guidance

Disclosures should be based on available assessments, audits, or supplier-reported data.

5.2 Supply Chain Due Diligence

Disclosure Requirement

Organizations shall disclose due diligence processes applied to the supply chain.

Required Disclosures

  • Existence of due diligence policies
  • Supplier audits conducted
  • Corrective actions implemented

Guidance

Disclosures should reflect the extent and effectiveness of oversight mechanisms.

5.3 Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Sourcing

Disclosure Requirement

Organizations shall disclose exposure to sourcing from conflict-affected or high-risk regions.

Required Disclosures

  • Percentage of materials sourced from high-risk regions
  • Identification of high-risk regions, where applicable
  • Due diligence measures applied

Guidance

Disclosures should support assessment of geopolitical and human rights risks.

5.4 Economic Value Distribution

Disclosure Requirement

Organizations shall disclose how economic value associated with the product is distributed.

Required Disclosures

  • Percentage of revenue allocated to wages
  • Supplier payments
  • Taxes
  • Shareholder returns

Guidance

Disclosures should enable analysis of value distribution across stakeholders without normative interpretation.

5.5 Employment Impact

Disclosure Requirement

Organizations shall disclose employment-related impacts associated with the product.

Required Disclosures

  • Number of jobs supported (direct and indirect)
  • Jobs per unit of production
  • Distribution of jobs across regions

Guidance

Disclosures should reflect both scale and geographic distribution of employment.

5.6 Community and Societal Impact

Disclosure Requirement

Organizations shall disclose broader societal impacts associated with the product.

Required Disclosures

  • Community investment associated with production
  • Local sourcing and economic contribution
  • Impact on local communities, where assessed

Guidance

Disclosures should be based on measurable indicators where available.

5.7 Certifications and Ethical Standards

Disclosure Requirement

Organizations shall disclose certifications and standards related to social and ethical practices.

Required Disclosures

  • Relevant certifications (e.g., fair trade, ethical sourcing)
  • Compliance with applicable standards
  • Scope of certification coverage

Guidance

Disclosures should enable verification of ethical practices.

6. Measurement Guidance

Organizations shall use methodologies that are consistent, transparent, and based on available data.

Where direct measurement is not feasible, organizations may use proxy indicators, provided that assumptions and limitations are disclosed.

7. Presentation of Information

Organizations shall present social and ethical disclosures in a manner that is:

  • Clear and understandable
  • Comparable across products and reporting periods
  • Consistent with UPPS core standards

Disclosures shall be presented without normative judgments.

8. Relationship with Other UPPS Standards

UPPS 501 shall be applied together with:

  • UPPS 101 — General Product Disclosures
  • UPPS 201 — Environmental Product Disclosures
  • UPPS 301 — Circularity Product Disclosures
  • UPPS 401 — Supply Chain and Traceability Disclosures

9. Transition Provisions

Organizations may adopt UPPS 501 progressively.

Where full data is not available, organizations shall disclose:

  • Scope of available data
  • Data limitations
  • Plans for improvement

10. Regulatory Alignment

UPPS 501 is designed to support alignment with social and human rights-related regulatory frameworks and standards across jurisdictions.

This includes alignment with due diligence frameworks and human rights standards.

UPPS 501 enables structured disclosures that can be mapped to regulatory requirements, supporting multi-jurisdiction compliance and reducing reporting burden through a unified disclosure framework.