SLF’s approach to all our work follows the principle of A.I.M – Accessible, Inclusive and Modular.
Our aim is to empower the leather value chain with the tools and knowledge to make transformative change for a more sustainable future. By providing a holistic approach to education, information, training and auditing, facilities throughout the leather value chain can take control of their improvement programs at a pace to suit them and in partnership with their suppliers and customers.
To accelerate the effectiveness of our vision, SLF works with many other organisations in both the private and public sectors to offer as much good practice information and training as possible. More information and access to external training can be found by clicking the icon.
Our Auditors
The auditors below are contracted to perform SLF audits on behalf of the Foundation. All audit administration and management is conducted centrally by the Foundation.
Junaid is the Managing Director of Asian Verification and works as a consultant and lead auditor, helping textile, apparel, leather and footwear industries to achieve business excellence.
Junaid is a qualified ISO45001 Occupational Health & Safety Lead Auditor, as well as ISO9001 Quality Management Lead Auditor. He is also an Environmental Management Systems Lead Auditor (EMS-LA) and is a certified PMP (Project Management Professional).
Junaid has a wealth of experience that spans water and energy technology, sourcing, business development and lecturing university students.
Junaid holds a BA in Apparel and textile Marketing, a Masters in Business Administration, a Diploma in Supply Chain Management and Project Mangement, alongside his Foundation Degree in Engineering.
In 2022, Junaid underwent his SA8000 Social Systems Lead Auditor training.
To contact Junaid about an audit please click here: Audit Enquiry
Zain holds a Masters degree in Operations management – MBA from ITM business school, India, Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Anna university, India. He has worked as a Chemical quality and procurement manager in leather industry in his career and has provided information technology services setting up ERP systems in tanneries and shoe factories for optimised workflow.
Zain has worked in tanneries for more than 11 years and is a leather industry fifth generation. In his career he has worked with many tanneries. His knowledge spans a wide range of regions as a sustainability consultant since 2010 in India, Russia, Turkey, Africa, Bangladesh, Indonesia etc. His experience covers the full range of the leather production from beamhouse to finishing process.
In 2017, Zain obtained his ISO 14001:2015 certified environmental lead auditor certification from IRCA, In 2022 Zain completed his SA 8000 Social Systems Lead Auditor certification through SGS. He is also a registered IEMA – Institute of environmental management and assessment – Principal Environmental Auditor.
He has worked on many projects to reduce environmental impact and cost reduction methods to tanneries and is also an industry expert for TUV SUD for ISO Audits. With experience with over 70 tanneries/ factories globally plus experience with shoe factories for ISO audits and social audits.
Zain’s Native language is Urdu and can speak fluently in English, Hindi, Tamil, and intermediate level in Russian.
To contact Zain about an audit please click here: Audit Enquiry
Alfredo is a leather professional with more than 20 years of experience in several tanneries in Spain, with responsibilities ranging from raw material and chemicals sourcing to process control and development; from beamhouse to finishing department, from R+D and quality control labs to management of solid wastes and WWTP. He has served in all the critical departments in the technological areas of the tannery.
Alfredo holds a Degree in Chemistry and two masters in Integrated Management of Quality, Environment and Occupational Health and in Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. He is an Environmental Lead Auditor, ISO 14001:2015, recognised by the European Organisation for Quality (EOQ). He is also an LWG approved auditor since January 2018.
Over the last few years, Alfredo has been developing CSR plans and strategies for chemicals producers, as well as undertaking consultancy work for tanneries in Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia. With more than 15 publications in journals and congresses, he is an active communicator who is keenly interested in environmental impact of tanneries, float recycling, waste minimisation, and operations research, in order to help make better decisions in the tannery.
To contact Alfredo about an audit please click here: Audit Enquiry
Onur holds an MBA and PhD from the Leather Engineering department in Ege University. In 2021, Onur obtained his CQI & IRCA Certified ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Lead Auditor Qualification and has focused his current attention on using this knowledge to support the leather industry in becoming more sustainable.
Onur’s early career in the leather industry started as Secretary General for the Turkish Tanners Association which gave him experience working at senior management level. He has been working for the Leather Industry since 2002. He is also a Senior Industry Advisor in EBRD, Chairman of National Leather Mirror Technical Committee and a Consultant for more than 40 tanneries for Environmental certifications. He also obtained his EMCC Certified Professional Mentor & Coach qualification which supports his work beyond Consultation.
To contact Onur about an audit: Audit Enquiry
Please note that at this time, Onur is not available for tannery audits in Turkey. He is available for audits in all other regions and for all product manufacturers.
Chris holds an MBA from Bradford University, a Certificate in Leather Technology from Northampton (Nene) University and a BSC (Hons) in Applied Chemistry from Nottingham Trent University, all in the UK.
Subsequently, Chris has spent over 30 years in the worldwide leather industry working on a collaborative basis with tanners throughout that time. He has extensive knowledge and experience from his senior level positions held in the prominent specialty chemical companies engaged within the leather industry.
Chris has worked as an expatriate in China, Singapore, Thailand, Germany and Indonesia, and has vast experience in the Asia Pacific markets, Australasia, India, Japan and Korea where he has spent his recent time, as well as Pakistan, South America and Europe from earlier in his career.
He has focused his current attention on using this knowledge to support the leather industry in becoming more sustainable.
In early 2018, Chris obtained his CQI & IRCA Certified ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Lead Auditor Qualification and he is an approved LWG auditor from January 2019.
In 2022, Chris has undertaken his SA8000 Lead Auditor Training.
To check Chris’ availability for an audit, please click here: Audit Enquiry
Salvatore holds a degree in Engineering from the University of Salerno in 2005, Certificate for Safety in Workplaces and Construction Sites since 2003, Independent Verifier for Notified Bodies on the protection of electrical systems (grounding and lightning strikes) since 2009, Environmental Acoustics Technician since 2011, Fire Fighting Professional since 2012 and running his own professional activity founded in 1999.
His professional career has led him to many paths in the leather sector, in particular: assisting companies to adapt their production processes (machines and systems) for safety (tanning and shoe manufacturing sectors); efficiency in the management of information and data; technical references for machine safety (safety edge); improving the production aspects of companies for environmental concerns, safety and quality. Salvatore is also a qualified trainer for safety and operation of machines/equipment.
The activity that best represents Salvatore is the collaboration with manufacturers of tannery machines. From 2012 to 2019 he was an active part in the management and recovery of SIT SpA (formerly Mattei Felts), a leading company in the production of tannery felts before then working with Rizzi-Flamar as Production & Safety Manager, a historic company in the production of tannery machines (brands Rizzi and Flamar). He also boasts important collaborations with other manufacturers of tannery and footwear machinery known globally.
Salvatore is currently a consultant for Environmental certifications at tanning companies and above all verifies the functionality and interfacing of machines (Industria 4.0) to company software systems (MES), implementation of controls on MRSL and PRSL.
Lead Auditor Certificate: 9001, 14001, 37001, 45001 (pending certificate) and Internal Auditor 27001 and SA8000.
To contact Salvatore about an audit please click here: Audit Enquiry
Alexandra’s early career in the leather industry started as Head of Europe for Leatherteq Limited which gave her experience working at senior management level and across a wide remit.
She has been working in the leather industry across the supply chain since 2018 with hands-on experience in tanneries and with close connections to brands and other related industries. A deep insight into the needs and requests from brands and leather using sectors enables her to support tanneries that are adapting to requests, and to integrate new practices, models and technologies into their business activity systems.
Since 2019 she has been part of the wider leather expert team of the UNECE on Traceability and Transparency of supply chains in the footwear and garment sector, which also provides her with an insight into regulations, norms and support systems within the EU.
Alexandra’s experience in the ESG world gives her a profound knowledge on data requirements within scope 1-3 for ESG and/or sustainability reporting and future regulations to be implemented.
In 2020 Alexandra founded her consulting company AP Projects based in Austria which offers companies within various industries support with their environmental, social and governmental performance and carbon targets. A strong focus still lies within the leather industry and Alexandra is supporting start-ups within leather with non-profit support.
In 2022, Alexandra successfully obtained her ISO 14001 Lead Auditor Certification and she is available to conduct Environmental and Governance Audits for SLF.
To contact Alexandra about an audit please click here: Audit Enquiry
Deborah is an accredited SA8000 Social Systems Lead Auditor and is available to conduct Social and Governance Audits.
Before founding the Sustainable Leather Foundation, Deborah previously managed the Leather Working Group, working with organisations around the world to improve the environmental impact of leather manufacture. As well as overseeing the day to day management of the Sustainable Leather Foundation, Deborah is also a UN/CEFACT Consultant, working on the UNECE project to “Enhance Traceability & Transparency for more Sustainable Value Chains in the garment and footwear sector” and is a Council Member of the Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists. Deborah is a Practitioner of the Chartered Quality Institute (PCQI) and is an accredited SA8000 Social Systems Lead Auditor.
To contact Deborah about an audit please click here: Audit Enquiry
SGS Auditors
The auditors below are employed by SGS and are authorised to perform SLF audits on behalf of the Foundation. All audit administration and management is conducted centrally by the Foundation.
Arunkarthik is a Technical Lead for SGS with 17 years auditing experience. His raft of qualifications include:
- ISO 9001:2008 Certified Lead Auditor
- SA 8000 Basic & Advance Lead Auditor
- WRAP certified Auditor
- ISO 14001:2015 Certified Lead Auditor
- Qualified auditor for amfori BSCI standards – Approved by FTA
- ICTI (International council of Toys Industries) Auditor in India
- Approved Lead Auditor for Apple SR standards in India
- SLCP qualified auditor – YZ7c5z56RB – dated 17 Aug, 2020
- APSCA Approved auditor – CSCA 21701614
- SCAN CTPAT Qualified Auditor
Giriraj is a lead auditor with more than 17 years experience. His credentials include:
- Post graduate diploma in business management and rich experience in Training & Development, Social
Compliance Audit Management, Employee Relations, Statutory Compliance, Supply Chain Management,
security compliance (CTPAT)
· Successfully completed SA8000 Auditor course
· Amfori – BSCI
· ISO 14001:2015 (EMS Lead Auditor)
· RBA Trained interviewer
· Successfully completed APSCA-III (CSCA)
· SLCP (India & Sri Lanka)
· SLCP trainer
· FTUSA approved (Fair trade USA)
· Foreign migrant workers audit (Malaysia)
· ICS Environment Audits
· SCAN
· SMETA Audits
· Project Handled – (Webinar, WSS- virtual & offline) , language expert in creating project materials
Giriraj has successfully completed more than 2000 audits and 1400 audits as Lead Auditor, Social , Security and Factory evaluation audits according to client’s Code of Conduct and international standards ( ETI , BSCI etc). These audits were conducted across industries and geographies within India.
To contact Giriraj for an audit please email: ruchi_prakash@sgs.com
Palanisamy has over 15 years experience and his credentials include:
- ZDHC Chemical Management Training from Nimkartek Technical Services on 07/04/2017
- Health Safety & Environment – IOSH Certified Training Course from Samtrac international – Cert No: 16/000012 on 2016
- Restricted Substances Stewardship Program (RSSP) from Nimkartek Technical Services on 28/01/2015
- Introduction to APEO Training Course from Nimkartek Technical Services on 05/02/2015
- Implementing Best Practices for Compliance of RSL from Nimkartek Technical Services on 27/05/2015
- General Aspects of RSL from Nimkartek Technical Services on 24/09/2015
- WaterLess Techniques for Textile Wet Processing Training Program from Nimkartek Technical Services on 15/02/2016
- Certificate training program on Textile and Apparel Product Safety from University of Delaware, USA on 25/02/2017
- Cradle to Cradle Certified Catalyst Training from Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute on 25/03/2020
- Designing Cradle to Cradle Certified Products for the Circular Economy training from Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute on 27/03/2020
- Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility training from International Trade Centre 17/3/2020
- Corporate Social Responsibility Risk Index training from BSI on 28/8/2020
- Business Continuity Risk index for the supply chain training from BSI on 31/8/2020
- Intelligent Auditing training from BSI on 28/8/2020
Palanisamy has worked for over 15 years with Factories, International Brands, 3rd Party laboratory and 3rd Party auditing firm on RSL & ZDHC MRSL Chemical Management System, Higg Index Verifications, Factory Compliance Auditing on QMS, Social & Environmental Standards Knowledge and experience in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 & ISO 50001 Standards, LWG Standards for Leather Industries, Textile Testing, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Global Recycling Standard (GRS), Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), Dyeing, Printing, Denim & Non Denim Washing, Product Safety Compliance, Product Development, Fabric & Apparel Product Quality Assurance, ETP Assessment, Leather Tanning Process.
To contact Palanisamy for an audit please email: : ruchi_prakash@sgs.com
Our Auditor Code of Conduct
Our auditing team work in accordance with the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) and the International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA) Code of Conduct to ensure the highest ethical standards and integrity.
All SLF auditors will ensure the following principles of auditing:
Act with integrity at all times
Ensure impartiality and objectivity within the audit
Maintain confidentiality and security of information
Ensure due diligence and professionalism
Ensure fair representation and accurate, truthful reporting
Maintain an evidence based approach
Ensure the adoption of structured audit process to ensure reliable, consistent auditing
Ensure a risk-based approach that considers risks and opportunities for improvement
Interested in becoming an Auditor for Sustainable Leather Foundation?
We are not currently recruiting for auditors.
We will assess our future requirements later in the year.
To be eligible for consideration you will be a Certified Lead Auditor in either ISO 14001 Environmental Management or SA8000 Social Systems. In addition, Lead Auditor ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety will be advantageous.
If you are interested in learning more about the future opportunities with SLF, please send a full CV with covering letter to the team using the link below: