"It’s been a very busy and productive first six months here at LWG Assurance Services.
"Since our founding in June of this year, we have recruited key members of the team, completed our first audits, issued our first certificates, attended our first our first Lineapelle leather fair, as well as making important connections with tanneries and trade bodies across the leather industry.
"As we round out our first year of operations, everyone at LWG AS is proud to reach several milestones. We have received 305 enquiries, confirmed 181 audits in 27 countries around the world, issued 14 certificates, and achieved some impressive visitor numbers to our website along the way.
"So what’s next for LWG AS? Right now we’re focused on spreading the word about how we are improving the auditing process for tanneries and auditors alike. Audits are now booked directly with LWG AS instead of with auditors, which means we look after assigning auditors to tanneries, overseeing the peer review process, managing contracts, payments and travel arrangements, as well as determining and issuing certification, and providing feedback to Leather Working Group. As with any developing process, there can be slow progress at the beginning, but we’ve been working steadily to improve our processes, while listening to our stakeholders and communicating to ease any anxieties that during the first steps to booking an audit with LWG AS.
"Another important change has been the introduction of auditor rotation. This new policy has been brought in to ensure impartiality across consecutive audits, and it means that tanneries cannot select their own auditors. Approved auditors are rotated after two visits, but any specific site information will still be passed on via all-important audit reports. This means specific site information built up over a several visits will be communicated to the next approved auditor. We also work hard to familiarise new auditors with our processes, calibrating them to our more established auditors and the specifics of various tanneries they might not have visited before. So while tanneries undoubtedly preferred using the same auditor each year, we believe that rotating auditors actually introduces a more impartial, consistent and robust process for everyone concerned.
"Looking to 2026 and beyond, we’re in the process of getting regular calibration meetings off the ground. This is where auditors can share crucial learning points with each other and with LWG Assurance Services – they’re all about aiming to increase everybody’s awareness of important issues and trying to level the playing field across our roster of approved auditors. Also, we appreciate that some auditors might have more experience than others, so these meetings provide a touch point for sharing knowledge and reassuring everyone. Regular conversations between our auditors improves understanding and tests the processes we employ, further improving our services.
"A lot has been going on in the short time since LWG Assurance Services was founded, and we understand that it takes time for everyone to get used to the changes that have been introduced. At the moment, we would just like to remind everyone from across the leather supply chain that our audits are fully independent of the clients. And while we appreciate that it does take time to get a confirmed date in the calendar for your audit, we also need to reiterate that we can only confirm that date after you have paid a deposit (where applicable).
Please contact us to start your journey towards being audited and gaining certification.
"Now, as we approach Christmas, everyone at LWG Assurance Services would like to wish all those who are celebrating a relaxing festive season and all the best for 2026."
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