LWG Tannery of the Future: What the Self-Assessment Covers Before Your Formal Audit
Before booking a formal LWG audit, the Leather Working Group offers a free self-assessment called Tannery of the Future, and it's worth doing first regardless of how prepared your tannery already feels. It's a questionnaire that mirrors the structure of the full Leather Manufacturer Standard, available at no cost to any tannery, LWG member or not, through the LWG Training Portal. This article covers what it actually checks, what happens to your answers, and how it fits into getting ready for certification.
What Tannery of the Future actually is
Tannery of the Future is a self-assessment questionnaire, not a formal review, that a tannery completes on its own to gauge how ready it is for an LWG audit. It's structured in three parts: Part A covers critical environmental areas that map directly onto the Leather Manufacturer Standard's threshold requirements, Part B covers additional good practices that support a higher score and medal rating, and Part C covers social responsibility topics that sit outside the scope of the LWG audit itself.
What Part A covers
Part A contains 14 sections corresponding to the critical environmental areas a formal audit assesses, including operating permits, material sourcing and traceability, environmental management systems, restricted substances management, energy and water consumption, air and noise emissions, waste management, effluent treatment and water quality monitoring, emergency preparedness, housekeeping, and manufacturing process controls. Each section identifies the baseline requirements and lets the tannery self-assess against them before an auditor ever sees the facility.
What Part B covers
Part B moves beyond the minimum requirements into practices that support a higher weighted score and, in turn, a better medal outcome. This includes manufacturing process calibration and optimisation, beamhouse practices such as wetting agent and bactericide control, post-tanning waste management, finishing operations including solvent monitoring, and complaints management. None of this is required to pass an audit, but it's the kind of detail that separates a Bronze result from Silver or Gold.
What Part C covers, and why it's separate
Part C covers nine corporate social responsibility topics, including compliance with ILO fundamental conventions, equal opportunity and non-discrimination, prevention of compulsory and child labour, worker representation, wages and working conditions, working hours, grievance mechanisms and ethical business conduct. LWG is explicit that these topics fall outside the scope of the LWG audit itself. They're included in the self-assessment as a broader responsible-business check, not because they factor into your certification score.
What happens to your answers
Results are kept confidential. LWG states that only LWG staff have access to the information submitted, and completed self-assessments aren't published or listed anywhere on LWG's site. On completion, the tannery receives a PDF summary of its answers, which it can choose to share with customers or keep entirely internal. The tool produces no numeric score and no certification of any kind, it's a documentation exercise, not an assessment outcome.
What it isn't
LWG is explicit on this point: Tannery of the Future "is not a substitute for the LWG Leather Manufacturer Audit Protocol, and the completion of the self-assessment does not confer approval or certification by LWG." Filling it out, however thoroughly, doesn't move you any closer to an official medal rating. Its only function is to help a tannery identify gaps before a real auditor does.
How it fits into the certification process
The practical sequence LWG describes is straightforward: complete the free self-assessment, use the results to work through implementation of whatever gaps it surfaces, and once the business is genuinely prepared, arrange the formal audit directly through LWG Assurance Services. There's no fixed waiting period built into this sequence, how long implementation takes depends entirely on what the self-assessment turns up and how much needs to change.
For the full detail on what the formal audit itself assesses, including the 17-section standard, threshold requirements, and medal ratings, see the companion article below.
→ See: Leather Working Group (LWG) Certification: What Tanneries Need to Prepare
Want a second opinion on your self-assessment results?
A confidential PDF summary is useful on its own, but knowing which gaps to prioritise before your first formal audit is a different question. If that would help, get in touch and we can go through your results together.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tannery of the Future the same as LWG certification?
No. It's a free, confidential self-assessment tool that helps a tannery gauge its readiness. LWG states explicitly that completing it does not confer certification or approval, and it isn't a substitute for the formal LWG audit.
Do I need to be an LWG member to use Tannery of the Future?
No. It's free to register for an account on the LWG Training Portal and complete the self-assessment, whether or not your company is an LWG member.
Who sees my Tannery of the Future results?
Only LWG staff. Results are kept confidential and aren't published on LWG's website. You receive a PDF summary of your own answers, which you can choose to share with customers or keep internal.
What happens after I complete the self-assessment?
You use the results to address whatever gaps it identifies, and once your business is genuinely prepared, you arrange a formal audit directly through LWG Assurance Services.