Visible and Quantifiable Conformance – Responsible Sourcing must be able to show that the good or service was obtained from sources that are responsibly managed and from vendors that abide by public and quantifiable standards. These standards should follow best practices as outlined in pertinent international rules for them to be taken seriously.
Track and Trace – Knowing the identity of the providers is essential for connecting measurements or KPIs. Claims of ethical sourcing are prevented by opaque supply chains with unknown sources. Alternatives to tracking every farmer are possible if supply chains with small farms are involved.

Assurance Method – The acceptable and reliable measures of assurance used in the credible demonstration of responsibility must show that the data are monitored and verified in a way that reduces the possibility of misrepresentation or fraud. Such assurance strikes a compromise between the demand for reliable data and due diligence and the need to keep expenses reasonable. To achieve this balance, a variety of data sources may be used, such as assessments done by suppliers themselves, e-verification of uploaded files and other information, map overlays (such deforestation maps), and certain field audits.