For a certification, please contact the addresses listed under Contact.
The Steps to Certification
Application
Application for certification shall be made with an application form.
Application may be put forward by the manufacturer, his legal representative or the importer of the product. It includes inter alia.
- What product / product group is to be certified,
- The geographical area in which the product is marketed.
Documentation
The following documents, amongst others, must be provided in advance:
- The name of the company, including addresses for all production sites (if applicable),
- brief description of the company (products manufactured, legal structure, company sites and representations etc.),
- data on the number of employees (including percentages of rnen/wornen ratios, people with foreign nationality, collaborators over 45, people with disabilities),
- description of the entire production chain including 1st tier suppliers,
- production sites related to the manufacturing of the product subject to certification, production sites of 1st tier suppliers,
- description of the production process including "input stream" and "output stream",
- any certification the company holds (e.g. ISO 14001, ISO 9001, TS 16949, OHSAS 18001, SA8000, EMAS, etc.) and any second party attestations,
- a self declaration on the management system and the fulfilment of CSR criteria.
Audit
The conformity of the manufacturing of the product (or the provrsion of the service) is assessed by means of audits at the related production sites. Production sites of 1st tier suppliers shall also be subject to an audit. The location and the number of sites to be audited is specified by the Lead Auditor. A pre audit might be required to specify the extent of the auditing procedure. The audit will be conducted by at least one Lead Auditor. The Lead Auditor may be accompanied by further auditors.
During the audit the Audit Team will:
- inspect headquarters of the company,
- inspect major production lines and plants,
- review relevant documentation related to the manufacturing of the product,
- conduct interviews with -amongst other personnel- responsible management personnel, personnel in charge of CSR, quality and environmental management as well as personnel from production lines.