Version 1.0.0.

Scope

ISO14065 – Section 5.3 (2020), ISO17029 – Section 5.3 (2019), A6.4 (2025) Section 4.3 ¶9, 9, 10, 11

Policy

SustainCERT ("SC") recognizes integrity, independence, impartiality, and objectivity as fundamental to its work as a Certification Body, or as a Validation and Verification body ("VVB"), and any other work we develop in our Mission to bring credibility to climate action.

As an institution with many roles, SC has worked extensively to establish safeguards and mechanisms to ensure its independence, maintain integrity, manage potential conflicts of interest, and ensure objectivity. These measures are documented in our Impartiality Management Procedure, which is subject to continuous review and improvement. As SC continues to evolve its service offering, it conducts an annual impartiality risk review to identify potential risks and inform strategic decisions.

This annual review draws on inputs from the following activities conducted throughout the year:

- Internal audits

- Management reviews

- Complaints received

- External feedback

SC has established controls that operate at the project level to identify the specific impartiality risk of undertaking each assignment. This ensures that SC does not provide consulting services for the same project that SC validates, verifies or certifies. When impartiality risks are identified from offering an additional service to an existing client, they are either managed appropriately or the service is refused.

SC has also established controls that operate at the individual level, based on the principle that all staff must abide by this public commitment to be impartial and objective. All new personnel and contractors are assessed for impartiality risks (for example, previous employers) and are contractually bound to engage in a professional, objective and ethical manner consistent with this commitment. Whenever teams are selected for an assignment, the individuals are screened for conflicts of interest and their names are transparently declared to clients, allowing them to identify any potential conflict of interest or to object their appointment on valid-evidence based ground.

SustainCERT acknowledges that:

- the possible influence that can be exerted on it as an organization and/or on its personnel when performing its validation and/or verification/certification functions, and stressing its commitment to address this issue fully;

- safeguarding impartiality is understood and implemented at all levels of the organization;

- top management’s commitment to safeguarding impartiality;

- having a statement that describes its understanding of the necessity of impartiality in validation and/or verification/certification functions, how it manages conflict of interest and how it ensures the objectivity of validation and/or verification/certification functions;

- taking action to respond to any threats to its impartiality arising from the actions of other parts of the organization, persons outside of the organization, outsourced entities, related bodies or other bodies or organizations;and

- maintaining a professional environment and culture in the organization that supports behaviour of all personnel that is consistent with impartiality.