Control of the REDcert schemes
The REDcert schemes guarantee compliance with legal requirements as well as compatibility with other officially approved certification schemes. The prerequisites for sustainability certification, however, are different depending on the type of biomass, what it is used for and the place it is produced or used. This global dimension of sustainability certification also poses a significant challenge for certification bodies. In order to create transparent and reliable inspection systems, REDcert has defined both basic and phase-specific requirements that apply to certification bodies registering to work for the REDcert schemes:
- Approval by a competent authority in the respective country or accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17065
- Performance of neutral inspections in accordance with the requirements of ISO 19011 - separation of evaluation and certification.
- Deployment of qualified or competent personnel, acting independently and impartially - inspectors must be registered with REDcert.
- Participation in REDcert's initial training and training of REDcert inspectors prior to starting certification activities in the respective REDcert scheme, including participation in other events offered by REDcert.
- Registration after conclusion of contract with REDcert - an application must be submitted for registration and recognition as a REDcert certification body.
The independent certification bodies approved by REDcert check the sustainability criteria using REDcert’s scheme principles and checklists during the scope of neutral inspections.
Companies that want to be certified can select a certification body approved by REDcert. All of the certification bodies approved for the REDcert scheme are published on the REDcert website.
The selected certification body must then confirm to REDcert that it was contracted with certification by the company in question.
Certificates and inspection certificates can only be issued after a positive on-site inspection.
The certification body saves the inspection report and the certificate in the REDcert database. All valid certificates and inspection documents are available on REDcert’s website (www.redcert.org).
More information is published under Scheme documents/certification bodies.