Committee for safeguarding impartiality.

Where the committee stands

The committee has not yet been set up. It will be in place before the first certifications are issued, and its members will then be listed on this page.

The names of the members, with the interested party each one represents, will be published on this page as soon as the committee is set up.

Role

The committee's task will be to make sure that no commercial, financial or other consideration undermines the objectivity of audits and decisions. It will review the risk analysis set out in the impartiality statement. In practice, it will:

• examine the analysis of risks to impartiality and the measures taken to control them;
• give its opinion on policies that bear on impartiality: pricing, contract terms, selection and rotation of auditors, content published by Gardiant Certification;
• check that Gardiant Certification carries out no consulting, training or compliance support, whether directly or through a related entity;
• examine complaints and appeals that call impartiality into question, along with auditors' conflict-of-interest declarations;
• follow up its recommendations from one meeting to the next.

Composition

The committee will have 3 to 5 members, chosen to give balanced representation to the parties with an interest in certification, with no single interest predominating:

• Organisations that may seek certification: for example, a representative of a federation of training providers or of organisations working on the SDGs.
• Users of certification: training funders, buyers, learners or their representatives.
• Experts: people with expertise in quality, assessment or sustainable development.
• Civil society or public bodies: where they are able to take part, associations or institutions with a stake in the certified standards.

Gardiant Certification's management attends meetings to present files and answer questions, but takes no part in the committee's opinions.

Independence of members

• Each member signs a declaration of interests on appointment and every year thereafter, and updates it whenever circumstances change.
• No member provides consulting or compliance training on the standards Gardiant Certification certifies.
• Members take no part in audits or certification decisions.
• A member abstains on any item in which they have a personal interest, and the abstention is minuted.
• Any allowance paid is a flat fee and does not depend on any outcome or decision.
• Members are bound by confidentiality regarding the information they receive.

Meetings and procedure

The committee will meet at least once a year, and whenever a member or the management asks. Meetings may be held remotely.

Ahead of each meeting, members receive the updated risk analysis, a summary of complaints and appeals, any changes within the organisation and the conclusions of the latest management review. The committee adopts its terms of reference at its first meeting; they set the quorum and appointment rules.

Minutes

Each meeting is minuted in writing, recording the risks examined, the opinions given, the recommendations made and any abstentions. The minutes are approved by the members and kept on file. Management states in writing how it is acting on each recommendation, and this is reviewed at the following meeting. Minutes are made available to the accreditation body during its assessments.

Powers

The committee has access to all the information it needs for its work. If management does not follow an opinion on impartiality, it must give its reasons in writing; the committee may then inform the accreditation body.