Third-party certification: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)
Third-party certification (French: certification par tierce partie) is an attestation, by a body independent of both the audited organisation and its customers, that a management system meets the requirements of a standard. ISO 53001 can be certified in this way; seeking certification remains voluntary.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
Its value lies in the distance between assessor and assessed. First-party assessment is carried out by the organisation itself, as with internal audit; second-party assessment by a customer at a supplier; third-party assessment is the only kind that yields a certificate valid beyond a single commercial relationship.
To protect that distance, ISO/IEC 17021-1 imposes rules on certification bodies covering impartiality, competence and the separation of audit from decision. The resulting certificate runs for a three-year cycle. Read more on ISO 53001 certification and the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
What a third-party certificate does not say
A third-party certificate states that the system met the requirements when it was audited and that it remains under surveillance. It does not rank the organisation against others, does not certify a level of SDG performance and does not endorse its public claims beyond the scope written on it.
See also
- Certification body: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A certification body (French: *organisme certificateur*) is an independent entity that audits an organisation's management system and decides, on the basis of the results, whether to grant, maintain or withdraw a certificate.
- Internal audit: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)An internal audit (French: *audit interne*) is one the organisation conducts itself, or has conducted on its behalf, to check that its SDG management system follows its own rules and the standard and is effectively implemented.
- Accreditation: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)Accreditation (French: *accréditation*) is the formal recognition, by a national accreditation body, that a conformity assessment body such as a certification body is competent and impartial.
- Certificate: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A certificate (French: *certificat*) is the document issued by a certification body after a favourable decision.
- ISO 53001 certification: what it proves and how it is issued (ISO/UNDP 53001)ISO 53001 certification confirms, after an audit by an independent body, that an organisation's management system meets the standard's requirements for managing its contribution to the SDGs.