Regenerative Organic Certified®

Certification Process

The aim of the present document is to describe the key steps of the certification
process. This document is part of your certification contract.
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Author: JSR, EVG
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Preamble
The aim of this document is to describe the key steps of the certification process
applicable to operations and supply-chains involved in the Regenerative Organic
Certified® program (ROC).
More specifically, it provides clarifications on the relationships to be established
between the Certification Body (CB) and the operation applying for the ROC
program (you): the documents and information to be provided, the different
stages of the certification process, the compliance assessment process, etc.
This document is part of your certification contract.

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Contents
Preamble ............................................................................................................................................................... 2
I. Definitions ............................................................................................................................................... 4
II. Applicable Scheme............................................................................................................................ 4
III. Access to the Certification ............................................................................................................ 4
a. Scope of our Service.......................................................................................................................... 4
IV. The Certification Process step-by-step ................................................................................. 5
a. Your Certification application ..................................................................................................... 5
Composition of your Certification file ......................................................................................... 5
Application which cannot be accepted or satisfied by Ecocert ................................ 5
b. Formalization of your contract................................................................................................... 6
Production of your quotation .......................................................................................................... 6
Documents included in your contract with Ecocert ........................................................ 6
Formalizing your commitment...................................................................................................... 6
c. Initial Evaluation .................................................................................................................................. 7
Documentaries validation and preparation of your on-site audit ........................... 7
On-site audit............................................................................................................................................... 7
Summary of your audit ........................................................................................................................ 8
Evaluation of implemented corrective actions .................................................................... 8
d. Non-conformities and Corrective Action Plan ................................................................. 9
Non-conformities on “Required Practices” ............................................................................. 9
Non-conformities on “Critical Tolerances” .............................................................................. 9
Corrective Action Plan ......................................................................................................................... 9
e. Review of the evaluation results and certification decision .................................... 9
f. Certification Acknowledgement ........................................................................................... 10
g. Surveillance and continuation of the certification process ................................... 10
Periodic Surveillance ........................................................................................................................... 10
Implementation of an audit plan .................................................................................................. 11
Surveillance evaluations ..................................................................................................................... 11
h. Renewal of Certification ................................................................................................................. 11
i. Changes affecting Certification................................................................................................ 13
Changes in the Certification Scheme (new or revised requirements) ................. 13
Changes of your certification scope ........................................................................................... 13
Change of Certification Body ........................................................................................................ 14
j. End of Certification .......................................................................................................................... 14
Termination and effects on your Certification .................................................................... 14
Specific cases of stock selling off and stock audit ............................................................ 14
V. Sub-contracting ................................................................................................................................. 15

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VI. Complaints and Appeals .............................................................................................................. 15

a. Complaints............................................................................................................................................. 15
b. Appeals.....................................................................................................................................................16
c. Your obligation with respect to third party claims ......................................................16
VII. Uses of references to Certification, to Ecocert and use of marks (Ecocert or
others) associated with the service......................................................................................................16
ANNEX I: Definitions ..................................................................................................................................... 18
ANNEX II: Diagram of certification process .................................................................................. 20

I. Definitions
Terms used in this document are defined in Annex I.

II. Applicable Scheme

The Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC) program is owned by the
Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA). It is a private scheme.
Ecocert Environnement (further referred to as ‘Ecocert’) is approved for
certification according to ROC and offers the service in France and abroad
through Ecocert Group subsidiaries.

Documents of the Certification Scheme (ROC Framework, Labelling Guidelines &

Terms of Use, Soil Sampling Guidelines, Supply Chain Requirements) and
additional guidelines are available free on request and on the website of ROA:
https://regenorganic.org/resources.

III. Access to the Certification

a. Scope of our Service

Producer Operations wishing to sell their product as Regenerative Organic

Certified must apply for certification. For Handlers and Subcontractors the
commitment is voluntary and only required if you wish to achieve the Gold Level.
The requirements to achieve Gold, Silver and Bronze level are defined in the ROC
Framework.

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IV. The Certification Process step-by-step

The service is based on an annual cycle. It leads, when the Certification
Requirements are fulfilled, to the issuance of a Certification Decision for a specific
pillar of the ROC Certification Standard. Once conformity is attested for all
applicable pillars, a Certificate will be issued by ROA, allowing you to make
reference to your Certification and market your products with a reference to the
Certification.

The steps of the certification process are the following (and are detailed below):

Initial evaluation Review of your

Your application/
Formalization of of your activity file and Surveillance of
Application
your contract (documentary Certification your activity
review
and on-site) Decision

a. Your Certification application

Composition of your Certification file

As a first step, you need to apply directly with ROA for the Certification
(www.regenorganic.com). If your application is confirmed, ROA will transfer your
file to the Certification Body of your choice, as indicated in your application.

Once we have received your file, in order to give you all the needed information
to complete the certification process, we send you the following documents:
- The current version of the Certification Standard
- The application form(s)
- This certification process (This document)

We kindly ask you to send us the completed forms in order to collect all the
necessary information needed for us to review your application. The application
review is the study of the feasibility and the definition of your project. It allows us
to:
- Ensure that all necessary information are specified in the forms
- Study the feasibility of the certification of your products
- Define your project and the relevant control criteria.

Application which cannot be accepted or satisfied by Ecocert

Ecocert only accepts applications for Certification of all applicable pillars of the
ROC Certification Standard. Applications for Certification for individual pillars will
be refused.

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Ecocert may refuse an application for Certification when there are fundamental
or known reasons such as illegal activities or repeated Non-conformities of
Certification, inappropriate behaviour, outstanding payment etc.

Furthermore, Certification is not possible in these specific cases:

- a conflict of interest that could undermine the impartiality of our decisions,
- a geographical location that makes certification a technical impossibility or
a risk for those involved,
- the lack of qualified personnel to meet the specific requirements of the
Client’s request.

b. Formalization of your contract

Production of your quotation

Ecocert, on the basis of your application, will establish a personal quote for the
current year, taking your specific activity into account (producer, manufacturer,
subcontractor, packer) and based on an estimate of the required working time.
Audit, sampling or analysis, which are not planned in the evaluation plan are not
included in the initial quotation.

The quotation is sent to you together with the Terms and Conditions.

Documents included in your contract with Ecocert

The contract of Certification is composed of the current versions of the following
documents:

Terms and Conditions

This certification process
The quotation.

Formalizing your commitment

Your contract is concluded upon return of the signed quotation.

By signing this quotation, you agree to the Terms and Conditions including the
compliance to the requirements defined in the Certification Standard.

More specifically, you commit to:

- comply with the ROC Certification Requirements;
- agree to annual audits scheduled by the CB and provide access to all sites,
premises, data, processes, procedures and personnel;

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- agree to any additional audits and other investigations that the CB may
deem necessary;
- whenever needed, provide and update data required for the Certification.

c. Initial Evaluation

During the initial evaluation, all the activities in the scope of the Certification will
be audited in order to check the compliance to the requirements defined in the
Certification Standard.

Documentaries validation and preparation of your on-site audit

Your file will be allocated to a client relationship officer, who will be your first
point of contact. This officer will send you the forms needed to prepare for your
approval audit that are specific to your activity.
These documents are reviewed by your client relationship officer and used to
refine our knowledge of your activity and collect all necessary information for
your on-site audit.
At this point, potential Non-conformities can be spotted to give you time to
improve before the audit.

Once you have provided the complete preparatory documentation and have paid
for the service as per the conditions set out in the offer, the CB:
- defines a target period for the audit, taking into account the possible
seasonality of the concerned activities;
- assigns an auditor, taking into consideration his/her qualification, profile and
experience (mainly in regard to specific knowledge and experience in social
and fair trade auditing, knowledge of the sector, local and national legislation,
language, national culture, etc.) as well as his/her time availability.

Provided that you send all necessary information on time, the auditor will then
arrange logistics with you and send you an audit plan with a reminder of the
documents to have on hand and the personnel that should be present during the
audit.

On-site audit

On-site audits are performed in order to check the compliance of the products
with the criteria in the Certification Standard and are conducted on all sites
carrying out operations on products covered by the Certification: at least primary
production.
Ecocert conducts audits on the basis of the defined inspection plan, specific to
your activity (see §g).

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THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE ON-SITE AUDITS

1) Opening meeting: the auditor presents the objectives and the different points to check,
confirms the scope and the audit plan.
2) Assessment of the management system based on a documentary review.
3) On-site visit and interviews with personnel and/or producers (a minimum number of
interviews is required, corresponding to the square root of total number + 1).
4) Closure meeting: the auditor prepares a summary of the on-site audit and of any observed
non-conformities. You will be asked to sign it.
Note: During the audit, copies may be made of certain documents. If data privacy laws of the audit
country prohibit copies of certain documents, the auditor and the CB respect these restrictions.

In the event of analysis, any sampling is done in the presence of you or of your
representative, who signs the related documents. The nature of the analysis and
the laboratory chosen to do the analysis are determined by Ecocert.
If it is necessary, Ecocert may decide to leave a sample on your premises. This
sample should be used only in the event of counter-analysis. In this case, you, a
representative of Ecocert or a bailiff may send the sample to a third party
laboratory appointed by Ecocert according to the Ecocert instructions.

Summary of your audit

During the audit, any Non-conformity with requirements defined in the

Certification Standard is identified. All raised Non-conformities require actions
(called “corrective actions”) from you in order to get in compliance.
During the closure meeting or within the following week, you must commit to a
Corrective Action Plan and provide it to the auditor. This plan must:

describe the Corrective Actions considered for the identified Non-conformities,

assign responsibilities for implementation, and
set effective implementation dates for the Corrective Actions.

You will receive an audit report, either during the closure meeting or after the
audit. This report contains:
basic information on the main verification methods used during the audit
(interviews, visits, etc.),
the evaluation obtained per requirement, and
the details of any Non-conformity completed by your Corrective Action Plan.

Evaluation of implemented corrective actions

At this point, if you express interest in continuing the certification process, you
must submit Corrective Actions for each Non-conformity in the given time (within
45 days after receipt of the audit report for ‘required practices’, within 30 days
for ‘critical tolerances’). These proposed actions must be relevant and
comprehensive in order to continue the certification process. Otherwise, we will
ask you to suggest new actions.

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Depending on additional evaluation tasks needed to verify that non-conformities

have been cleared, Ecocert may be required to proceed with:

A new on-site audit,

Further sampling and analysis,
Additional documentary evaluation.

d. Non-conformities and Corrective Action Plan

Non-conformities on “Required Practices”

Required practices must be met by your operation in order to be eligible for

Certification. If the Non-conformity on the required practice is not resolved within
45 days, your operation is not eligible for Certification and a negative Certification
Decision is issued.

Non-conformities on “Critical Tolerances”

Critical Tolerances describe practices that require action on your part and must
be remediated within 30 days. If the Critical Tolerance is not resolved within 30
days, your operation is not eligible for Certification and a negative Certification
Decision is issued.

Corrective Action Plan

The Corrective Action Plan lists potential Non-conformities and classifies them
according to their degrees of severity (“required practice” or “critical tolerance”).
It also identifies, for each Non-conformity, the consequence on the Certification.
Appropriate actions to be taken and application modalities are also detailed. The
consequence on the Certification is defined according to the nature and the
severity of the Non-conformity as well as its occurrence and the risk of fraud.

e. Review of the evaluation results and certification

decision

Once Ecocert has checked the relevance and completeness of your file, you will
receive the Certification Decision for each pillar with the analysis results which is
based on:

the audit report, containing your proposed Corrective Action Plan,

the proof of the Corrective Actions implemented, and
other related documents.

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The Certification Decision conveys or permits identification of the following:

The name and address of Ecocert

The date the Certification Decision is issued
Your name and address
The pillar(s) for which you were audited
The performance level reached for each pillar (bronze, silver or gold)
The list of your attested products
The list of your sites included in the certification scope

If all relevant Non-conformities are solved within the given deadline, a positive
Certification Decision is issued and Certification for the applicable pillar is
granted.

If Non-conformities remain unsolved at the end of the defined deadline, a

negative Certification Decision is issued and Certification of the applicable pillar
is refused.
In this case, you can apply for a new certification process beginning step A.

The Certification Decision does not allow you to make reference to Regenerative
Organic Certification. Only once the Certification Acknowledgment will be issued
by ROA, you will be able to make any claims.

f. Certification Acknowledgement

Ecocert sends the Certification Decision to ROA. If positive Certification Decisions

are available for all applicable pillars, ROA issues the Certification
Acknowledgement in line with the Certification Decisions.

Costs that would be incurred (e.g.: manufacturing, printing labels…) in

anticipation of a Certification Acknowledgement not yet issued are under your
responsibility and cannot be supported by Ecocert.

g. Surveillance and continuation of the certification

process
Periodic Surveillance

The certification process is automatically renewed every year, if you did not notify
Ecocert about the termination of your certification contract under conditions on
current Terms and Conditions.

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On the bases of any information you will send to us and/or we may collect during
audit and other investigation, Ecocert will update your annual certification fee.

During the Surveillance period, we implement the audit plan, which consists of:
- Surveillance on-site audit.

Implementation of an audit plan

The audit plan defines the type and the frequency of necessary audit according
to your activity and some additional criteria.

Surveillance evaluations

During the Surveillance audit, the implementation of Corrective Actions defined

to deal with previous Non-conformities will be checked.

Surveillance is also based on the verification of any changes in Certification

Requirements or the scope of your Certification. For this reason, you must inform
Ecocert without delay of any change in your system (manufacturing, process,
quality) or the range of your products to be certified.

In the Surveillance steps C, E and F are repeated.

h. Renewal of Certification

If no Non-conformity is identified during the Surveillance evaluation, Ecocert

issues the Certification Decision and sends it to the scheme owner (ROA).

Where Non-conformities arise as a result of the Surveillance evaluations they

must be corrected by you within the defined timeframe (45 days for required
practices, 30 days for critical tolerances).

Where Non-conformities arise by any other means, the following steps apply:

You are informed about the identified Non-conformity and must commit to a
Corrective Action Plan within 2 weeks. After validation of the Corrective Action
Plan by Ecocert, the documented proof of implementation of the planned
measures must be provided within 1 month (2 weeks if Critical Tolerances are
concerned).

Non-conformities that arise by other means than the Surveillance audit may be
related to the following aspects:
Certification Standard requirements are not maintained.
Cooperation and access to documentation, facilities, and personnel are not

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provided to auditors during on-site audits.
You do not permit an audit to be conducted.
You make reference to the ROC Programme or Ecocert that are not in line with
the rules of logo use (see §VII).
The validity of your Certification Acknowledgement expires.
Such other matters or circumstances arising which have been identified as
compromising the integrity or reputation of the ROC Programme.

Where Non-conformities are not corrected within the defined timeframe,

appropriate measure will be taken, based on the Corrective Action Plan and
regarding the extent and severity of identified Non-conformities:

(i) Continuation of Certification under conditions

Conditions to continue Certification may be for instance:
Increased Surveillance through new audit or additional analysis
A delay to allow you to implement Corrective Actions
Etc…
If required conditions are not fulfilled in the given time, Ecocert will start the
process of suspension or withdrawal of Certification and update the Certification
Decision accordingly.

(ii) Suspension of Certification or Certification on hold.

This involves the interruption of Certification for a specific period or until
compliance of the product. If the product is not certified yet, your certification
will be on hold. Suspension may involve one or more products and/or batches.
To clear such Non-conformity you must provide the necessary elements within
the time granted.
No reference to the certification can be made any longer for the products
concerned by the suspension until the Non-conformity is closed. The concerned
product(s) will be removed of your Certification Decision during the suspension
period. ROA is informed on the new Certification Decision and will update the
Certification Acknowledgement accordingly.

(iii) Reduction of the Certification

This implies the immediate and final cancellation of the Certification for part of
the products and/or batch. The Certification Decision is updated accordingly.
ROA will be informed and the products can no longer make reference to the
Certification. This decision may be due to Non-conformity noticed in audit or on
your request if you do not wish to use the Certification for one or more of your
products (cancellation).
In all cases products are removed from the Certification Decision without notice.

(iv) Withdrawal of Certification

This implies the immediate cancellation of the Certification for all your products.
The Certification Decision is updated accordingly. ROA will be informed and you

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cannot make reference to the certification and for any of your products.
This decision is also accompanied by the termination of the contract with Ecocert.

A product without certification or whose certification has been

suspended/withdrawn cannot list any reference to the Certification. This ban also
applies to any other communication materials.
The suspension or withdrawal of your Certification implies the immediate end of
validity of these documents. It is your responsibility to inform your customers
that your products are not certified anymore, and to stop using of this document.

i. Changes affecting Certification

Changes in the Certification Scheme (new or revised requirements)

Ecocert undertakes to inform you by email of changes to documents in the

Certification Scheme, modalities of implementation and to make available the
most up to date version of the ROC Certification Standard.

In some cases, the amended provisions will apply with immediate effect or
transitional measures may be implemented by Ecocert.
It is your responsibility to implement changes and that of Ecocert to verify their
implementation.
If changes are not implemented, Ecocert can notify you a Non-conformity which,
if not resolved, can lead to a reduction, suspension or even a withdrawal of your
Certification (see §h).

Changes of your certification scope

It is also your responsibility to inform Ecocert, without delay, of any changes that
might affect your compliance to the Certification Requirements.
Examples of such changes can include the following:

Legal, commercial, organizational status or ownership,

Organisation and management,
Modifications to the product or the production method,
Contact address and production sites,
Addition of new producers,
Etc…

The changes have an impact on your Certification (changes of the scope of the
Certification Acknowledgement, suspension, withdrawal…) and potentially lead
to an additional audit or an extension audit (in case of new products/processes).

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Change of Certification Body

It is possible to change the Certification Body. This involves a file transfer from
your previous Certification Body to the new one. In case you leave your
Certification Body to apply with Ecocert, you are required to disclose previous
enrolment with another Certification Body and provide a copy of the latest audit
report or audit findings and corrective actions to Ecocert. Your application with
Ecocert will be conditional on the study of your file.
Conversely, if you are certified by Ecocert and you wish to transfer your file to
another Certification Body, Ecocert will forward your certification file to your new
certification body upon written request from you.

A transfer can be done only if there is no other procedure still in progress (Non-
conformity to be solved, Appeal…).

j. End of Certification

Termination and effects on your Certification

You can ask to stop Certification for all or a part of your products at any time. In
case you would like to cease the Certification of all your products and stop at the
same time your contract, you must do so in compliance with the conditions
defined under Terms and Conditions.

The end of Certification for all or a part of your products, and the termination of
your contract if any, implies the end of validity of your Certification Decision for
the concerned products with immediate effect.

ROA will be informed on the termination of your contract and your ROC
Certification Acknowledgement will be cancelled.

Consequently, after the termination date of the Certification (and the termination
of the contract as the case might be), you can no longer manufacture and market
the concerned products making reference to the Certification. Certification of
products already distributed and still on the market is not questioned.

Specific cases of stock selling off and stock audit

However, in the event you have stock of compliant products making reference to
the Certification, requiring a run-down period going beyond your attestation’s
expiry date, you are asked to inform us of the estimated time to sell such stock.

Ecocert will examine your request, and may extend your contract and allow you

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to sell your stock of compliant products. In that case an annual audit as a
“distributor” might be required and will imply additional cost.

The contract and Certification will therefore remain in force until the date we
have agreed for you to be able to sell the stocks of certified products, by the
operator or the site of initial sale (an annual stock audit is required), it being
stipulated that if you are a distributor, stocks and compliant products transferred
after the initial sale (between warehousing and shops for example) within the
agree timeframe, can be sold off, provided they are compliant, with no time limit.

In any case, we recommend that you contact Ecocert to find out the exact
termination terms and conditions applying to your organisation.

During such contract extension period, you are not allowed to manufacture new
products making reference to the certification.

V. Sub-contracting
Ecocert uses sub-contractors laboratories in order to perform analysis.
Laboratories are accredited or qualified by Ecocert and a list of these laboratories
is available on request.

VI. Complaints and Appeals

You may submit Complaints about the provided services to Ecocert, or Appeal a
Certification Decision taken by Ecocert.
Ecocert commits to deal with Complaints and Appeals in a timely manner and
according to the relevant internal procedures.

For Complaints concerning the content or management of the ROC Program

(such as requests to add, remove, or alter ROC criteria or details within ROC
Framework; complaints about ROA positions on various topics, ROC policies,
interactions; reconsideration of ROA’s approval of Certification Body to conduct
ROC audits), you may contact the ROA directly, following the ROC Disputes
Process (available on www.regenorganic.org).

a. Complaints

Anyone can send a Complaint to Ecocert. The Complaint can concern

documentary validation, another Client, Ecocert service, or other.
A response will always be sent to the individual who made the Complaint under
a reasonable delay.

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All Complaints are recorded by the quality manager, as well as measures taken
and an analysis is made on a regular basis to improve our service.

b. Appeals

You may appeal any Certification Decision by sending a written notice to Ecocert.
To be eligible, your Appeal must:

Be a written notice (letter or email),

Be done within 14 days, following the receipt of the Certification Decision,
Be duly justified: new items that have not yet been brought to the attention of
Ecocert must be provided.

If the Appeal is admissible, it is processed by Ecocert.

The outcome of the first Appeal cannot be appealed again. If the operation still
disagrees, it can complain about the CB service directly with ROA.

Appeals are not suspensive of the decision subject to the Appeal. These decisions
therefore apply until a new decision has been made after evaluation of your
Appeal.

c. Your obligation with respect to third party claims

You are responsible for managing third party claims that are addressed to you
directly. You must keep a record of all complaints made known to it relating to
compliance with Certification Requirements and makes these records available
to Ecocert. These records must keep track of the appropriate action taken and
these actions must be documented.

VII. Uses of references to Certification, to

Ecocert and use of marks (Ecocert or
others) associated with the service
Conditions of references to the Certification and associated trademarks are
defined in the following documents:

ROC Labelling Guidelines & Terms of Use

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Mention to Ecocert can be made on products only once the ROC Certification
Acknowledgement was issued by ROA, and only in the following way:
“Regenerative Organic Certified® by Ecocert Environnement”.

Use of Ecocert Logo is not permitted on any medium.

Use of the Ecocert logo which is allowed within the framework of another
certification held with Ecocert is not affected.

Misuse of the trademark or incorrect reference to the Certification or to Ecocert

by a Client may lead to the implementation of appropriate measures such as
reduction, suspension or withdrawal of Certification. Ecocert is also required to
inform ROA.

Examples of the cases that may arise:

The logo seal or reference to the Certification is made on products which are not
compliant to Certification Requirements,
The logo seal or reference to the Certification is made on products which have
not been the subject of an application for Certification or in the process of
certification,
In general, the rules of reference to Certification are not fulfilled (thank you to
read these rules, document available on internet or on request).

Ecocert wishes you a good certification process and remains at your disposal if
you have any question:
ECOCERT Environnement
36, Boulevard de la Bastille
75012 Paris

Ecocert Environnement
SAS au capital de 37.000,36 € 36, Boulevard de la Bastille www.ecocert.com
409 982 709 RCS PARIS 75012 Paris
17
 Code: TS-ROC-01
Version: 02
Author: JSR, EVG
Validation: KCT,MAE

ANNEX I: Definitions
Appeal - Written request by a Client to the Ecocert group reconsideration of a
certification decision the group has made.

Certification Acknowledgement - Document issued by the scheme owner

Regenerative Organic Alliance based on the Certification Decision(s), and
allowing the reference to the certification status of the certified products.

Certification - Issuance of a Certification Decision (cf definition)

Certification Decision - certification document issued to the Client attesting the

conformity of products to the Certification Scheme (cf definition).

Client - Person or organization that has subscribed a service from the Ecocert
group through the signature of a service agreement.

Certification Requirement - Specified requirement that is fulfilled by the Client as a

condition of establishing or maintaining certification.

Certification Scheme - Set of requirements, rules and procedures defined by the

scheme owner that must be implemented by Ecocert.

Certification Standard - Technical document defining products requirements to be

met, evaluation methods and procedures for communication on certification.

Complaint - Expression of dissatisfaction, other than Appeal by any person or

organization to the Ecocert group relating to the activity if the group where a
response is expected.

Corrective Action - Action to clear the cause of nonconformity or other undesirable

situation noticed.

Corrective Action Plan - List of Non-conformities related to Certification

Requirements and their impact on the Certification Decision. It can be completed
by additional evaluation needed to clear nonconformities.

Evaluation Plan - Description of the number and the evaluation types needed on
an evaluation cycle to grant product conformity to products requirements based
on the types of Clients.

Non-conformity - Non fulfillment of a requirement

Ecocert Environnement
SAS au capital de 37.000,36 € 36, Boulevard de la Bastille www.ecocert.com
409 982 709 RCS PARIS 75012 Paris
18
 Code: TS-ROC-01
Version: 02
Author: JSR, EVG
Validation: KCT,MAE
Surveillance - Repetition of the assessment, review, Certification Decision,
according to the Certification Scheme, as the bases of maintenance of
certification.

Ecocert Environnement
SAS au capital de 37.000,36 € 36, Boulevard de la Bastille www.ecocert.com
409 982 709 RCS PARIS 75012 Paris
19
 Code: TS-ROC-01
Version: 02
Author: JSR, EVG
Validation: KCT,MAE

ANNEX II: Diagram of certification process

YOU ECOCERT

INITIAL CONTACT INITIAL CONTACT

Request for information on Reception of file from ROA
A. APPLICATION

1. certification with ROA Sending of Certification Standard,

Certification Process and application
forms
APPLICATION APPLICATION
2. Sending of completed forms (for an Feasibility / eligibility review
initial request or for continuous ▪ If negative result: information
information updating) ▪ If positive result: sending of
quote & Terms and Conditions
B. CONTRACT

3. COMMITMENT
By signing the quote

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW DOCUMENTARY REVIEW

4. Sending of information needed to Sending of forms to be completed to
prepare the audit prepare the audit

AUDIT PLANNING
5. Completeness of the file, auditor’s
availability → assigning of auditor

AUDIT
6. ▪ The auditor performs the evaluation and identifies any Non-conformities
C. EVALUATION

▪ You commit on a Corrective Action Plan

SUMMARY OF YOUR AUDIT

Audit report including complete list of
7. Non-conformities, scores and a
summary of your overall
performance.

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
Sending of proofs of implementation
Evaluation of implemented Corrective
8. of Corrective Actions to remove Non-
Actions
conformities (within 45 days after
receiving the audit report; 30 days for
critical tolerances)

9. REVIEW OF YOUR FILE

CERTIFICATION DECISION
D. REVIEW

Award / Continuation,
10. Continuation under conditions,
Negative decision (Refusal,
Suspension, Reduction, Withdrawal);
Sending of Certification Decision to
ROA for issuance of Certification
Acknowledgement
E. SURVEILLANCE

FOLLOW-UP FOLLOW-UP
11. You must inform Ecocert of any Annual review: return to stage 4
changes to the process, sites,
suppliers, products composition,
labelling: return to stage 4

Ecocert Environnement
SAS au capital de 37.000,36 € 36, Boulevard de la Bastille www.ecocert.com
409 982 709 RCS PARIS 75012 Paris
20