RSPO Certification Systems Document - November 2020 PDF

RSPO CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS FOR PRINCIPLES & CRITERIA AND RSPO INDEPENDENT SMALLHOLDER STANDARD Endorsed by the RSPO Board of Governors on 12 November 2020 Document Title : RSPO Certification Systems for Principles & Criteria and RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard Document Code : RSPO-PRO-T01-002 V3.0 ENG Scope : International Document Type : Certification Systems Endorsement Date : 12 November 2020 Contact : [email protected] 2 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents......................................................................................................................................... 3 List of Acronyms.......................................................................................................................................... 4 Glossary...................................................................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction................................................................................................................................................... 9 2. Scope.............................................................................................................................................................. 11 3. Accreditation requirements.......................................................................................................................... 13 4. General requirements for Certification Body (CB)........................................................................................ 15 5. Certification Process Requirements for Certification against P&C & RSPO ISH Standard............................ 22 6. Certification of ISH Groups against RSPO ISH Standard................................................................................ 34 Annex 1 – Audit of Group of Outgrowers or Group of Scheme Smallholders using the RSPO Management System Requirement and Guidance for Group Certification of FFB Production................................................... 41 Annex 2 – Transfer of Certification............................................................................................................................ 44 Annex 3 – Audit Report............................................................................................................................................. 46 Annex 4 – Peer Review Process................................................................................................................................. 48 Annex 5 – a. Public Notification Template for Mills with Supply Base..................................................................... 51 b. Public Notification Template for Independent Smallholders Group................................................... 54 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 3 LIST OF ACRONYMS Acronym Meaning AB Accreditation Body ASA Annual Surveillance Audit BoG RSPO Board of Governors CB Certification Body CSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil CSPK Certified Sustainable Palm Kernel CSPKE Certified Sustainable Palm Kernel Expeller CSPKO Certified Sustainable Palm Kernel Oil FFB Fresh Fruit Bunches IAF International Accreditation Forum IC Initial Certification ISEAL International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance ISH Independent Smallholders LI Local Interpretation MLA Multilateral Recognition Arrangement MS A Milestone A MS B Milestone B NC Non-compliance NI National Interpretation NPP New Planting Procedure OFI Opportunities for Improvement P&C RSPO Principles and Criteria RIF RSPO Interpretation Forum RSPO Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil 4 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard GLOSSARY Audit A systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining objective evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which the audit criteria are fulfilled. Audit Team Leader A qualified Lead Auditor who has been appointed by the CB to lead an audit team. Accreditation Third-party attestation related to a certification body conveying formal demonstration of its competence to carry out the RSPO certification assessment. Accreditation Body The organisation that undertakes the accreditation of CBs. The organisation shall be a signatory to the appropriate International Accreditation Forum (IAF) or Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA), or a full member of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL). Assessment The combined processes of audit, review, and decision on a client’s conformity with the requirements of a standard. Audit plan Description of the activities and arrangements for an assessment/audit. Certificate Document issued under the rules of a certification system, indicating that adequate confidence is provided that a duly identified product, process or service is in conformity with a specific standard or other normative document. Certification Body A third-party conformity assessment body that undertakes an RSPO certification assessment and issues a certificate. Client Company or Management Unit seeking assurance of their conformity with the requirements in a standard. Conflict of interest Situation in which a party has an actual or perceived interest that gives, or could have the appearance of giving, that party an incentive for personal, organisational, or professional gain, such that the party’s interest could conflict, or be perceived to conflict with, the conduct of an impartial and objective certification process. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 5 GLOSSARY Corrective action Action to eliminate the cause of a detected non-compliance and to prevent recurrence. Field experience Experience gained through practical working experience and/or auditing experience. Group member Individual oil palm smallholders/farmers that are enrolled in a group certification scheme. Independent A smallholder can pursue certification through the RSPO ISH Standard if: smallholders They are NOT a scheme smallholder The total size of their oil palm production areas is Ê ≤ smaller or equal to 50 hectares(ha) if no threshold is defined in Local Interpretation; OR Ê ≤ smaller or equal to the maximum size defined in Local Interpretation (e.g. for Indonesia this implies threshold size is 25 ha or below and for Ecuador 75 ha or below). They have the enforceable decision-making power on the operation of the land and production practices. They have the freedom to choose how they utilise the land, type of crops to plant, and how to manage them (how they organise, manage and finance the land). They meet any further criteria relative to the applicability of this standard as provided in the National Interpretation in their country. Impartiality Presence of objectivity i.e. conflicts of interest do not exist. Initial certification The beginning stage of the certification cycle where the decision of certification and issuance of certificate was done. Local expert Person provides specific knowledge or expertise to the audit team on issues relating to the activity to be audited or language or culture. The local expert does not act as an auditor in the audit team and shall be impartial. Management advice Services associated with in-house training, consultancy, internal audits to a specific client. 6 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard GLOSSARY Management unit Unit of certification, which is the mill and its supply base. National An adaptation of the RSPO Principles & Criteria for use in a particular country. Interpretation Non-compliance Non-fulfilment or lack of evidence of fulfilment of an RSPO requirement. NCs are graded into two (NC) categories, i.e. minor and major NCs. The grading of the NC shall follow the Indicators. Indicators marked with (C) indicate Critical and any NC against this indicator (i.e. indicator marked as (C)) shall be graded as Major NC. Non-compliance against indicators without marking with (C) shall be graded as Minor NC. Opportunities for Situations where the evidence observed indicates a requirement has been effectively implemented, Improvement (OFI) but based on auditor experience and knowledge, additional effectiveness or robustness might be possible with a modified approach. It can be, but is not necessarily, an item that will lead to a future nonconformity if not addressed. Outgrower Oil palm farmers with more than 50 hectares in size who produce FFB for sales, but without mill. Outgrower can be independent, i.e. independent growers, or associated with a mill, i.e. scheme outgrowers. Peer review The evaluation of work by an independent competent person. Peer review process is used to ensure the quality of audits, improve performance, and provide credibility to the audit. Peer reviewer An independent person who is competent to conduct the peer review of the CB’s audit report. Plantation The land containing oil palm and associated land uses such as infrastructure (e.g. roads), riparian zones and conservation set- asides. Recertification audit Audit of an organisation for renewal of RSPO certification before expiry of the current valid certificate. RSPO recertification audit shall be undertaken once in every five years. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 7 GLOSSARY RSPO IT platform IT platform where licence of the certified management unit is submitted and approved by the RSPO Secretariat. The system is used for tracing RSPO certified palm oil, palm kernel oil, fractions and palm fatty acids (PFAD), palm kernel fatty acids (PKFAD) and palm kernel expeller, throughout the supply chain from mill to refineries included, under the supply chain models. This IT Platform also allows the trading of RSPO credits under the Book and Claim model. RSPO Interpretation An interpretation forum for CBs, AB and RSPO members to clarify any questions on the RSPO Forum standards, systems and procedures. Scheme Farmers, landowners or their delegates that do not have the: smallholders – Enforceable decision-making power on the operation of the land and production practices; and/or – Freedom to choose how they utilise their lands, type of crops to plant, and how they manage them (whether and how they organise, manage and finance the land). Surveillance audits Annual systematic repetition of conformity assessment activities as a basis for maintaining the validity of RSPO certification. Suspension Process of temporarily making accreditation or certification invalid, in full or for part of the scope of accreditation or certification. Stakeholders An individual or group with a legitimate and/or demonstrable interest in, or who is directly affected by, the activities of an organisation and the consequences of those activities. Technical Support Services provided by any part of the same legal entity of the CB or any entity under the organisational control of the CB that are used to demonstrate conformity with the P&C requirements. These include analysis of effluent quality, water quality, air emissions, etc. Termination of Process of cancelling certification by CB or accreditation by the AB. certificate/ accreditation Withdrawal of Voluntary process of cancelling certification by the unit of certification (UoC) or accreditation by certificate/ the CB. accreditation 8 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a global, multi-stake holder initiative on sustainable palm oil production and use. Members of the RSPO and participants in its activities come from many different backgrounds, including plantation companies, manufacturers and retailers of oil palm products, environmental and social non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and from many countries that produce or use oil palm products. The principal objective of the RSPO is to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil through cooperation within the supply chain and open dialogue between its stakeholders. 1.2 The methods used by the RSPO to deliver its objective include the development of a standard for certification of sustainable palm oil production, and the development of a standard for certification of the control of RSPO certified oil palm products in the supply chain: a. The RSPO Principles and Criteria for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO P&C) is structured as a series of principles, criteria, indicators and guidance, and is designed to be used by palm oil growers and millers to implement sustainable production practices. The RSPO National Interpretation (NI) of the RSPO P&C shall be used when the applicable NI has been endorsed by the RSPO Board of Governors (BoG). In cases where an NI has not been endorsed, the latest version of the RSPO P&C shall be used for the audit. The RSPO P&C are also designed to be used before, during and after any land is developed for oil palm plantings. The RSPO New Planting Procedure (NPP) specifies a subset of RSPO P&C that must be independently evaluated prior to any development of new plantings. b. The RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard (RSPO ISH Standard) was developed in response to the growing recognition by stakeholders for the need to increase smallholders inclusion into the RSPO system through a mechanism that takes into consideration the diversity of challenges and situations faced by smallholders globally, together with their varying needs and concerns. This standard complements the 2018 RSPO Principles and Criteria for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil (2018 P&C) and is only applicable to those smallholders that qualify as Independent Smallholders as defined in the standard. c. The RSPO Supply Chain Certification Standard (RSPO SCC Standard) is structured as a series of auditable requirements designed to be used by organisations in the palm oil supply chain, to demonstrate systems for control of RSPO certified palm oil products. Supply chain certified units can make claims relating to the use of (or support for) RSPO certified palm oil products when they adhere to the requirements of the RSPO SCC Standard. The claim made must be compliant with the RSPO Rules on Market Communications and Claims as published on the RSPO website. 1.3 Organisations that are found during a certification assessment to be in compliance with an RSPO standard are issued with a Certificate of Compliance with a maximum validity of five (5) years. The NPP verification statement shall state the applicable subset of RSPO P&C that has been independently evaluated. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 9 INTRODUCTION 1.4 The RSPO is a full member of the ISEAL Alliance, the global membership organisation for sustainability standards. The ISEAL Alliance has defined a good practice code for assurance, covering certification and accreditation (Assuring Compliance with Social and Environmental Standards: Code of Good Practice), which requires standards system owners to document a plan for how they address risks to the integrity of their assurance systems. The plan should include a list of the most significant risks in their system and a description of the strategies being employed by the standards system owner to address each of these risks. This document is designed to address many of the assurance risks identified by the RSPO. 1.5 This document sets out the requirements for the systems that shall be followed in the implementation of certification against the requirements of the RSPO P&C and/or its National Interpretations (including the certification of any subset of the RSPO P&C as required under the RSPO New Planting Procedure) and the RSPO ISH standard and/or its Local interpretations. The requirements in this Certification Systems document are also applicable when CBs are auditing against the RSPO Management System Requirements and Guidance for Group Certification of FFB Production as outlined in Annex 1 to this document. 1.6 These certification systems consist of the requirements for the AB (detailed in section 3 of this document), the general requirements for CBs (section 4 of this document) and the certification process requirements for assessment against the P&C and the ISH standard (section 5 & 6 of this document). 1.7 RSPO has made a provision that all CBs accredited for certification against the RSPO P&C can also undertake supply chain audits of the CPO mills requirements contained in Principle 3 of the 2018 P&C, provided that one of the audit team members has successfully completed an SCC lead auditor training course. 1.8 The requirements in this document are also valid for the RSPO NPP verification process, as well as the verification of compliance with the RSPO Remediation and Compensation Procedure (RaCP). 1.9 A review of this document will take place within five (5) years of publication. The review will include an assessment of the effectiveness of the accreditation mechanism and the continued competence of the CB and AB. The RSPO Secretariat can also decide to review any aspect of the systems documentation at any time at their discretion, as necessary, following international best practices. 10 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 2. SCOPE 2.1 Elements of the RSPO certification scheme 2.1.1 The RSPO certification scheme is made up of three (3) key elements: a. Certification standards: These set out the requirements that shall be met by an organisation and against which certification assessments are made, where applicable. These are: i. the RSPO P&C, supported by the RSPO P&C: Audit Checklist for Assessing Compliance (RSPO generic audit checklist) and National Interpretations, where applicable; ii. RSPO ISH Standard and Local Interpretations, where applicable; iii. RSPO Management System Requirements and Guidance for Group Certification of FFB Production; iv. New Planting Procedure (NPP) *The latest versions of the above documents apply. b. Accreditation requirements: These are the requirements, defined in this document, for ensuring that (i) the organisation that undertakes the accreditation of CBs (the AB) is competent and produces credible, consistent results; and (ii) the organisations (CBs) that undertake certification are competent and produce credible, consistent results. Accreditation requirements for CBs wishing to become accredited for RSPO SCC auditing are outlined in separate RSPO SCC Certification Systems document. c. Certification process requirements: This process is defined in this document, of establishing whether or not the requirements of the standards have been met and is carried out by a CB. In case a finding requires further interpretation to assess whether the requirements of the standards have been met, RSPO will publish the case on the RSPO Interpretation Forum with a date of final decision-making. The result will be made publicly available on the RSPO website within three (3) working days of the receipt of the case. For details of the RSPO Interpretation Forum, please contact the RSPO Secretariat. 2.2 Other relevant documents 2.2.1 Documents that are referenced in this document are listed below. All RSPO documents are available on the RSPO website, www.rspo.org. Where documents have since been updated as a new version before this document is next revised, the latest version of all documents will always prevail. RSPO Principles and Criteria for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil, all National Interpretations and all relevant associated guidance RSPO Management System Requirements and Guidance for Group Certification of FFB Production RSPO P&C: Audit Checklist for Assessing Compliance (RSPO generic audit checklist) RSPO Rules on Market Communications and Claims RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 11 SCOPE RSPO Standard Operating Procedure for Standards Setting and Review ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems – Requirements with Guidance for Use ISO/IEC 17011 Conformity Assessment - General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies ISO/IEC 17021 -1 Conformity Assessment - Requirements for Bodies Providing Audit and Certification of Management Systems IAF MD2 IAF Mandatory Document for the Transfer of Accredited Certification of Management Systems ISEAL Alliance. Assuring Compliance with Social and Environmental Standards: Code of Good Practice RSPO New Planting Procedure and all relevant associated guidance RSPO Remediation and Compensation Procedure and all relevant associated guidance RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard, 2019, all Local Interpretations and all relevant associated guidance RSPO ISH Standard: Audit checklist for assessing compliance 12 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 3. ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS 3.1 Accreditation overview 3.1.1 Any CB that wishes to offer certification services against RSPO certification standards shall be accredited by the Accreditation Body (AB) appointed by the RSPO. 3.1.2 CB accredited for RSPO P&C is allowed to conduct related RSPO certification/verification activities such as certification of ISH standard, Group Certification, and NPP verification. However, the CB shall possess all the competences required to carry out the certification/verification activities. Accredited CB for RSPO P&C shall be in compliance with the relevant requirements defined by RSPO and the AB. 3.1.3 The RSPO and the AB shall publish a list of accredited CBs on their respective websites. 3.2 Requirements for the Accreditation Body 3.2.1 The AB shall demonstrate that it complies with the requirements of the latest version of the ISO/IEC 17011 Conformity Assessment - Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies. The AB shall demonstrate this either by being a signatory to the appropriate International Accreditation Forum (IAF) Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) or through full membership of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL). 3.2.2 The AB shall be responsible for decisions on the accreditation status of a CB, including application, approval, suspension, withdrawal or termination, as well as expanding and reducing the scope of accreditation. 3.2.3 The AB’s documented systems and procedures shall include annual monitoring and reviews of CBs’ competence and implementation of all RSPO-specific requirements. The AB shall publish its finalised P&C witness and compliance assessment reports of accredited CBs on its website. 3.2.4 The AB is required to implement its accreditation processes in accordance with documented systems and procedures. These systems and procedures shall be designed to ensure that accredited CBs are operating in a manner consistent with the intent and requirements of the ISO/IEC 17021-1 with the specific RSPO requirements detailed in this document. All AB’s assessors shall be trained on ISO/IEC 17021-1, this document, the RSPO standard, and other relevant updated documents. 3.2.5 The ISO/IEC 17021-1 recognises that there will be additional requirements for specific certification schemes. The specific requirements for RSPO certification are detailed in sections 4, 5 and 6 of this document and are necessary to ensure a sufficient level of technical rigour and credibility. This document includes some areas of overlap with ISO/IEC 17021-1. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 13 ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS 3.2.6 The AB’s documented systems and procedures shall include requirements relating to the transfer of the certification of an organisation from one accredited CB to another, consistent with the requirements of IAF Mandatory Document for the Transfer of Accredited Certification of Management Systems (IAF MD2) and as specified in section 4.5 and Annex 2 of this document. 3.2.7 Assessments of the performance of the AB in relation to its defined systems and procedures, and any additional RSPO requirements, are conducted by the RSPO Secretariat biannually. 3.2.8 The AB shall maintain and implement a written policy and procedures for avoidance of conflicts of interest. 3.3 Suspension, withdrawal and termination of accreditation 3.3.1 The AB shall have a documented procedure in place for the suspension, withdrawal or termination of the accreditation of CBs. 3.3.2 The AB shall notify the RSPO Secretariat of the suspension, withdrawal or termination of accreditation for any CB within two (2) working days. A suspended CB is allowed to carry out limited audit activities as specified by the AB in the terms of suspension. The suspended CB shall inform all of its RSPO certified clients of its suspended status. From termination or withdrawal date, the CB is not allowed to do any audits and verifications for the RSPO schemes. 3.3.3 Where a CB’s accreditation is withdrawn, suspended or terminated the CB shall inform all of its RSPO certificate holders within 14 days of this change in status and shall comply with the AB’s and RSPO’s requirements for transfer of certification to other accredited CBs. If an audit is being performed before the withdrawal, termination or suspension date, but the certification process has not been completed, the RSPO Secretariat together with the AB will decide about the continuation of the process. 14 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 4. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION BODY (CB) 4.1 Accreditation of CBs 4.1.1 Certification shall be undertaken by a CB that has been accredited in accordance with the requirements of the RSPO, as outlined in this document. 4.1.2 Individuals cannot be accredited as a CB. 4.2 Accreditation status 4.2.1 The CB shall only carry out RSPO certification processes described in this document after the date of its accreditation, and only within the scope of its accreditation. 4.2.2 The CB shall comply with the requirements set by the AB relating to accreditation decisions, status and scope. 4.3 Conformity with ISO requirements 4.3.1 The CB shall demonstrate that all aspects of its organisation, systems and procedures for conducting certification are in accordance with this Certification Systems and compliant with the relevant requirements of the AB. 4.3.2 The CB shall develop systems and procedures for certification assessments consistent with the guidance in ISO/IEC 17021-1 Conformity Assessment – Requirements for Bodies Providing Audit and Certification of Management Systems, with modifications to take into account the specific requirements set out in this document. Where there is any inconsistency or conflict between the RSPO Certification Systems and any relevant ISO requirements, the RSPO Certification Systems requirements shall always take precedence. 4.4 Contract of service 4.4.1 The CB shall enter into a written, legally enforceable certification agreement for the provision of RSPO certification, verification and related services with its clients. 4.4.2 The agreement shall contain the following: i. Scope of assessment, duration and costs related to the assessment services. ii. The CB’s and client’s contractual rights and obligations including the following; – the client’s right to appeal in relation to the CB’s assessment process including the decision-making; – the rights of CB’s and AB’s representatives to access the certificate holder’s premises, documents, and records deemed necessary by the CB or its AB; – the right of the CB to conduct an unannounced audit (to investigate complaint) and to bring observers in the audit (where required); RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 15 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION BODY (CB) – the right of the AB to conduct witnessed assessment, compliance assessment, unannounced assessment, or a short notice assessment. Note : The term “unannounced audit/assessment” is an additional audit carried out in response to, for example, a complaint against or identified potential risk linked to the integrity of the certificate issued to the certified organisation, for which CB or AB does not announce the date of the audit to the certified organisation. The RSPO recognises there might be legal and logistical challenges in the implementation of unannounced audits. Hence, subject to practical arrangements required relating to legal or logistic challenges the CB or AB shall inform the certified organisation about the audit at least three (3) working days in advance. The audit team conducting the audit shall be different from the audit team that conducted the previous certification. 4.4.3 Prior to entering a contract, the CB shall i. check the RSPO website to confirm that the client or its parent organisation is an RSPO member. The CB shall contact the RSPO Secretariat if the membership status of the client is in doubt. An organisation shall be a member of RSPO before it can undergo a certification assessment against the RSPO P&C. ii. ensure that the client has submitted to the RSPO Secretariat the Disclosure of Non-Compliant Land Clearing (Annexe 2 of the Remediation and Compensation Procedure (RaCP). The CB shall cross- check with the RSPO Secretariat of the submission of the form. 4.5 Transfer of certification between CBs 4.5.1 Transfer of the certification of an organisation between accredited CBs can take place at any time during the validity period of a certificate, in accordance with the requirements of IAF MD2. Guidance on the required process is detailed in Annex 3 to this document. The transfer of CBs is allowed only once within a certificate cycle (i.e. once within five (5) years). If there is a need for a second transfer, a written permission from the RSPO Secretariat must be obtained through a request made by the company or the CB. 4.5.2 The transfer of a certification between accredited CBs shall not be permitted if there are outstanding major NCs and/or if any financial obligations have not been met. If a CB has been suspended, withdrawn or terminated by an AB, the transfer of certification shall be permitted even if there are outstanding major NCs, provided that a corrective action plan has been endorsed by the initial CB. The suspended, withdrawn or terminated CB remains responsible for endorsing the corrective action plan for major NCs. A draft report and corresponding documents must be submitted by the suspended, withdrawn or terminated CB to the new CB. 4.5.3 After reviewing the documentation, the new CB shall issue the organisation with a new certificate following the next annual surveillance audit, maintaining the previous expiry date. Upon issuance of the new certificate, the CB shall submit the request for an annual licence through the RSPO IT platform within two (2) weeks of the issuance of the certificate. The certificate is only valid if the licence is active. 16 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION BODY (CB) 4.6 Impartiality and conflict of interest 4.6.1 Any person or entity engaged by the CB or the CB itself shall: a. Declare any and all interests that may potentially affect the certification process and/or that could possibly constitute a conflict of interest, in advance of engaging in an assessment, verification or certification process against the requirements of any RSPO Certification Standards. b. Report any circumstances or pressure that may influence its independence or confidentiality immediately to the executive management of the CB. The executive management of the CB shall notify the RSPO and the AB of any such report and ensure that any such report is included in the certification report of the certification process and in the file of the client. 4.6.2 The CB shall not include in their audit team any individual employed by a company that is a current RSPO client to them, or currently working with the palm oil trade/commercial association in which the client is a member of the association. 4.6.3 The CB shall retain records of any actual and potential conflicts of interest from its auditors. The CB shall also retain records of its justification behind any decisions, including all actions taken to resolve any potential or actual conflict of interest, for at least five (5) years. 4.6.4 The CB shall have documented procedures for preventing, reviewing and acting upon any conflict of interest declarations made by its auditors. These procedures shall ensure that the declared potential or actual conflict of interest does not influence the evaluations, actions or decisions of the CB. 4.6.5 The CB’s procedures for identifying and managing conflicts of interest shall include provision for a specific independent committee, set up by the CB. The independent committee shall consist of at least three (3) external members who are not employees or subcontractors, with professional experience in the palm oil industry and shall meet at least annually (face-to-face or electronically) with the CB’s management representative to formally review the CB’s implementation of its impartiality procedures and records related to its RSPO certification and verification activities. 4.6.6 The CB and members of its assessment teams shall maintain independence from the organisation being assessed for a minimum of three (3) years to be considered not to have a conflict of interest. 4.6.7 The CB shall not use the same lead auditor as audit team leader for more than two (2) consecutive audits (counting all types of audits, i.e. certification audits and surveillance audits) of a management unit, including if the lead auditor changes CB. The same lead auditor shall also not participate or involve in any associated audit activities (either as auditor or technical reviewer or decision maker) of the same management unit for at least two (2) years. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 17 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION BODY (CB) 4.6.8 The CB shall not accept any contracts from its certified client relating to verification and/or investigation of complaints. However, for complaints received via the CB’s system, refer to 4.10 of this document. 4.6.9 The CB and its subcontractors, shall not have provided, or provide management advice or technical support related to the scope of RSPO certification to any organisation under contract with the CB for certification assessment services, or with whom it has any relationship that creates a threat to impartiality, for at least three (3) years before certification services are provided. This excludes the provision of RSPO-endorsed public training courses. 4.7 Confidentiality 4.7.1 The CB shall have a documented policy on confidentiality to share with its clients, as part of or referenced to the certification agreement. This policy will cover its handling of commercially sensitive information. 4.7.2 The CB shall inform the certified unit that the RSPO Public Summary Audit Report and Certificate are to be made publicly available on the RSPO website. 4.8 Resource requirements 4.8.1 The CB shall implement all provisions, including legal arrangements, to ensure that all persons, including its freelance auditors and experts engaged on its behalf in auditing against the requirements of the RSPO Standards, are trained and knowledgeable about the applicable processes, procedures and documents, and comply with the requirements of the RSPO Certification Systems. 4.8.2 The CB shall have documented processes for a. Determining the competence criteria for personnel involved in the audits and other certification activities; b. Determining the initial competence evaluation and ongoing monitoring of competence and performance of all personnel involved in the certification activities. The output from these processes shall be to identify personnel who have demonstrated the level of competence required for the different functions of the audit and certification process. Competence shall be demonstrated prior to the individual taking the responsibility for the performance of their activities within the CB. 4.8.3 The CB shall have access to a sufficient number of auditors, including the audit team leaders and technical experts to cover all of its activities and to handle the volume of audit work performed. 4.8.4 The CB shall identify annual training needs and shall provide access to specific training to ensure its auditors (including freelance) and other personnel involved in certification activities are competent for the functions they perform. 18 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION BODY (CB) 4.8.5 The CB’s audit team shall always include an audit team leader who is a qualified lead auditor. The CB shall define the role of the audit team leader in managing the audit. 4.8.6 All auditors shall have the following qualifications: a. Possess a bachelor’s degree or tertiary education in related disciplines, such as agriculture, environmental science or social sciences, etc; b. At least three (3) years of field experience in the palm oil sector, health and safety, or environmental management. These include experience in HCV and HCS assessment, social auditing or involvement in human rights activities; c. Successfully completed an RSPO endorsed P&C lead auditor course; d. Successfully completed the 5-day lead auditor course for ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 or ISO 45001; e. Demonstrable understanding of the latest version of RSPO Certification Systems; f. For auditors auditing the ISH standard, auditors shall additionally be trained on the ISH standard either by the endorsed trainer or RSPO; g. For auditors verifying compliance with NPP procedures, auditors shall additionally be trained in the assessment of compliance with FPIC, HCV and HCS requirements in the context of RSPO NPP procedure. h. A supervised (by a qualified auditor/lead auditor) period of training in practical audit against the RSPO P&C, with a minimum of 10 days of audit experience in at least two (2) audits. 4.8.7 The RSPO lead auditor is a qualified RSPO auditor who shall have, as a minimum: a. At least five (5) years of field experience in the palm oil sector, health and safety, or environmental management. These include experience in HCV and HCS assessment, social auditing or involvement in human rights activities; b. A supervised (by a qualified lead auditor) period of training in practical audits against the RSPO P&C and/or RSPO ISH standard, with a minimum of 15 days audit experience in at least three (3) audits; c. Successfully completed a refresher course for RSPO endorsed P&C lead auditor course every three (3) years after the initial qualification as lead auditor. 4.8.8 Composition of an RSPO audit team (including NPP verification) shall ensure that the team collectively demonstrate sufficient oil palm expertise and knowledge of RSPO requirements including the legal, technical, environmental and social issues, and shall consist of auditors who as a team are : i. Knowledgeable and experience of the local/regional laws; ii. Knowledgeable in Best Agricultural Practices, and Integrated Pest Management, pesticide and fertiliser use; iii. Experience in health and safety auditing on the farm/plantation and in the palm oil mill, for example against the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management standard; iv. Experience in handling workers’ welfare or social auditing experience, such as experience with the SA8000 or other international sustainability scheme that has the social auditing requirements. The auditor auditing the social requirements shall have successfully attended the internationally recognised social auditing RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 19 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION BODY (CB) standard training, such as the SA8000, Social Systems (SMETA) Auditor Training or social training recognised by RSPO; v. Experience in handling of land rights, gender and indigenous peoples’ issues; vi. Experience in environmental and ecological auditing or assessments, such as experience with High Conservation Value (HCV)/High Carbon Stock (HCS) assessments, organic agriculture or the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems standard; vii. Where applicable, knowledge on the ISH context; viii. Fluent in one of the main national languages (all audit team members). If not enough auditors with language knowledge are available, the CB shall use interpreters. The interpreters shall be independent of the organisation being assessed. The name of interpreters shall be included in audit report; ix. Knowledgeable in supply chain requirements of the palm oil mill. The auditor performing this task shall have successfully completed the RSPO endorsed SCC lead auditor training course. Note: this does not apply for ISH or Group Certification. 4.8.9 When local expert is used, e.g. for community consultations, the CB shall ensure that the expert is aware of the RSPO requirements prior to the audit. 4.8.10 The CB shall register all its approved lead auditors and auditors (including freelance) with the AB, including details of their qualifications and competences. 4.8.11 The CB shall evaluate the performance of each lead auditor and auditor in witness assessments at least once every three (3) years or whenever there is a complaint against the lead auditor and/or auditor’s performance. 4.9 Subcontracting requirements 4.9.1 The CB may subcontract (outsource) certification work to an affiliate office, external body or person (freelance), subject to their compliance with the RSPO requirements for assessment teams and lead auditors, as set out in section 4.8 of this document. Critical certification activities such as technical review and certification decision process shall not be subcontracted. 4.9.2 The CB shall have i. a formal agreement and/or contract with all subcontractors. ii. documented procedures for managing its relationship with the subcontractor according to the requirements of this document; and iii. mechanisms to review the performance of the subcontractor and ensure that they are fully compliant. 4.9.3 Subcontractors shall also be subject to monitoring by the AB. 4.9.4 Subcontractors shall comply with all applicable requirements in this document. 20 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION BODY (CB) 4.10 Feedback mechanism and Complaints process 4.10.1 The CB shall have a system to collect feedback from their clients on the performance of the audit and its auditors. 4.10.2 The CB shall make available procedures for handling of complaints and grievances on its website. This shall include complaints against the certified organisation, the certification decision or the CB itself. 4.10.3 The CB shall notify the AB within seven (7) days of a complaint received from any RSPO stakeholders concerning its auditor’s competency or concerning the outcome or implementation of a certification assessment that it conducted. The CB shall seek resolution of complaints within 60 days. Should the CB fail to resolve a complaint within that time frame, it shall inform the AB immediately. Furthermore, the CB will inform the complainant about the AB Complaints Procedure, which is available on the AB’s website. 4.10.4 If the complaint refers to the conditions of RSPO membership the CB shall inform the RSPO Secretariat if a resolution was not achieved within 60 days. 4.10.5 The CB shall not make any verification or clarification statement public regarding the outcome of the investigation on the complaint of their certified client. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 21 5. CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD 5.1 Unit of certification 5.1.1 For audits against the RSPO P&C, the unit of certification shall be the mill and its supply base. Where more than one mill shares the same supply base, deviations shall be requested from the RSPO Secretariat to include more than one mill on a single certificate. Where organisations are managing plantations only, with no integrated mill, or where the mill is not yet established, the requirements in the P&C relating only to mills are not applicable. 5.1.2 The unit of certification shall include both directly managed land (and estates) and scheme smallholders and outgrowers, where estates have been legally established with proportions of lands allocated to each. The CB shall determine the status of the smallholders at the time of the assessment. 5.1.3 The directly managed lands (or estates) shall be compliant with the P&C in order for a certificate to be awarded. The mill shall develop and implement a time-bound plan to ensure that 100% of scheme smallholders and scheme outgrowers are compliant with the standard within three (3) years of the mill’s initial certification. In monitoring compliance with this timeline, the CB shall raise an OFI after one (1) year where 100% of the scheme smallholders and scheme outgrowers are not in compliance, a minor NC after two (2) years, and a major NC if this requirement is not met after three (3) years. 5.1.4 For independent smallholders using the RSPO ISH standard, the unit of certification shall be the group manager and 100% of the ISH group members included in the scope of certification. 5.1.5 For group certification other than ISH, the RSPO Management System Requirements and Guidance for Group Certification of FFB Production is applicable. For group certification, the unit of certification shall be the group manager and the group members. 5.2 Information for applicants and application review 5.2.1 The CB shall provide organisations seeking certification at minimum the following documents: standards to be used, application form, the CB’s general terms and conditions and details of the appeals and complaints procedures. 5.2.2 The CB shall conduct a review of the application to ensure: a. the CB has the competence and ability to perform the certification activity; b. the scope of certification sought, the site(s) seeking certification, time required to complete the assessment including time for stakeholders consultation, and any other points influencing the certification activity are taken into account (e.g. language, safety conditions, threats to impartiality, etc). 5.2.3 As a general guideline, the duration of the site audit of a management unit consisting of one mill and one estate should be nine (9) man-days. However, the duration of the site assessment will depend on other factors, such as 22 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD the size and complexity of the operation, geographic context, known community issues, risk, etc. Justification shall be provided for the determined audit days. 5.3 Initial certification audit planning 5.3.1 The CB shall plan the certification audit to be consistent with the requirements defined in clause 9.2 of ISO/IEC 17021-1 and to include all applicable requirements of this Certification Systems. The CB shall ensure that an audit plan is established prior to each audit to provide the basis for agreement regarding the conduct and scheduling of the audit activities. The audit plan shall be communicated and agreed upon, in advance with the client. 5.3.2 The CB may synchronise and combine RSPO audits with other certification audits (e.g. QMS, EMS, OHSMS, etc.) where possible and appropriate at the discretion of the CB and the client. 5.3.3 The certification assessment shall cover all of the principles, criteria and indicators in the RSPO P&C or the RSPO ISH standard (or the National Interpretation or Local Interpretation, where applicable), applicable requirements in this Certification Systems, and/or the RSPO Management System Requirements and Guidance for Group Certification of FFB Production. 5.3.4 For NPP verifications, the verification assessment shall cover all of the principles, criteria and indicators in the RSPO P&C that are referred to in the RSPO NPP document. 5.3.5 The CB shall also determine compliance with any other requirements specified in the RSPO NPP and the RSPO RaCP document, and other procedures developed by RSPO. 5.3.6 Planning for the duration of the site assessment of the initial certification audit shall reflect the selection of estates, the number of scheme smallholders or the number of ISH as determined by the sampling process (see section 5.7 and 6.4 of this document) and where applicable, the number of previous land users (see section 5.6.6 of this document). 5.3.7 The audit team leader shall assign to each team member responsibility for auditing specific requirements, sites, areas, or activities. Such assignments shall take into account the need for competence, and the effective and efficient use of the audit team. Changes to the work assignment may be made as the audit progresses to ensure achievement of the audit objectives. 5.4 Procedure for the initial certification audit process 5.4.1 The CB shall define procedures for the certification audit process. The procedures shall require that the certification audits, and the subsequent surveillance audits, use appropriate sampling to collect objective RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 23 CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD evidence through: documentation review, field checks and interviews with internal and external stakeholders. 5.4.2 The Initial Certification audit can be conducted either in a two-stage audit or a one-stage audit. A two-stage audit shall include Stage 1 and IC audit. The Stage 1 shall include a review of the applicant documentation and determine the readiness of the applicant to go for IC audit. If a one-stage IC audit is implemented, the CB shall ensure that the audit team allocates time to review the management documentation of the applicant to ensure that all elements fully meet the requirements of the relevant RSPO Certification Standards. For audit against the RSPO ISH standard, only one stage audit shall be conducted. 5.4.3 The CB’s site assessment shall start with an opening meeting, during which the lead auditor shall: i. Inform the applicant about the certification process; ii. Agree on logistic for the assessment; iii. Confirm access to all relevant documents, field sites and personnel; iv. Explain confidentiality and conflicts of interest measures; and v. Agree on the timing of the closing meeting 5.4.4 The certification audit shall review whether all required documented policies and procedures of the operation seeking or holding certification, are sufficient and adequately implemented to meet the intent and requirements of the applicable RSPO Certification Standards and this Certification System document. Any non-compliances against this Certification Systems Document are classified as a major non-compliance. 5.4.5 In cases where an organisation seeking certification contracts or outsources non-processing activities to independent third parties (such as labour, transport and external bulking activities), the activities of these third parties fall inside the scope of certification, and they shall comply with all relevant requirements of the RSPO certification standards. A risk assessment by the CB shall determine whether a site visit to the third party is required. 5.4.6 The scope of a P&C certificate cannot include processing activities performed by other entities. Therefore, mills cannot outsource processing of FFB activities. A mill wanting to certify its palm oil products (e.g. CPO and PK) shall carry out all related processing activities itself. 5.4.7 At the conclusion of the certification audit the CB shall conduct a closing meeting with the client’s representative(s). During the closing meeting the CB shall ensure that: a. The client is informed that until they receive written confirmation of their certification registration, the organisation is not certified and cannot make any claims concerning certification. b. The client is made aware of the findings of the audit team including any non-compliances that may result in a negative certification decision, or that may require further actions to be completed before a certification decision can be taken. 24 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD c. A detailed record is compiled of the closing meeting including a list of NCs raised with clear reference to the specific indicators that each was raised against. d. The record of the closing meeting shall be signed by the lead auditor and the most senior management representative of the operation seeking or holding certification and must give clear information whether the management unit is recommended for certification. 5.5 Minimum requirements for multiple management units (not applicable for RSPO ISH Standard) 5.5.1 Organisations that have multiple management units, and/or a majority holding in and/or management control of more than one autonomous company growing oil palm, will be permitted to certify individual management units and/or subsidiary companies under certain conditions. A majority shareholding is defined as the largest shareholding; where the largest shareholdings are equal (e.g. 50/50) this applies to the organisation that has management control. The requirements in 5.5.2 below will be applicable, whether the registered RSPO member is the holding company or one of its subsidiaries. 5.5.2 Time-bound plan: A time-bound plan for certifying all its management units and/or entities, including the units where the organisation has management control and/or minor shareholding, is submitted to the CB during the initial certification audit. The time-bound plan shall contain a current list of all estates and mills. a. As a minimum, all estates and mills shall be certified within five (5) years after obtaining RSPO membership. Any new acquisitions shall be certified within a three-year time frame. Any deviations from these maximum periods requires approval by the RSPO Secretariat. b. Progress towards this plan shall be verified and reported in subsequent annual surveillance audits by the CB. Where the CB conducting the surveillance audit is different from the CB that first accepted the time-bound plan, the later CB shall accept the appropriateness of the time-bound plan at the moment of first involvement and shall only check continued appropriateness. c. Any revision to the time-bound plan, including for the scheme smallholders and outgrowers, shall be reviewed by the CB. Changes to the time- bound plan are permitted only if the organisation can demonstrate to the CB that they are justified. The requirements will also apply to any newly acquired subsidiary from the moment the company is legally registered with the local notary or chamber of commerce (or equivalent). d. Where there are isolated lapses in the implementation of a time-bound plan, a minor non-compliance shall be raised. If there is evidence of fundamental failure to proceed with the implementation of the plan, a major non-compliance shall be raised. 5.5.3 Requirements for uncertified management units: a. No replacement of primary forest or any area required to maintain or enhance HCVs and HCS in accordance with RSPO P&C criterion 7.12. Any new plantings since 1 January 2010 shall comply with the RSPO New RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 25 CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD Planting Procedure (NPP). For each new planting development, compliance with the NPP shall be verified by an RSPO accredited CB. b. Land conflicts, if any, are being resolved through a mutually agreed process, such as the RSPO Complaints System or Dispute Settlement Facility, in accordance with RSPO P&C criteria 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8. c. Labour disputes, if any, are being resolved through a mutually agreed process, in accordance with RSPO P&C criterion 4.2. d. Legal non-compliance, if any, is being addressed through measures consistent with the requirements of RSPO P&C criterion 2.1. e. CBs shall assess compliance with these rules at each assessment of any of the applicable management units. Assessment of compliance with the requirements 5.5.3 (a) –(d) above based on self-declarations by the company, with no other supporting documentation, shall not be acceptable. Verification of compliance shall be based on the following approach: A positive assurance statement is made, based upon self-assessment (i.e. internal audit) by the organisation or assessment carried out by an accredited CB. Evidence of the assessment against each requirement shall be demonstrated and if there is non-compliance whether the non-compliance has been actively addressed or communicated to RSPO. Where applicable, targeted stakeholder consultation, including consultation with the relevant NGOs, will be carried out by the CB. Desktop study, e.g. web check on relevant complaints. If necessary, the CB may decide on further stakeholder consultation or field inspection, assessing the risk of any non-compliance with the requirements. f. For requirements 5.5.3 (a)-(d) above, the classification of critical and non-critical is as stated in the RSPO P&C. If a non-compliance against a critical indicator in a non-certified management unit is identified, the current certification assessment cannot proceed to a successful conclusion unless it is actively addressed. Evidence of active engagement with RSPO in resolving the non-compliance shall be available. g. Failure to address any outstanding non-compliances within uncertified unit(s) as defined in 5.5.3 (f) above may lead to suspension of certificate of the certified unit(s), in accordance with the provisions of these Certification Systems. 5.6 Stakeholder consultation 5.6.1 For initial certification and recertification audits for P&C and audit at Eligibility, MS A, Initial (MS B) and recertification audits for RSPO ISH Standard, the CB’s procedures shall include a requirement to make a public announcement on the RSPO website of the audit at least one (1) month prior to its start. The announcement shall be available in English and the national language. The CB may use the template as provided in Annex 5. 26 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD 5.6.2 The announcement template shall include the following minimum information: i. RSPO member’s name and membership number. ii. Name of the mill, its supply base and the locations. iii. For ISH, the name of the group, number of group members and the location of the group. iv. Background of the management unit. v. Type of audit and audit date. vi. Information about the mill including the mill capacity, mill locations and the GPS reference and the estimated annual CPO and PK production. vii. Information about the supply base (each supply base) including the location and the GPS reference, total area to be certified (in ha), total planted area (in ha) and annual estimated FFB production. viii. For ISH, the list of names of the group members including locations, the GPS reference, respective area to be certified (in ha), total planted area (in ha), the annual estimated FFB production and the date of joining the group. ix. The name of the standard to be audited including the supply chain model. x. Location maps of the management unit or the ISH group. xi. RSPO PalmTrace number (RSPO PO_ID). xii. To indicate whether there is NPP submitted to RSPO Secretariat and the NPP status. xiii. Status of the RaCP, if applicable. xiv. CB’s audit team including their roles and brief qualification of each of the team members. xv. How the stakeholders can submit their comments. 5.6.3 Prior to making an announcement, the CB shall check with the RSPO Secretariat of the management unit liability status. If there is liability, the public announcement shall only proceed when the Concept Note has been submitted to the RSPO Secretariat. However, this requirement is not applicable to the ISH group. 5.6.4 The CB shall submit to the RSPO Secretariat a copy of the announcement at least five (5) working days before the scheduled public announcement, and the RSPO will post the announcement on the RSPO website. 5.6.5 The CB’s procedures for certification audit shall include a requirement to gather evidence from relevant stakeholders, designed to ensure that all relevant issues concerning compliance with the RSPO P&C are identified. Relevant stakeholders include but are not limited to statutory bodies, indigenous peoples, local communities (including women representatives, displaced communities), workers and workers’ organisations (including migrant workers), smallholders, and local and national NGOs. A summary of this evidence shall be incorporated into the public summary report of the certification assessment. 5.6.6 The CB shall review whether oil palm operations have been established in areas that were previously owned by other users and/or are subject to customary rights of local communities and indigenous peoples. If applicable, the CB shall consult the interested parties directly to assess whether land transfers and/or land use agreements RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 27 CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD have been developed with their free, prior and informed consent and check compliance with the specific terms of such agreements. The CB shall have a mechanism in place to identify the interested parties and ensure a represented samples size of the interested parties are consulted in each audit. The CB shall keep track which party that has been interviewed in the previous audits to ensure proper coverage of the parties throughout the certification cycle. 5.6.7 The CB shall include a summary of stakeholder comments and the CB’s responses and findings in the public summary report. 5.7 Sampling for RSPO P&C certification 5.7.1 The CB’s shall establish a procedure for sampling methodology of all audits, where there are more than four (4) estates or scheme smallholders. However, for units that have less than four (4) estates, all estates shall be audited. 5.7.2 Sampling of estates and scheme smallholders shall be carried out separately. The CB shall ensure that all estates shall be audited within the certification cycle. 5.7.3 Where sampling is required for a certification assessment, the sampling design shall include all mills and be based on a minimum sample of x estates, where x = (√y) x (z), where y is the number of estates and where z is the multiplier defined by the risk assessment. A ‘risk level’ shall be set at: Level 1 – low risk Level 2 – medium risk Level 3 - high risk Multiplier z is set as follows: Low risk = multiplier of 0.8 Medium risk = multiplier of 1.2 High risk = multiplier of 2 Factors to consider in the risk assessment are geographic locations and distance of estates, land size, complexity of the labour force, landscape setting and presence of HCV/ or peat, complexity of supply sheds, number of communities and known conflicts, legality, etc. This sampling intensity also applies to scheme smallholders, where applicable. 28 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD 5.7.4 Estates and/or scheme smallholders in the selected sample shall include, but not be limited to, locations of potentially greater environmental and social risk, and any perceived risks relating to the current activities being undertaken (e.g. replanting or expansion). The sampling methodology shall also take into account the objective of selecting a representative sample in terms of the diversity of sites (i.e. range of sizes, type of terrain, location, etc.) 5.7.5 For Group Certification, the required sampling procedure is presented in Annex 1. 5.8 Decision-making 5.8.1 The final certification decision for an organisation or group entity is made by the certification body. All major non-compliances shall be addressed to the satisfaction of the CB before certification is granted. Note: Certification decisions include decisions to grant, maintain, renew, suspend, reinstate or withdraw certification, as well as decisions on expanding or reducing the scope of certification. 5.8.2 Certification assessments shall determine compliance or non-compliance with each of the P&C indicators or the RSPO ISH indicators. Non-compliances shall be graded as either minor or major, in accordance with the status of the relevant indicator in the RSPO P&C (i.e. any non-compliance against indicator marked as (C) shall be graded as major non-compliance). For the ISH Standard, all non-compliances are considered major. 5.9 Addressing major and minor non-compliances (not applicable for RSPO ISH Standard) 5.9.1 A certificate of compliance with the RSPO P&C shall not be issued while any major non-compliances are outstanding. 5.9.2 Certification submissions to the RSPO IT platform, cannot be based on audits performed more than 12 months before the date of submission. For initial certification where major non-compliances remain outstanding after 12 months, a full reassessment is required. 5.9.3 Minor non-compliances shall be raised to major if they are not addressed by the time of the following audit. 5.9.4 Major non-compliances raised during surveillance and recertification audits shall be closed successfully within 90 days, or the certificate shall be suspended, and subsequently withdrawn if the major non-compliances are not addressed within an agreed timeframe as set between CB and RSPO member, not longer than six (6) months from the last day of the audit. However, for recertification, the suspension cannot be more than the validity of the licence in the RSPO IT platform. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 29 CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD a. Recurring major NC on the same indicator (including the supply chain indicators) in successive audits shall lead to immediate suspension of the certificate. This suspension shall be lifted when the NC is successfully addressed. b. Recurring minor NC on the same indicator in successive audits shall be raised to major. Recurring of the non- compliance against this non-critical indicator in the subsequent audits shall be raised as major which results in immediate suspension. 5.9.5 If there are five (5) or more major NCs within a Principle being observed in an annual surveillance audit or in a recertification audit, immediate suspension from the RSPO certification. However, this requirement excludes NCs raised on the supply chain indicators for the mill. 5.9.6 Suspension from RSPO certification shall be carried out within five (5) working days after the end of closing meeting including the suspension of the IT platform. The CB shall inform the RSPO secretariat of the decision. 5.9.7 The timeline for the NCs shall be accounted for from the date of the closing meeting. 5.10 Reporting and communications 5.10.1 The CB shall prepare an audit report in accordance with Annex 3. The CB is encouraged to use the generic RSPO audit checklist as published on the RSPO website or develop its own checklist based on the NI’s requirements. 5.10.2 For initial certifications and recertifications audits the CB shall submit the draft audit report to the peer reviewer for review. The CB shall only finalise the audit report after the peer reviewer provided comments. The CB shall respond in writing to the peer review comments. The guidelines for peer review are mentioned in Annex 4. 5.10.3 For audits without major NCs raised, the CB shall finalise the audit report within 30 days of the closing meeting of the audit. For audits with major NCs, the audit report shall be finalised within two (2) weeks of the closure of the last major NCs, following the 90-day closure period. For initial certifications and recertifications, an additional three (3) weeks is allowed for the peer review process. 5.10.4 The CB shall submit a copy of the audit report, including the RSPO metrics template and the certificate, to the RSPO Secretariat within seven (7) days of a certificate being issued, by uploading it to the RSPO IT platform. Only the audit report and certificate will be published on the RSPO website. 30 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD 5.11 Certificates 5.11.1 The CB shall prepare the certificate and send a copy to the RSPO Secretariat by uploading it to the RSPO IT platform within seven (7) days of the certificate being issued. Registration and RSPO approval of the certificate on the RSPO IT platform results in the issuance and activation of an annual licence to trade. For ISH certificate, refer to 6.7 of this document. 5.11.2 For P&C, the certificate shall contain a. Name and location of the certified unit b. Name of the supply base(s), GPS coordinates of the supply base(s), and the individual certified area (in ha) c. RSPO membership name and RSPO membership number d. Certified volume CSPO and CSPK e. Start date and expiry date of the certificate f. Initial date of certification g. Supply chain model 5.11.3 The maximum period of validity of the RSPO P&C certificate is five (5) years. The CB shall undertake annual surveillance audits during the certificate’s validity, and a full recertification audit of compliance shall take place before the end of the five-year period. 5.12 Suspension and withdrawal of certification 5.12.1 The CB shall have documented procedures concerning conditions for suspension and withdrawal, which ensure that upon notice of suspension or withdrawal of certification, the client discontinues its use of all promotional and advertising matter that contains any reference to a certified status. 5.12.2 In the event that the CB suspends or withdraws a certificate according to its documented procedures, the CB shall inform the RSPO within one (1) working day, together with the effective date and justification for suspension or withdrawal. The CB shall also ensure that the licence in the RSPO IT platform is suspended. 5.12.3 The previously certified entity shall from this point no longer claim RSPO certification, and all trading of its RSPO certified oil shall cease. Any remaining stocks of certified palm oil shall then be considered as uncertified. The CB shall decide on their requirements for the lifting of the suspension. 5.12.4 Following withdrawal and termination of a certificate, a full recertification audit is necessary before certification can be re-awarded. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 31 CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD 5.12.5 The RSPO Secretariat may instruct CB to suspend or withdraw a certificate of its client. In such cases the CB will implement the request within five (5) days. This must be based on the internal processes and decisions within the RSPO Secretariat. 5.13 Annual surveillance audits 5.13.1 The CB shall undertake the first annual surveillance audits within 12 months of the certificate issue date, but not earlier than eight (8) months after the certificate issue date. The subsequent annual surveillance audits shall be undertaken within 12 months of the licence expiration dates, but not earlier than eight (8) months after the expiration date. 5.13.2 A request for time extension of up to a maximum of three (3) months may be approved by the RSPO Secretariat. If a surveillance audit is not conducted within the required time frame, unless due to the actions of the CB itself, the CB shall notify the organisation and the RSPO Secretariat that the certificate is suspended, until the surveillance audit has been undertaken and the certification decision has been approved by RSPO. The surveillance audit shall be undertaken within six (6) months of the suspension date, otherwise a full recertification audit shall be required. 5.13.3 The surveillance audit shall review whether the documented policies and procedures of the certified operation remain sufficient and adequately implemented to meet the intent and requirements of the RSPO certification standards. 5.13.4 Surveillance audits shall include evidence gathering to verify that outstanding corrective action has been effectively implemented, by demonstrably addressing the root cause of the non-compliance and avoiding recurrence by effective preventive action. 5.13.5 Surveillance audits shall incorporate site visits to assess continued compliance to the RSPO standards, as well as specific evaluation in response to any external complaints received or relevant stakeholder comments. The surveillance audit shall be planned to allow for sufficient time to address these requirements. 5.13.6 The CB shall submit a surveillance audit summary report in accordance with 5.10 above. 5.14 Recertification audits 5.14.1 Recertification audits shall be undertaken within 12 months of the licence period date, but no earlier than eight (8) months after the original expiry of the previous licence date. A request for time extension of up to a maximum of three (3) months may be approved by the RSPO Secretariat. 32 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard CERTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION AGAINST P&C & RSPO ISH STANDARD 5.14.2 If the recertification audit decision is taken later than the maximum time extension allowed, i.e. after three (3) months, the certification period will follow a new cycle starting from the date of the audit decision. 5.14.3 The CB shall submit a recertification audit summary report in accordance with 5.10 above. 5.15 Publicly available information 5.15.1 The following documents shall be publicly available on the websites of the CB and/or the RSPO: a. A summary report of a certification audit (Initial Certification, Surveillance or Recertification) shall include information as specified in Annex 3. The summary report shall exclude any information that is commercially confidential or whose disclosure would result in negative environmental or social outcomes. The report is made available on the RSPO’s website in English, together with the certificate. b. CB’s procedures for complaints and grievances, including resolution mechanisms, on the CB’s website. c. The registry of all certified organisations, which shall include details of the scope of each certificate, on the RSPO and CB’s websites. d. The public notifications and NPP reports on the RSPO’s website. 5.16 Control of claims 5.16.1 The CB’s procedures shall include measures to ensure compliance with the RSPO’s requirements for the control of trademarks and claims by certified organisations, as detailed in the RSPO Rules on Market Communication and Claims. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 33 6. CERTIFICATION OF ISH GROUPS AGAINST RSPO ISH STANDARD 6.1 Introduction: 6.1.1 This section sets out the certification systems that shall be followed in the implementation of certification against the requirements of the RSPO ISH Standard. The general rules for the conduct of the audits as outlined in this document is also applicable to auditing the RSPO ISH Standard. 6.1.2 The RSPO ISH Standard introduces a phased approach to enable smallholders to achieve compliance over a specified period. The approach includes three (3) phases: 1. Eligibility (E) 2. Milestone A (MS A) 3. Milestone B (MS B, which is full compliance) 6.1.3 The phased approach allows the smallholder to enter the system once they are part of a group and meet all Eligibility indicators. This approach is designed to screen smallholders for the most unsustainable practices and then, for those who are eligible, allow time for continual improvement and progress towards meeting all requirements. Key requirements of this approach are: The group needs to demonstrate progress in moving from meeting Eligibility indicators, to indicators listed under MS A and finally meeting the indicators of MS B. Progress shall occur within a set time frame; a maximum of two (2) years is allowed for progressing from Eligibility to MS A and a maximum of one (1) year is allowed to progress from MS A to MS B. Compliance at every milestone is measured by fulfilling all the requirements of the current milestone and all preceding milestones, e.g. to be compliant with MS A, the smallholder group must demonstrate compliance to the Eligibility requirements and requirements of MS A. A smallholder can progress directly to MS B if at Eligibility or MS A they can demonstrate compliance with MS A and MS B. They can move forward and be audited for MS A and MS B at the same point of time, as assessed by Group Manager and third-party auditors. The group manager shall inform the CB on the readiness of the group to achieve E, MS A or MS B before the public announcement as required in 5.6 of this document. At MS B, the smallholder needs to be able to demonstrate compliance with and will be audited against all indicators, including those under Eligibility, MS A and MS B. 6.1.4 The certification of an ISH Group shall take into account the following: Group Entity shall be a member of RSPO The RSPO certificate of compliance is awarded to a Group Entity. Traders of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB), who may handle FFB between the group members and the palm oil mill, must be either: Ê Independently certified to the RSPO Supply Chain Certification Standard; or Ê Part of the Group structure with a chain of custody system under the control of the Group manager that complies with the applicable parts of the RSPO Supply Chain Certification Standard. 34 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard CERTIFICATION OF ISH GROUPS AGAINST RSPO ISH STANDARD 6.1.5 The certification system includes assessment and verification at each of these three (3) phases. Each phase has its own assurance requirements for assessing compliance, claims that the smallholder can make, and benefits for the smallholder, as shown in the figure below. 6.2 Assessment of Compliance for Independent Smallholder Standard 6.2.1 The requirements outlined in the three stages (E, MS A, MS B) and the requirements on the Internal Control System (ICS) mentioned in the RSPO ISH Standard are auditable at the indicator level. 6.2.2 The auditing mechanism and the trading options for the smallholder groups at the different phases are shown in Figure 1 below: Figure 1: Auditing mechanism and trading options for the different phases 6.2.3 At the Eligibility phase and MS A, the CB shall conduct a pre-audit assessment and at MS B, the CB shall conduct an Initial Certification audit followed by the annual surveillance and recertification audits according to the requirements laid out in this Certification Systems document. 6.2.4 The requirements at every stage are audited cumulatively. For example, an audit of an ISH Group at MS A would involve auditing the group against all the indicators of the Eligibility phase and all the indicators of MS A. 6.3 Planning Audits 6.3.1 The audit of Eligibility phase shall only take place at year 1. No audit is required in year 2. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 35 CERTIFICATION OF ISH GROUPS AGAINST RSPO ISH STANDARD 6.3.2 Audit of MS A phase shall be conducted no later than four (4) months before the expiry of the Eligibility certificate (i.e. audit shall be carried out on the 20th month of the Eligibility certification) 6.3.3 The initial certification audit of MS B phase shall be conducted no later than five (5) months before the expiry of the MS A certificate. 6.3.4 The first annual surveillance audit of MS B phase shall be conducted within 12 months of the certificate issue date, but not earlier than eight (8) months after the certificate issue date. The subsequent annual surveillance audits shall be undertaken within 12 months of the licence expiration, but not later than four (4) months before the licence expiry. 6.4 Sampling of Group Members 6.4.1 The minimum sample size should be four (4) members. For groups with fewer than four (4) members, 100% of the members shall be assessed. 6.4.2 For the assessments at Eligibility the sample size shall be determined by the formula, (√y) x (0.5) where y is the number of group members. For the assessments at MS A the sample size shall be determined by the formula, (√y) x (0.8) where y is the number of group members. No risk assessments are required at Eligibility and MS A. 6.4.3 In order to determine the representative sample of Group members for the audits at MS B, the CB is required to carry out a risk assessment of the members. 6.4.4 The risk assessment shall take into account the diversity of the Group members (i.e. range of size, management structure, diversity of terrain, etc.) and any perceived risk relating to the activities being undertaken (e.g. how much replanting or expansion is occurring, how many members are new and, for subsequent assessments, whether there is a history of non-compliances). Additionally, the risk assessment shall take into account the perceived risks relating to the capacity of the Group Manager to be performing adequately (e.g. change of management, high turnover of staff, very small staff compared with the size of the Group they are managing). The more diverse the Group and the greater the number of risk factors associated with the Group or Group Manager, the higher the risk and therefore the larger the sample size required. Low risk groups are those where the Group is relatively homogeneous, geographically and socioeconomically, and where there are no current replanting activities, no current expansion activities and no new members, and where the Group and its manager are well-established and, in the case of subsequent assessments, have no history of non-compliances. 36 RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard CERTIFICATION OF ISH GROUPS AGAINST RSPO ISH STANDARD Medium risk Groups are those where there is some geographical and socioeconomic homogeneity, but it is not uniform across the Group. There is no replanting and/or expansion but the Group management has a history of non-compliances. High risk Groups are those where there is considerable heterogeneity in the Group (e.g. members are geographically or jurisdictionally separated from one another, a range of terrains, varying levels of experience of oil palm cultivation among members, diverse sizes of plantations, a range of socioeconomic situations among members, etc.), where there is recent expansion or replanting, and/or where the Group management has recently undergone changes. 6.4.5 The risk level of the size for the group is determined numerically by the formula below. The sample size shall be determined by the formula x = (√y) x (z), where z is the multiplier defined by the risk assessment. For Guidance, a ‘risk level’ shall be set at Level 1 - low risk, Level 2 - medium risk, Level 3 - high risk. Multipliers are set as follows: Low risk = multiplier of 1.0, medium risk = multiplier of 1.2, high risk = multiplier of 2. 6.4.6 For groups composed of members at different phases (Eligibility, MS A or MS B), separate samples shall be calculated following the respective formula, one for those at Eligibility, one for those at MS A and one for those at MS B. Each of the subgroups shall be assessed against the indicators for the phase they are in. 6.5 Addressing non-compliances against the RSPO ISH Standard 6.5.1 All indicators at E, MS A and MS B are considered as Critical indicators and any non-compliances to any of the indicators shall be raised as major NCs. 6.5.2 Major NC raised during Eligibility audit shall be addressed within 12 months of the audit. If the major NC remains outstanding after 12 months, a full re-audit is required. 6.5.3 Major NC raised during MS A audit shall be addressed at least 1 month before the expiration of the Eligibility certificate. Failure to follow this requirement will result in the group to become uncertified and a reaudit will be required. No time extension of the licence in the RSPO IT platform is allowed during MS A phase. 6.5.4 Major NC raised during the initial certification against the MS B indicators shall be addressed at least two (2) months prior to the expiry of the MS A certificate. This is to ensure that the group can be certified to MS B within the 1-year time period. Failure to follow this requirement will result in the group to become uncertified and a reaudit will be required. RSPO Certification Systems for P&C and RSPO ISH Standard 37 CERTIFICATION OF ISH GROUPS AGAINST RSPO ISH STANDARD 6.5.5 For annual surveillance audits, major NC raised shall be closed successfully within 90 days of the closing meeting or the certificate shall be suspended, and subsequently withdrawn if the major NCs are not addressed within an agreed timeframe as set between CB and Group Manager, not longer than six (6) months from the last day of the audit. A request for time extension of up to a maximum of three (3) months may be approved by the RSPO Secretariat. 6.5.6 Recurring major NC on the same indicator in successive audits shall lead to immediate suspension of the certificate. This suspension shall be lifted when the NC is successfully addressed. 6.5.7 Suspension from the RSPO certification shall be carried out within five (5) working days after the end of the closing meeting, including the suspension of the IT platform. The CB shall inform the RSPO Secretariat of the decision. 6.5.8 The timeline for the NCs shall be accounted from the date of the closing meeting. 6.5.9 Certification submissions to the RSPO IT platform cannot be based on audits performed more than 12 months before the date of submission. For all audits where major non-compliances remain outstanding after 12 months, a full re-assessment is required. 6.5.10 No time extension of the licence in the RSPO IT platform is allowed during the Eligibility phase or MS A. No carry over of unsold certified volume is allowed for Eligibility and MS A. 6.6 Audit report 6.6.1 For audits without major NCs, the CB shall finalise the audit report within 30 days. For audits with major NCs, the

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