LEAF Marque Assurance Public System Report

Transcription

1 LEAF Marque Assurance Public System Report December 2015 The LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) Marque is an assurance system recognising more sustainably* farmed products. It is based on LEAF s Integrated Farm Management (IFM) principles. All LEAF Marque certified farms are independently inspected. Integrated Farm Management Integrated Farm Management (IFM) is a whole farm business approach that delivers sustainable* farming. IFM uses the best of modern technology and traditional methods to deliver prosperous farming that enriches the environment and engages local communities. * LEAF s sustainable farming - is an approach that works to deliver a site-specific farming system that supports the integration of and needs of the environment, farm economic viability and society over the long term. 1

2 Table of Contents 1. Assurance System Structure List of standards that are assessed through the assurance system Personnel Competence Assessment Oversight On-going Scrutiny Assurance System Structure Currently, we only have one Standard, which has undergone its thirteenth revision (October 2015) that was first published in All LEAF Marque certification is conducted via third party inspection. The assurance provider is known as a certification body. A full list of third party certification bodies is available on the LEAF website (See 2 below). All certification bodies have gone through a strict application procedure to ensure they understand their requirements and obligations as well as LEAF Marque training on the compliance requirements for the assessment of the Standard. Since the LEAF Marque Standard System is a 'higher level' standard system, the certification body has to be accredited to ISO for the baseline / foundation system (e.g. GLOBALG.A.P.) as well as having gained or is in the process of gaining extension of scope for LEAF Marque. Certification decisions are taken by the individual certification bodies once all non-conformances are resolved. Inspections are conducted on an annual basis and the results of the inspection are sent to LEAF Marque via a data feed. Through an intranet system, there is a daily tracking of certification decisions: Data feed must occur on the LEAF database when a farm is registered with the certification body for a LEAF Marque certificate within 14 days of receipt of the registration, regardless of whether payment has been received from the Farm. The update of certificate status post inspection / certification process must occur within 21 days of the inspection (14 days from inspection to certification decision and 7 days to transfer data to LEAF online database). When the Farm s status is Not Approved and the certification manager receives documentary evidence that clears the non-conformances, the certification body must within 7 days of receipt of the documentary evidence update the status on the LEAF online database. 2. List of standards that are assessed through the assurance system LEAF Marque certification bodies must adhere to ISO 17065, which was a direct replacement to EN Oversight for this procedure is provided by Accreditation Bodies such as UKAS, DAkkS etc. All LEAF Marque certification bodies have to provide a copy of their certificate for ISO indicating their current scopes once their transition period has been completed (which must include GLOBALG.A.P. or approved benchmarked equivalent). A list of the LEAF Marque certification bodies is provided here: The LEAF Marque Global Standard is an established global environmental standard. New LEAF Marque control points are developed based on request, either from internal consultation from either the LEAF Marque Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) or Working Group; or externally from producers or other interested stakeholders. The emphasis is on working to reach consensus, regardless of which group of stakeholders is making the decision. Within the process there is a facility for stakeholders to have their views heard on the Standard setting content and procedure. Within the LEAF Marque certification rules, there is also a complaints procedure. Each certification body, under accreditation requirements, must also have a complaints procedure. 2

3 LEAF completed a survey commissioned by ISEAL as part of a process to improve risk management practices and guidance. We have a license agreement with certification bodies that binds them into a contractual relationship which addresses certain risk issues / obligations etc. for both parties. Also since joining ISEAL we are looking at risk through the ISEAL Assurance Code as well as beginning the process with our own evaluation from ISEAL guidance. We will continue to develop this and are open to assistance in minimising this risk element. Risk is proactively (annually) and dynamically assessed as there are numerous influences on our Charity s objectives. As with all elements of what LEAF does, LEAF is always seeking to improve, but overall we have a reasonable and practical approach to risk at this time. The LEAF Marque Global Standard System is third party audited; therefore the risk of conflicts of interest is slight. We have built good relationships with our certification bodies and ensure impartiality in dealing with them and producers. We have a LEAF Marque Board and LEAF Marque Technical Advisory Committee and working group to ensure accountability in this area. 3. Personnel Competence LEAF Marque has its own approved LEAF Marque Certification Body Requirements. These include: farm assurance training and experience, administrative capacity, IT competence with data requirements, and accreditation. The certification body must have sent a qualified inspector or auditor of the LEAF Marque Global Standard System evaluation team to a LEAF Marque 2 day approved training course and have been issued a certificate. The lead auditor is then able to disseminate the training within the certification body. All the certification bodies are kept informed on the updates of the LEAF Marque Global Standard System revisions as well as additional guidance notes. Certification bodies inform LEAF of new auditors and trainings as appropriate. At the completion of the training course there is no formal examination but the course deals with each control point in detail plus a separate session for certification bodies and auditors so that they can address any specific queries. This forms part of an informal process of evaluation and relationship building with the assurance personnel. The supporting information required in the application form including the personnel of the organisation their responsibilities and their qualifications (Including CVs) and experience; the quality manual (or equivalent management system documentation) and the company brochure and any marketing material that will help in assessing the application. 4. Assessment The LEAF Marque Global Standard System is linked to a dedicated LEAF database where each control point (CP) is recorded and a final assessment report produced. All non-conformances are then followed up by the certification body with the producer and their record is updated before a final certification decision is made within the certification body. On-site witness audits are employed in the evaluation of auditors and lead auditors within certification bodies carry these out. Audit time can vary from the size of farm and the number of the businesses additional sites plus if there are multiple audits being carried out in conjunction with the LEAF Marque inspection e.g. GLOBALG.A.P. or retailer own systems. 3

4 Each LEAF Marque member must complete a self-assessed LEAF Sustainable Farming Review every year. They must have the performance profile and their targets for action; this can be printed from the Review as well as a completion record. LEAF Producer Groups need to complete a Review for their LEAF Producer Group. The certification body will have access to the LEAF Review prior to inspection and be able to assess compliance to LEAF Marque standards and inspect the targets for action. The Certification Body will collect the required data. Data must be submitted on a weekly basis within the allocated time scales. When a client wants to change a certification body their previous assurance record is kept secure via the provision of their Unique Identification Code within the LEAF database. A LEAF Marque certificate will cover the whole farm; including, sites and fields managed centrally and are not limited to defined crops or enterprises within the farming business. Within the audit evidence the letters P, R and V indicate (P) physical, (R) record and (V) verbal. The Recommended (R) control points are either new or established control points that may become Critical Failure Points (CFP s) in the future. There are also Non Applicable (N/A) control points. Members have 3 months from the first inspection to rectify any non-conformances, after this date their certificate status will be change to Withdrawn and they will have to reapply to their certification body for another inspection. On all subsequent inspections, if non-conformances arise on the critical failure points the member will be informed at inspection and in writing by the certification body and given 28 days to clear them. The certification body will issue one certificate per standard scope and this certificate will be extended after each surveillance visit and or at its expiry. A new certificate will be issued when the scope changes. (A certificate refers to the electronic certificate held on the LEAF database and is the most reliable form of compliance data). For Producer Groups external Inspection is also annual and selection is made by taking a random sample that as a minimum is the square route of the total number in the LEAF Producer Group, and should take into account such items as crops grown, location from the Main site or Producer Group, size of unit, internal auditor(s) and external influences. A rigorous process, involving pre-inspection self-assessment is involved to ensure that all members are compliant to the LEAF Marque Global Standard System. These are dealt with in the same way as individual producers. The business must comply fully with all the Critical Failure Points within this standard and only after inspection and certification by an authorised inspection and certification body that has issued the farm a certificate. The Recommended control points are either new or established control points that may become Critical Failure Points in the future. There are also Non Applicable control points. Sampling is only chosen for LEAF Marque Producer Groups using the square root method described above. 5. Oversight Accreditation is a formal, third party recognition of competence to perform specific tasks. It provides a means to identify a proven, competent evaluator so that the selection of an inspection or certification body is an informed choice. Accreditation means the certification body can demonstrate to LEAF Marque that it has been successful at meeting the requirements of international accreditation standards. Usually the reason for getting something independently evaluated is to confirm it meets specific requirements in order to reduce risks. Obvious examples are product failure, health risks, company reputation or to meet legal or customer requirements. Accreditation means that evaluators: inspection and certification bodies have been assessed against internationally recognised standards to demonstrate their competence, impartiality and performance capability. The process would follow ISO principles for assessing certification bodies. The Accreditation Body to which the Certification Body applies must be part of either the European Accreditation (EA), Multilateral Agreement (MLA) on Product Certification, or members of International Accreditation Forum (IAF) which have been subject to a peer evaluation in the product certification field and have a positive recommendation in its report. 4

5 The Certification Body must have obtained accreditation within the set timeframe; this must be achieved within 18 months of the date of commencing LEAF Marque certifications. This period can be extended for an additional time span if justified reasons that are acceptable to LEAF Marque Ltd are given by the Certification Body explaining the delay. Oversight for this procedure is provided by Accreditation Bodies such as UKAS, DAkkS etc. and There is clear division between the two bodies and their requirements. This is detailed in the License Agreement. Accreditation Bodies have received specific LEAF Marque training to familiarise themselves with the LEAF Marque Global Standard System. 6. On-going Scrutiny The LEAF Marque certification process provides for unique certification numbers for each individual successful certification audit, which allows for traceability of successive certification status. The history of all LEAF Marque inspections and certification numbers are maintained on the LEAF database. This allows interested stakeholders to verify certification information directly. LEAF Marque has a system in place to deal with any infringement of the LEAF Marque Global Standard System. This includes a trademark registration in the UK and Europe. Google Analytics also helps us to monitor any online activity with logo misuse. System updates and analysis will show where there is variance between certification decisions and certificate end dates etc. LEAF Marque also undertakes a periodic review of member websites to check for LEAF Marque certification claims and LEAF Marque is also developing a Chain of Custody to improve this facility. Members are required to amend their website accordingly. If there are any enquiries, stakeholders can contact LEAF by phone or . Alternatively, they can leave a message in the contact box at the bottom of the website page. For formal complaints they are required to complete the Complaints questionnaire on the same page. 5