Code of Conduct
All employees including personnel of subcontractors, experts and members of the Committees, founded for providing certification program, have to support cohesion of Forest Certification’s accredited certification program and unconditionally fulfill the principles and requirements, developed in this Code.
1. General principles
1.1 Always to act professionally, accurately, straight and impartially
1.2 To follow requirements of applicable legislation at the place of residence and temporary residence, certification system, certification body and to disclose any information, which can be important for supporting high credibility level to certification by the site of the wide range of concerned parties.
2. Independence and Impartiality
2.1 not to participate at any activities or not to make relationships, which may have influence or is expected to have influence on impartial estimation at any operation or mutual relationship issues or other nonobjective behavior or solutions to applicants, clients and other concerned parties, involved in certification process.
2.2 to inform about any betrayals or facts of breaching the conflict of interests with organization, which is pretending for or holding the certificate, an audit or assessment of which is being issuing, before implementing any function and/or making any decision.
2.3 Not to take any presents, reveniews, promises, which may have influence on, take a toll on or jeopardise the ability of independent, impartial and objective operation whilst fulfilling the functions by the name of certification body or in the frame of certification body program, which certification body is responsible for (fully or partly).
3. Privacy
3.1 To provide all rational steps to guarantee confidentiality of any information, not required to be open in accordance with legislation, procedures of certification scheme and/or certification body, in relation to:
а) information and documents, received from aplicants at the stage of application for certification;
b) information and documents, received within certification from applicant/ holder of certificate himself as well as from certification body or any other category of concerned parties, who are considered as members of certification process;
c) Information on the conclusion of certification measures and other mutual relationships during any stage of certification.
4. Competence
4.1 To act in accordance with regulatory documents of certification system and internal procedures of certification body, including policies, guidelines, standards, procedures, instructions and other required for implementation documents.
4.2 To be responsible for communicate honestly, qualitatively and open within conducting any measures, which are the part of certification process or the process of certification itself of certification body.
4.3 to be consistent and accurate in estimation of information and documents, receives within certification measures, taking part in which is contractual or other duty of an employee, a subcontractor, an expert, Committee member or other concerned party.
4.4 To prevent all measures for certification actions, basing on the requirements of realization of all planned and required for implementation measures, avoiding any omissions and following all known requirements.
4.5 Clearly and intelligibly to separate facts from opinions, making a decision, having all available and objective evidence for defending this decision.
4.6 To avoid nonobjective decisions, recommendations and actions, which may cast discredit on business and professional reputation of Forest Certification LLC, bring its personnel, clients and other concerned parties into discredit.
4.7 To act conscientiously, heartily, respectfully and effectively in any situation and into respect of any concerned parties.
Putting the signature under this Code and expressing agreement with it by any other means, that let interpret this action as agreement (concluding any contract, agreement, application with certification body), the expert agrees and undertakes to follow the requirements, mentioned in this Code of Conduct during the whole period of operation in the name of certification body and/or in the frame of its interests. Expressing agreement with this Code to understand and take all responsibilities (including legal, administrative, business and reparative), which can be borne in the case of breaching any part of this Code.