Certification Bodies carry out the assessment of producers applying for certification. Three organisations have been appointed by REAL to carry out this work:
- Aardvark Certification Ltd (ACL)
- Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G)
- NSF Certification (NSF)
All three organisations are appointed to provide certification to the PAS standards and can certify producers in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland and have accreditation from UKAS (ISO/IEC 17065:2012) for the provision of certification services against the Compost Certification Scheme.
Checklist
The checklist the CBs to certify processes can be accessed here.
Processes are certified using the checklist, against the PAS100, CQP, and the CCS Rules in Wales, Northern Ireland, and England; and in accordance with PAS100, the CCS Rules and SEPA's RPS in Scotland.
Accreditation
CCS certificates are now UKAS accredited: OF&G, NSF, and ACL successfully completed the pilot programme, gaining accreditation to ISO/IEC 17065 and the CCS. Accreditation by UKAS demonstrates the competence, impartiality and performance capability of these organisations and strengthens the robustness of the Scheme.
UKAS
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the sole national accreditation body recognised by government to assess, against internationally agreed standards, organisations that provide certification, testing, and inspection and calibration services. Accreditation by UKAS demonstrates the competence, impartiality, and performance capability of these evaluators. UKAS is a non-profit-distributing company, limited by guarantee, and operates under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government through the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills.