Download Quality Manual - FLO-CERT GmbH

Quality Manual 

Version 54 / 12.09.2012 Quality Manual 1

Table of Contents 

1 Welcome to Fairtrade Certification ................................ 3 

1.1 What is Fairtrade Certification? ................................ 4 

1.2 How are FLO-CERT’s keywords defined? ...................... 5 

1.2.1 What are Fairtrade Standards? ............................... 5 

1.2.2 What are FLO-CERT Compliance Criteria? .................. 5 

1.2.3 Who are Operators? ............................................ 6 

1.3 What is the scope of our certification? ........................ 6 

1.3.1 Product scope .................................................. 6 

1.3.2 Setups ........................................................... 7 

1.3.3 Geographical area ............................................. 8 

2 Who are we? ........................................................... 9 

2.1 What is our Vision and Mission? ................................. 9 

2.1.1 Vision ............................................................ 9 

2.1.2 Mission ........................................................... 9 

2.2 What is our Quality Policy? ...................................... 9 

2.3 How is FLO-CERT incorporated in the Fairtrade setup? .... 10 

2.3.1 FLO Board ...................................................... 10 

2.3.2 Fairtrade International (FLO) ............................... 10 

2.3.3 Producer Networks ........................................... 11 

2.3.4 Labelling Initiatives (LIs)..................................... 12 

2.4 How is FLO-CERT GmbH setup? ................................ 12 

2.4.1 Legal Status and Headquarters ............................. 12 

2.4.2 FLO-CERT funding ............................................. 12 

2.4.3 Organizational Structure ..................................... 12 

2.4.4 Roles and Responsibilities ................................... 14 

2.4.5 Subcontracting ................................................ 14 

2.5 How does FLO-CERT’s Governance Structure look like? .... 15 

2.5.1 The Senior Management Team .............................. 15 

2.5.2 The Supervisory Board ....................................... 15 

2.5.3 The Finance Committee ..................................... 15 

2.5.4 The Appeals Committee ..................................... 18 

2.5.5 The Review Committee ...................................... 18 

2.6 Who are FLO-CERT’s Actors? ................................... 19 

2.6.1 The Quality Management Representative ................. 19 

2.6.2 The Team ...................................................... 19 

2.6.3 The Auditors ................................................... 19 

3 What we do and how we do it? .................................... 20 

3.1 How is the certification process setup? ...................... 21 

3.2 What are the Certification Cycles? ............................ 21 

3.2.1 Three-year certification cycle .............................. 21 

3.2.2 Six-year certification cycle for small Licensees .......... 22 

3.2.3 Requirements for Small Producer Organizations ......... 19 

3.3 What is the Quality Management System? ................... 20 

3.3.1 Document and Record Control .............................. 20 

3.3.2 Document Structure and Purpose of QM documents ..... 21 

3.3.3 QMS Non-conformities ........................................ 22 

3.3.4 Internal Audits ................................................ 22 

3.3.5 Quality Checks ................................................ 22 

3.3.6 Appeals, Reviews, Complaints and Allegations ........... 22 

3.3.7 Management Reviews ........................................ 23 

3.3.8 Confidentiality ................................................ 23 

3.3.9 Certificate Control ............................................ 23 

3.3.10 Publications .................................................... 24 

3.4 What is ISO 65 Accreditation?.....................................24 

Quality Policy ............................................................. 25 


1 Welcome to Fairtrade Certification 

“Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international 

trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized 

producers and workers – especially in the South. Fair Trade Organizations, backed by consumers, are engaged actively in 

supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international 

trade. Fair Trade products are produced and traded in accordance with these principles - wherever possible verified by credible, 

independent assurance systems.” FINE, 2006 

History… 

In the 1960s many different initiatives around the world started to develop goals and strategies to support small farmers and 

workers in the global south in line with economical principles following the concept “Trade not Aid”. They focused on elements 

such as the elimination of middlemen, implementation of minimum prices and trade standards, including ethically acceptable 

working conditions. After having started with a product palette of handcrafts in so called Worldshops the product portfolio got 

extended to food products in order to offer Fair Trade products on an every day basis to the consumer, therefore broaden the 

movement and put it on a more solid basis. 

History of Fairtrade International (FLO)… 

In 1992 about 10 national initiatives worldwide allied and founded the non-profit association TransFair International. In 1997 

TransFair and multiple other Labelling Initiatives from all over the world such as Fairtrade Foundation UK and Rättvisemärkt from 

Sweden got together to strengthen their impact and become more acknowledged. They created Fairtrade International (FLO) an 

umbrella organisation whose mission is to set standards, coordinate relationship with producers and harmonise the Fairtrade 

message across the movement. (Please note: If you refer to the general movement you spell Fair Trade in two words. If you talk 

about FLO the term Fairtrade is written in one word.) In 2002 FLO launched the new FAIRTRADE Certification Mark. As the market 

expanded and the volumes Fairtrade was handling were growing, the market’s need for credible certification became inevitable. It 

was decided to separate the legislative (set standards) and the executive activities (certification) in order to remain a trustworthy 

certification system. As a consequence, in 2003 the certification department was outsourced in the newly founded FLO-CERT 

GmbH, a fully owned subsidiary of FLO. Providing commitment to an independent, transparent and consistent high quality 

certification system and therefore assuring the credibility of the FAIRTRADE Certification Mark FLO-CERT got ISO 65 accredited in 

October 2007 and is still the first accredited certifier for social standards and development. 


1.1 What is Fairtrade Certification? 

FLO-CERT is an independent international certification company offering Fairtrade Certification services to clients in more than 70 

countries around the world. FLO-CERT audits and certifies the conditions of production, buying and selling of Fairtrade products. 

Our certification service provides an assurance to consumers of Fairtrade products that they are contributing to the Social- 

Economic Development of people through their purchases. The certification process ensures that economic, social and 

environmental standards are met in the production of (agricultural) products and that producers receive a Fairtrade Minimum Price 

and Premium. 

The graphic below gives an overview of the supply chain and the actors involved in it. For further information please refer to 

Section 2.3 How is FLO-CERT incorporated in the Fairtrade setup? and 3.1 How is the certification process setup? 


1.2 How are FLO-CERT’s keywords defined? 

1.2.1 What are Fairtrade Standards? 

Fairtrade Standards for producers and traders are the binding requirements within the Fairtrade system the operators must fulfil 

in order to enforce development in a business environment. The Fairtrade Standards help the operator to understand the generic 

principles of Fairtrade. 

The producer standards are social economic and environmental standards. 

The trade standards state how to buy, sell and manufacture Fairtrade products. They define the Fairtrade price and premium, 

explain the conditions of pre-financing and rules to encourage long-term trade relationships. 

The Standards Unit of FLO develops these standards. They are ratified by the Standards Committee, which consists of stakeholders 

from FLO member organizations, producer organizations, traders and external experts. 

To have a closer look on the standards please go to: http://www.fairtrade.net/standards.html 

1.2.2 What are FLO-CERT Compliance Criteria? 

The compliance criteria comprise the interpretations of the standards and translate their generic principles into measurable 

criteria that fit into the operator’s reality. They serve as control points for the auditor to check compliance with the Fairtrade 

principles. Compliance criteria exist for all Fairtrade Standards and Fairtrade Product Standards. There are major and regular 

compliance criteria and there are different timelines for their fulfilment. Some compliance criteria need to be fulfilled from the 

initial phase onwards, while others only need to be complied with after 3 or 6 years or within the first or second year of 

certification. Operators are informed of Compliance Criteria applicable to them before they are evaluated against them. 

In 2011 the concept of Core and Development Criteria was introduced to the Fairtrade Standards for Small Producer Organizations 

(SPO) and Contract Production (CP). Core criteria are handled as before, meaning the operator can either be compliant or noncompliant 

with a core criterion. For the development criteria the evaluation approach is different: Five performance ranks are 

developed by FLO-CERT for each of the development criteria and the compliance of the operator is measured based on the average 

score which is achieved throughout all the development criteria. 

When a new standard is set by the FLO Standards Committee, FLO-CERT will be contacted and develops the associated compliance 

criteria. The interpretation of the standards and the definition of compliance criteria is mainly a consultation process within FLO- 

CERT’s Certification Department and the FLO Standards Committee. 

Compliance Criteria can be found on the website: http://www.flo-cert.net/flo-cert/37.html 


1.2.3 Who are Operators? 

Operator means any organization that is certified by us. This could either be a producer organisation or a trade organisation 

depending on the function the operator performs in the supply chain. 

1.3 What is the scope of our certification? 

Our certification services are available to all applicants whose activities fall within the scope of our certification system. There 

must be no undue financial or other (hidden) considerations when evaluating applications or performing the subsequent 

certification process, 

FLO-CERT does not have a Certification Mark as part of its certification system. Once certified by FLO-CERT, operators may contact 

Fairtrade International or a Labelling Initiative in order to obtain the right to use the FAIRTRADE Certification Mark. 

For more information please see: http://www.fairtrade.net/labelling_initiatives1.html 

When a new standard is made or when there is a request to extend the scope of our certification system, FLO-CERT first 

investigates the implications of the extended scope before beginning to implement it. Only once we have integrated the new 

rules/realities into our certification system will we begin to implement. Clients and consumers are informed when the extended 

scope/new standard will be implemented. 

1.3.1 Product scope 

FLO-CERT certifies a broad range of products as defined in the Fairtrade Standards. Please follow this link for complete information 

on the product scope: http://www.fairtrade.net/products.0.html 

Currently the section “Additional requirements for traders in the cotton chain” of the Fairtrade Standards for Seed Cotton is not 

part of the scope of our certification system. 


1.3.2 Setups 

The following setups producing and trading the above mentioned products can be certified by FLO-CERT: 

Small Producer Organizations 

Small Producer Organisations (SPO) which are structurally organised small farmers who work for themselves, for example as a cooperative. 

3 rd grade 

1 st grade 

2 nd grade 

1 st grade 1 st grade 

Types of Small Producer Organizations 

1 st grade - is a Small Producer Organization whose legal members are 

exclusively individual small farmers. 

2 nd grade - is a Small Producer Organization whose legal members are 

exclusively 1st grade organizations affiliates. 

3 rd grade - is a Small Producer Organization whose legal members are 

exclusively 2nd grade organizations affiliates. 

Small Producer 

Hired Labour Organizations 

Single Plantation – is an agricultural company which structurally depends on Hired Labour. A plantation is a single-estate which 

might dispose of only one single or multiple production sites, but only one central management and administration. 

Multi estate – is a company which structurally depends on hired labour and is composed of more than one plantation with 

independent administration, but one central management is responsible for the labour conditions of the workers on all of the 

plantations. 


Contract Production 

Contract Production Projects are unorganised farmers who sell their products to a service provider. On a long term they should be 

empowered to form a Small Producer Organisation. 

Trade organizations 

The scope of Trade Certification services is to certify products of all companies (such as processors/manufacturers, 

exporters/importers) located around the world, who take legal ownership and/or who handle or transform the Fairtrade product. 

1.3.3 Geographical area 

The scope of Producer Certification services is restricted to products, produced by operators in countries that appear on the 

“Geographical Scope of Producer Certification for Fairtrade Labelling” document published by the standard setting organization 

Fairtrade International. The map below shows the countries which are included into the scope. 

More information can be found at the following link: 

http://www.fairtrade.net/fileadmin/user_upload/content/2009/standards/documents/Aug09_Geographical_scope.pdf 


2 Who are we? 

With over 2000 clients in more than 70 countries, FLO-CERT has become one of the world’s leading social certification bodies – 

empowering over one million farmers and wage workers and their families in the global south. 

2.1 What is our Vision and Mission? 

2.1.1 Vision 

FLO-CERT is respected throughout the global supply chain as a valued provider of verification and certification services and makes a 

positive financial contribution to FLO by leveraging its diverse portfolio of related services. 

FLO-CERT is seen as an integral and vital component in helping the Fairtrade movement to achieve its vision of “a world in which all 

producers can enjoy secure, sustainable livelihoods, fulfil their potential and decide on their future”. 

2.1.2 Mission 

With Fairtrade at our core, we offer verification and certification services to global supply chains in order to support their 

development and to improve sustainable production. 

We provide rigorous, impartial, independently managed and commercially viable certification based on a core service that supports 

the ideals and integrity of the Fairtrade movement. 

We also provide certification and verification/validation services to other social, quality, environmental, and sustainability 

standards, where such services support the Fairtrade mission “to connect disadvantaged producers and consumers, promote fairer 

trading conditions and empower producers to combat poverty, strengthen their position and take more control over their lives”. 

2.2 What is our Quality Policy? 

The senior management of FLO-CERT has based its Quality Policy on the guiding principles of Capability, Consistency, Efficiency 

and Transparency as well as on the requirements of ISO 65. 

The Quality Policy of FLO-CERT provides a framework for establishing and reviewing the quality goals of the company which are 

equivalent to the strategic goals of FLO-CERT. 

It is appropriate to the purpose of our organization and includes a commitment of the senior management team to comply with the 

requirements and continually improve the effectiveness of the Quality Management System. Moreover, the Quality Policy is 

reviewed and updated for continuing stability during the annual Management Review process. It is announced and explained at all 

levels of the organization and is also available to the public. 


The Quality Policy of FLO-CERT is presented in a separate declaration at the end of this Quality Manual. 

2.3 How is FLO-CERT incorporated in the Fairtrade setup? 

FLO-CERT is part of the Fairtrade movement. Currently FLO-CERT provides services for certification against standards set by 

Fairtrade International, a publicly recognized non-profit multi-stakeholder association involving three Producer Networks, 19 

Labelling Initiatives, two marketing organizations and one Associate Members. FLO-CERT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairtrade 

International. 

2.3.1 Fairtrade International (FLO) Board 

FLO’s Board of Directors is elected and ratified by the General Assembly. It is composed of: 

• 5 representatives of the Labelling Initiatives (LI) 

• 4 representatives of Fairtrade Producer Organizations (at least one from each of the regional Producer Networks) 

• 2 representatives from Fairtrade Traders 

• 3 external independent experts 

The Chair of the Board leads its activities. The Board’s mission is to guide FLO to becoming the worldwide reference for consumers’ 

and producers’ choice in Fairtrade Certification. It is primarily responsible for the strategic direction, sound financial management, 

risk management and employment of the Chief Executive of the association. The board also appoints the members of the following 

FLO committees: Standards, Finance and Nominations. 

2.3.2 Fairtrade International (FLO) 

Fairtrade International is a not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder association which builds the umbrella organisation for the Fairtrade 

movement. It involves 25 member organisations (Producer Networks, Labelling Initiatives, Marketing Organizations and one 

Associate Member) and is setup as shown in the below chart: 


2.3.3 Producer Networks 

Producer networks are organisations which Fairtrade Producer Organisations may join and are recognised by FLO as the 

representative bodies of producers, workers and others belonging to Fairtrade Producer Organisations. 

During FLO General Assembly held in Bonn, Germany, on 25th May 2007, the producer networks officially became full members of 

FLO and are since represented in the board, where they take part in the decision process. 

At the moment, there are three active producer networks (on three continents): 


• Fairtrade Africa 

• Coordinadora Latinoamericana y el Caribe de Comercio Justo (CLAC) 

• Network of Asian and Pacific Producers (NAPP) 

2.3.4 Labelling Initiatives (LIs) 

Labelling Initiatives are national organisations which licence the FAIRTRADE Certification Mark onto consumer products that are 

certified by FLO-CERT. They promote Fairtrade in their countries and monitor the development of the Fairtrade market by analysis 

and researches. Companies placed in a country where no Fairtrade LI exists can obtain a licence from FLO. Currently, there are 19 

Labelling Initiatives, mainly throughout Europe and North America, known as Max Havelaar, TransFair, Fairtrade Foundation and 

other national names. 

2.4 How is FLO-CERT GmbH setup? 

FLO-CERT GmbH is an international certification body offering independent Fairtrade Certification services to clients in more than 

70 countries. It is divided into three departments: Operations Department, Technical Services Department, Finances & Central 

Services Department. 

2.4.1 Legal Status and Headquarters 

FLO-CERT offers Fairtrade Certification services to operators within the scope of our certification system. In operating the 

certification system, FLO-CERT is completely independent and is not influenced in its decisions by any external organization. 

FLO-CERT GmbH is a Limited Company and registered at the District Court in Bonn, Germany with registration number HRB 12937. 

Our headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany: Bonner Talweg 177, D-53129. The Chief Executive Officer of the company is 

Rüdiger Meyer. 

Further offices are located in San José (Costa Rica), Cape Town (South Africa) and Bangalore (India). All of these external offices 

are wholly owned subsidiaries of FLO-CERT GmbH. 

2.4.2 FLO-CERT funding 

FLO-CERT is exclusively funded by the fees it charges to its customers. Some of the fees charged to producer organizations though 

are subsidized by Labelling Initiatives in order to support disadvantaged producer organizations as part of the vision and mission of 

Fairtrade. Detailed information about the fee system can be retrieved from the FLO-CERT website http://www.flo-cert.net/flocert/35.html 


2.4.3 Organizational Structure 


Operations Department: The Operations Department consists of the Certification and the Sales&Marketing Unit. The Certification 

Unit delivers FLO-CERT main business service, Fairtrade Certification, as well as some other services provided by FLO-CERT. In the 

Sales&Marketing Unit new products are developed and FLO-CERT’s services get promoted. The Certification Unit is organised by 

regions as shown in the chart below: 

Americas Europe Africa Asia & Pacific 

South America Europe / International North West Africa Asia I (Office in India) 

Costa Rica/ Colombia (Office in 

San José) 

South/East Africa (Office in 

Cape Town) 

Asia II 

Technical Services Department: The Technical Services (TS) Department provides services mainly to the Certification Unit. The 

Department operates FLO-CERT’s IT structure and is responsible for the management and maintenance of the certification software 

Ecert. Furthermore it delivers data and information products by integrating and analysing FLO-CERT’s technical systems. The 

Quality Manager is line managed as single staff position by the Director of the Technical Services Department. 

Finances & Central Services Department: The Finances & Central Services (CS) Department provides the legal and organisational 

framework in which FLO-CERT operates. 

2.4.4 Roles and Responsibilities 

Besides the different hierarchy levels, certification functions have been defined to ensure that only suitably qualified personnel can 

perform the respective certification functions defined in relevant certification procedures. More details can be found in the latest 

version of the CERT RolesResponsibilitiesMatrix ED and TS RolesResponsibilitiesMatrix ED. 

2.4.5 Subcontracting 

Although we have both legal and financial in-house expertise, additional professional services are directly contracted by FLO-CERT 

whenever necessary. 

FLO-CERT currently does not subcontract any audits to other certification or audit bodies. 


2.5 How does FLO-CERT’s Governance Structure look like? 

2.5.1 The Senior Management Team 

The Management is represented by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who is supported in his functions by the Directors of 

Operations, Technical Services, Finances & Central Services and two Associate Directors. 

Together they form our Senior Management Team, meeting regularly to discuss strategic and operational challenges and find 

solutions to problems. The functions of the members of our Senior Management Team are described in detailed job specifications 

and procedures. 

2.5.2 The Supervisory Board 

The Supervisory Board is one of our Controlling Bodies and consists of different experts in various fields. During several annual 

meetings, the Supervisory Board reviews the performance of the company. The scope and mandate of the Supervisory Board is 

described in the EXE SupervisoryBoard ED. 

2.5.3 The Finance Committee 

The Finance Committee assists and offers advice to the Supervisory Board on all financial matters within FLO-CERT which are 

delegated by the Board to the Finance Committee. For a more detailed description see EXE FinanceCommitteeToR ED. 

2.5.4 The Appeals Committee 

All of our clients have a right to appeal against certification decisions. The Appeals Committee therefore also performs a controlling 

function by in-depth analysis of each case appealed against. In reaching its decision, the Appeals Committee must re-evaluate the 

offending certification decision, analyse the applicant’s submissions as well as all other information that might be relevant to the 

case at hand. Further details can be found in the QM Appeal&Review SOP. All of its proceedings are documented by the Quality 

Management Representative. 

2.5.5 The Review Committee 

This Committee has a rotating membership of four Regional Managers and is dealing with the requests for review of evaluation 

decisions submitted by our operators. The committee makes decisions according to the procedure outlined in the QM 

Appeals&Review SOP and all of its proceedings are documented by the Quality Management Representative. 


2.6 Who are FLO-CERT’s Actors? 

2.6.1 The Quality Management Representative 

The Quality Management Representative (QMR) designs, implements and monitors our Quality Management System in cooperation 

with the Senior Management Team. In order to perform these tasks the QMR has direct access to the Senior Management Team. She 

is responsible to report on the functioning of the Quality Management System. The functions of the QMR are further described in a 

detailed job specification. 

2.6.2 The Team 

In accordance with HR RecruitmentCompetenceStaffAuditors SOP all of our team members, whether in the Operations, Technical 

Services or Finances & Central Services Departments are highly qualified, competent and capable of performing all duties assigned 

to them. All employees have detailed job specifications providing information on their functions and assigned responsibilities. The 

quality management documents (e.g. SOPs, WIs, EDs,) provide further guidance on how we do our work. Besides the high 

qualification entry requirements, there are ongoing training programmes aimed at increasing the skills following analyses of training 

needs as described in HR TrainingEvaluationStaffAuditors SOP (the same SOP described the process of training and evaluation for 

auditors). 

2.6.3 The Auditors 

Our team of auditors are selected based on their skills and their abilities to deal with the complex nature of Fairtrade Certification. 

In order to ensure that these skills remain operational, intensive yearly training programmes are compulsory for all auditors to 

attend. Because we place emphasis on handling the confidential information of our clients with care, our auditors are trained on 

and are bound to our regulations on confidentiality through their contracts. These regulations are described in detail in the QM 

Confidentiality SOP. Because we want to ensure that the certification process is free of influence, our auditors have to disclose all 

possible conflicts of interests to us. When conflicts of interest are identified, other auditors are used to evaluate a specific client. 


3 What we do and how we do it? 

3.1 How is the certification process setup? 

Application 

Initial Physical 

Audit 

Evaluation 

Certification 

Surveillance 

Renewal 

Physical Audit 

Certification 

Operators have access to experienced staff throughout the process, should clarifications of our certification be 

necessary. 

During the application phase information on the organizational structure and the Fairtrade plans of the operator 

are collected. In case of traders a Permission to Trade Letter will be issued in the end of the application phase 

and the applicant has the right to realize Fairtrade transactions for up to 6 months. Latest by then the initial 

physical audit needs to be performed in order to check compliance with the applicable Compliance Criteria for 

traders. In case there are no major non-conformities detected during the initial audit of a producer organization 

a Permission to Trade Letter is issued which allows the operator to start Fairtrade transactions till all nonconformities 

are rectified and a Fairtrade certificate can be issued. 

The operator suggests measures to correct the non-conformities found during the initial audit. Selected staff 

members evaluate the corrective measures taken by the operator. 

Once all non-conformities are corrected, the operator file is handed to a qualified Certifier who was not 

involved in the audit and evaluation process. 

A certificate can only be issued once all non-conformities with the Compliance Criteria detected during the 

audit are fixed. 

The purpose of surveillance is to make sure that compliance with the relevant requirements of the Fairtrade 

Standards is maintained. There is usually one surveillance audit during a certification cycle. Depending on the 

risk categorisation of the operator a second surveillance audit can be performed. Initial and renewal audits 

always need to take place as an on-site audit. If non-conformities are detected during the surveillance, 

appropriate sanctions are issued. The type of sanction for a non-conformity detected during surveillance 

depends on the severity of the non-conformity. 

When major compliance criteria are breached, the certificate might immediately be suspended. Non resolved 

non-conformities may lead to a decertification later on. 

Operators are informed of such sanctions during the application phase. 

For more detailed information on the certification process, please consult the CERT Certification SOP as 

published on the FLO-CERT website http://www.flo-cert.net/flo-cert/34.html 


3.2 What are the Certification Cycles? 

3.2.1 Three-year certification cycle 

FLO-CERT has three-year certification cycles. During a certification cycle, surveillance activities are performed in order to make 

sure that all relevant requirements of the Fairtrade Standards are complied with. Before the end of a certification cycle and the 

start of a new cycle, a physical audit must take place. 

After the Initial Certification, the operator starts the first 3-year Certification Cycle. In case of Small Licensees the Certification 

Cycle constitutes of 6 years. 

Usually one physical surveillance audit is carried out to evaluate continued compliance. Depending on the risk categorisation of the 

customer, FLO-CERT may decide to conduct a second surveillance audit. 

1 

2 

Initial 

Phase 

Year 0 

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 

Year 4 

Year 5 Year 6 

Third 

cycle 

CERTIFICATE 1 

CERTIFICATE 2 

Application Evaluation 

Initial / Renewal Audit 

Surveillance Audit 

1 1 st Certification Cycle: Relevant requirements All year 0 compliance criteria 

2 2 nd Certification Cycle: Relevant requirements All year 0 and 3 compliance criteria 

3 

3 rd Certification Cycle: Relevant requirements All year 0, 3 and 6 compliance criteria 


3.2.2 Six year certification cycle for small Licensees 

1 

2 

Year 0 



Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 

PERMISSION TO TRADE 1 

PERMISSION TO TRADE 2 CERTIFICATE 1 

Initial/Renewal Audit 

Surveillance (offsite desktop review) 

1 1 st Certification Cycle: Relevant requirements All year 0 

2 2 nd Certification Cycle: Relevant requirements All year 0, 3 

C 

E 

R 

T 

I 

F 

I 

C 

A 

T 

E 

2 

For more information on the Small Licensee concept please refer to the CERT Certification SOP. 

3.2.3 Requirements for Small Producer Organizations and Contract Production Projects 

Fairtrade is also about development and the standards reflect this. As described in paragraph 1.2.2 about compliance criteria, not 

all standards are immediately applicable to producers because development cannot happen overnight. Therefore, in addition to 

having different timelines for different compliance criteria, in 2011 the concept of Core and Development Criteria was introduced 

to the Fairtrade Standards for Small Producer Organizations (SPO) and Contract Production (CP). Core criteria are handled by a 

“black/white approach” the operator can either be compliant or non-compliant with a core criterion. For the development criteria 

the evaluation approach is different: Five performance ranks are developed by FLO-CERT for each of the development criteria and 

the compliance of the operator is measured based on the average score which is achieved throughout all the development criteria. 


3.3 What is the Quality Management System? 

Our Quality Management System (QMS) is guided by our vision, mission and guiding principles. We believe that the best way to make 

sure our guiding principles of Capability, Consistency, Efficiency and Transparency are reflected in our work is by describing our 

responsibilities in our QMS. The ongoing improvement of our Quality Management System also draws from external feedback about 

our certification system. In this way, our QMS is a comprehensive planning, management and steering tool for the continuous 

improvement of our processes and services. 

The requirements of ISO 65 (EN 45011) are directly integrated into our processes. The certification process is described in our FLO- 

CERT workflow engine. This means that procedures must be followed systematically. 

The Quality Management System is applied throughout the entire company which includes the external offices in Costa Rica/San 

José, South Africa/Cape Town and India/Bangalore. 

3.3.1 Document and Record Control 

In making sure that all team members know what is expected of them and in order to ensure that everyone always has access to the 

latest, properly approved version of a document, we set up a procedure that defines the processes, requirements and 

responsibilities for document control of FLO-CERT’s Quality Management System. More details on document control can be found in 

the QM DocumentControl SOP. 

Records relate to information we have gathered and generated during the course of the certification process relating to a specific 

operator. FLO-CERT safeguards all Operator Records in its certification software Ecert. In order to ensure that we can always easily 

find any relevant operator specific information, the ways in which we deal with records is also described and controlled in the QM 

RecordCode ED and the QM Filing&Archiving SOP. 


3.3.2 Document Structure and Purpose of QM documents 

If the office is on fire and only one box can be saved, then it should be the one with all QM documents, since they aim at 

standardising the work within FLO-CERT and describe how FLO-CERT works in detail. Furthermore they are supposed to provide any 

template needed in the daily work life. 

Documentation hierarchy at FLO-CERT can be seen in the following diagram: 

Quality 

Policy 

Quality Manual 

Standard Operating Procedures 

(SOPs) 

Work Instructions (WIs), Explanatory 

Documents (EDs) 

Forms (FOs) 

I. Quality Policy 

Contains the main principles in managing the Quality 

Management System of FLO-CERT 

II. Quality Manual 

Outlines the general description of FLO-CERT’s 

structure, our Quality Management System, certification 

scope and process, mission and vision as required by ISO 

65. 

III. Standard Operating Procedures 

Describe main processes and rules of our certification 

and management system. Normally, they explain a 

complex process that can consist of more than one work 

flow and contain rules related to the described process. 

IV. Work Instructions and Explanatory 

Documents 

Provide more detailed information on how to perform 

tasks outlined in SOPs; used to describe general rules to 

be applied to a process; other written guidelines. 

V. Forms 

QM documents specially designed for the needs of FLO- 

CERT which serve to collect information on various 

processes. 


3.3.3 QMS Non-conformities 

QMS non-conformities are defined as non-compliances against ISO Guide 65 and FLO-CERT implemented rules and procedures 

detected in our Internal Audits (Section 3.3.4), External Audits (Section 3.4), during Quality Checks (Section 3.3.5), as well as 

identified during handling of Appeals, Reviews, Complaints and Allegations (Section 3.3.6). The QMR is responsible to follow up on 

the implementation of the necessary corrective measures as defined in the respective procedures. She is also in charge to check 

the effectiveness of their implementation during internal audits. Further the Quality Improvement System (QIS) as implemented at 

FLO-CERT provides a useful and proven tool to monitor effectiveness of implemented rules and procedures taking advantage of the 

contribution of all staff members (see description in QM IntroManual ED - Section 2). 

3.3.4 Internal Audits 

Internal Audits are performed systematically on all areas of FLO-CERT operation at least once per year including the external 

offices in Costa Rica/San José, South Africa/Cape Town and India/Bangalore. The aim of the internal audits is to determine 

whether the Quality Management System conforms to the planned arrangements, to the requirement of ISO 65 and to the Quality 

Management System requirements established by FLO-CERT and whether the system is effectively implemented and maintained. 

This is a very constructive process and always leads to a development of our processes. If deviations from procedures are detected, 

they are addressed and actions that need to be taken are followed up, leading to improvements. The results of Internal Audits are 

communicated to the senior management team. 

For more information please see the QM InternalAudit SOP which is based on the provisions of ISO 19011:2002. 

3.3.5 Quality Checks 

Furthermore, quality checks on the correct following of the certification process are performed by the QMR at least twice per year. 

The quality control checks performed at FLO-CERT are described in QM QualityChecks WI. 

3.3.6 Appeals, Reviews, Complaints and Allegations 

FLO-CERT welcomes feedback about operators’ experiences with Fairtrade Certification or the opinions of other parties about the 

handling of certification or any other related matters. All appeals, review requests allegations and complaints submitted to FLO- 

CERT are investigated by the Quality Management Team 

• A complaint describes the situation of an operator expressing its dissatisfaction with the services of FLO-CERT. 


• In case of an allegation an operator, customer or any other party reports on another Fairtrade operator who does not 

comply with the Fairtrade Standards. 

• An appeal occurs when an operator does not agree with a certification decision FLO-CERT took and wants to fight it. When 

the operator hands in an appeal, the case will be handed over to the Appeals Committee coordinated by the QMR. 

• A review request can be handed in when an operator questions an evaluation decision related to detected non-conformities, 

suggested corrective measures and/or objective evidence. In this case the Review Committee will be convened. 

In order to ensure objectivity, we guarantee that all relevant information is gathered and analyzed by staff members that were not 

involved in the case. The resolution of all appeals, review requests, allegations and complaints are subject to the following 

standard operating procedures: QM Appeal&Review SOP, QM Allegation SOP and QM Complaints SOP 

The mentioned above SOPs can be found on the FLO-CERT website http://www.flo-cert.net/flo-cert/41.html?&L=0 

3.3.7 Management Reviews 

The purpose of a Management Review is to ensure the continuing stability, adequacy and effectiveness of the organization’s Quality 

Management System. This means that once per year our goals are evaluated against our performance, results of Internal Audits are 

considered, complaints against our services are investigated and the general state of company affairs are evaluated. Findings of 

such Management Reviews are reported to the senior management team in accordance with QM ManagementReview SOP. 

3.3.8 Confidentiality 

We treat all operator specific information as confidential and only release this information when forced to do so by a Court of Law 

or only after obtaining the consent of the operator concerned. When signing the certification contract, operators are asked for 

their “consent to release”. Because operators understand that transparency is crucial to the Fairtrade system, most operators 

agree to the release of some information. The “consent to release” allows FLO-CERT to publish the operator information on the 

internal pages, which are used by producers and traders to identify suitable business partners. If an operator signs the consent to 

release declaration its data can be handed over to LIs and FLO. 

FLO-CERT actively controls that confidentiality regulations are adhered to and acts when confidentiality is breached. Further 

details on these regulations can be found in the QM Confidentiality SOP. 

3.3.9 Certificate Control 

Unfortunately it sometimes happens that members of the public make false claims relating to their status of certification. In order 

to protect the product of our certification system (the certificate) and the value it has for operators, we control the misuse of FLO- 

CERT certificates. 


3.3.10 Publications 

In order to provide a more accessible service to our clients and to inform the public as much as possible, FLO-CERT publishes the 

following documents on its website: 

• All information contained in this Quality Manual, 

• Lists of all Certified Operators, 

• All relevant information relating to our Certification System including information about the certification process, fees and 

many more. 

3.4 What is ISO 65 accreditation? 

ISO 65 (EN 45011) is the leading internationally accepted norm for certification bodies operating a product certification system. It is 

accepted all over the world as the strongest indicator that a certification body is competent. FLO-CERT follows the ISO 65 norm in 

all certification operations. 

Since 2007 FLO-CERT is accredited against ISO 65 by an external organisation: first by DGA (German Association for Accreditation) 

and after a new law on accreditation came into force on 1 st January 2010 by DAkkS (German National Accreditation Body). 

In the beginning of 2012 FLO-CERT achieved re-accreditation meaning a new 5-year certificate by DAkkS was issued. This certificate 

does not only cover the Bonn Headquarters but also includes the external offices in Costa Rica/San José, South Africa/Cape Town 

and India/Bangalore. 

Regular audits in all of the FLO-CERT offices and witness audits of our Fairtrade audits by DAkkS auditors guarantee FLO-CERT’s 

compliance with ISO 65/EN 45011. 


Quality Policy 

The Quality Policy of FLO-CERT GmbH provides a framework for establishing and reviewing our quality goals. It is based on the 

guiding principles of Capability, Consistency, Efficiency and Transparency incorporated in the following key areas: 

CLIENTS: 

• Ensure that our customers can rely on certification decisions that are free of influence, transparent, consistent, 

comparable and correct; 

• Keep our client’s interests close to our management decisions, especially to the ones related to fee systems; 

• Place significant emphasis on the way in which we communicate, fostering a transparent dialogue with our clients all 

over the world. 

HUMAN RESOURCES: 

• All our colleagues are suitably qualified and trained on rules and procedures relevant to their work throughout the 

year; 

• Employ qualified employees to perform all necessary functions while planning for growth in advance; 

• Rely on auditors who are carefully chosen according to best practice criteria. 

WORKING ENVIRONMENT & COMMUNITY: 

• Provide and maintain suitable working environment for our staff, indirectly influencing the positive development of 

our society. 

PARTNERS: 

• Engage actively with the Fairtrade Labelling Community, assisting in the growth of markets for Certified Fairtrade 

products. 

FLO-CERT Senior Management Team is committed to: 

• Communicate the Quality Policy within the company and ensure that it has been understood; 

• Evaluate all our processes periodically and learn from detected inconsistencies in order to guarantee the continuous 

improvement of the effectiveness of our quality system; 

• Periodically revise and update the quality policy for its continuous suitability and relevance with our quality goals. 

01.02.2010 Technical Services Director: .................................. /Frank Brinkschneider

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