NEOCERT, with the objective of maintaining the integrity of its work as a certifier of international certification systems, defined this impartiality policy. Senior management establishes the following guidelines for action:

• The independence of certification processes, which is not compromised by commercial, financial or other pressures;
• Non-discrimination of any kind at all stages of the certification process;
• The responsibility for all certification decisions rests with NEOCERT, and these decisions are guided by its internal policies and the accreditation standards to which it complies;
• The creation of an impartiality committee with an advisory character, formed by representatives of social, environmental and economic interests, with freedom and autonomy to consult interested parties, when necessary.
• The guarantee of competence of the teams in the certification process, so that it is able to maintain impartial, confidential and ethical processes;
• The obligation of all those involved to declare possible conflicts of interest during the performance of their professional activities;
• The maintenance of its management system procedures, in order to meet the accreditation requirements of the certification systems with which it operates;
• Maintain transparent certification processes, within the limits of confidentiality required by certification schemes;
• This policy is complemented by the anti-corruption policy.

NEOCERT considers that the following activities are not consultancy related to certification:

a) plan and organize workshops, courses, conferences on certification standards within the scope of NEOCERT’s activities, based on non-specific information

b) provide generic tools and guidance for certified organizations and organizations preparing for certification that are not customer specific or targeted;

c) organize and participate as a speaker at the events mentioned above, with presentations limited to providing generic information freely available in the public domain, without providing any company-specific advice;

d) make available or publish, upon request, information related to the interpretation of any relevant normative requirements;

e) performing pre-audit activities that are intended solely to determine readiness for the assessment (eg, pre-assessment, gap analysis), where such activities do not result in the provision of advice or advice;

f) execute projects related to NEOCERT’s scope of activities, which are not directly within the scope of certification activities of an organization to be audited.

NEOCERT conducts a review of each new certification candidate to identify whether the client was previously involved in project activities managed by NEOCERT

Appropriate risk mitigation measures are adopted when such cases are identified. In situations where NEOCERT was involved with the organization in project activities, a case-by-case analysis is carried out to assess whether there may be a perceived or real conflict of interest.

In complex cases, NEOCERT’s Impartiality Committee may be asked to provide advice.