Committee on Impartiality in Certifiers

The Impartiality Committee at certifiers accredited by INMETRO, such as the Product Certification Body (OCP), plays a key role in ensuring impartiality and maintaining confidence in certification processes.

The Committee closely monitors the activities of the accredited certifier, verifying compliance with the requirements established by INMETRO and other relevant standards. This involves reviewing reports, procedures and results of certification processes.

The Committee identifies and manages potential conflicts of interest that may affect the impartiality of certification processes. This includes assessing situations where the certification body may have financial or commercial interests that could compromise its impartiality and taking steps to avoid such conflicts.

The Committee ensures that certification-related decisions are based on technical and objective criteria, independent of external influences or commercial interests. It reviews the assessment processes, the results of tests and inspections, as well as any queries or disputes raised by the parties involved.

The Committee regularly updates and reviews the certification body’s policies and guidelines, ensuring that they are in compliance with the standards and requirements established by INMETRO and other regulatory entities. This includes defining assessment criteria, operating procedures and guidelines to ensure impartiality and consistency in certification processes.

The Impartiality Committee also plays an important role in identifying opportunities for improvement in certification processes. It may suggest changes to policies, procedures or criteria to improve the impartiality, transparency and effectiveness of certification.

One of the functions of the The Impartiality Committee of an OCP (Product Certification Body) accredited by INMETRO as an instance of appeal for certified customers or those undergoing certification process, performing the function of guaranteeing impartiality and justice in related decisions to certification.

The Committee can receive and analyze disputes or complaints presented by certified clients or those undergoing certification. It evaluates the information and evidence presented by the parties involved and conducts an impartial review to arrive at an appropriate decision.

When a customer or interested party disagrees with a decision taken by the OCP regarding certification, they can appeal to the Impartiality Committee. The Committee reviews the arguments presented, analyzes the evidence and makes an impartial decision on the appeal, and may confirm, modify or reverse the original decision of the OCP.

The Impartiality Committee ensures that all parties involved in the certification process are treated impartially and fairly. It assesses whether the OCP followed proper procedures, used fair criteria, and applied certification standards impartially.

Ambipar Certification has an Impartiality Committee, pursuant to the Administrative Instruction – IA-CERT-003, which establishes the mechanisms and devices to guarantee the impartiality of the services performed and managed by AMBIPAR CERTIFICATION.

AMBIPAR CERTIFICATION identifies risks to impartiality on an ongoing basis, including risks arising from its activities. The senior management of AMBIPAR CERTIFICATION is committed to impartiality. All personnel, regardless of hierarchy or function, sign the Confidentiality and Impartiality Term.

Currently Ambipar Certification’s Impartiality Committee is formed in order to ensure a balanced representation of the significantly interested parties, so that no single interest predominates. The interested parties for the constitution of the impartiality committee include AMBIPAR CERTIFICATION Clients, clients of companies certified by AMBIPAR CERTIFICATION, manufacturers, suppliers, and users of certified products; Specialist in Conformity Assessment; Representatives of commercial and industrial sector associations; Representatives of government regulatory bodies and other government services; and Representatives of non-governmental organizations.

Ambipar Certification’s Impartiality Committee is active and meets periodically. At the end of the committee’s meeting, minutes will be issued with the opinions of the Committee’s assessment for verification by the AMBIPAR CERTIFICATION board at a Critical Analysis meeting.

The results of this assessment are used as data to identify risks to the impartiality of Ambipar Certification’s activities.