Management commitment
IRICE management is committed to impartiality. Certification activities are conducted impartially, without commercial, financial or other pressures compromising this impartiality. This commitment is formalised in the IRICE quality policy, reviewed during each annual management review.
Separation of certification and consultancy
In accordance with the requirements of standard ISO/IEC 17065, IRICE formally commits to:
- Not offering or providing consultancy services
- Not offering internal audit or pre-assessment audit services to its certified clients
- Not subcontracting certification audits
- Not presenting certification activities as linked to a consultancy activity
- Not stating or implying that certification would be simpler, faster or less expensive by using a particular consultancy firm
- Observing a 2-year waiting period before involving in certification activities any person who has been engaged in consultancy with a client
Conflict of interest risk management
IRICE regularly identifies risks that may compromise its impartiality, whether arising from its activities, relationships or personnel. A risk matrix is maintained and analysed by the Impartiality Committee, which issues recommendations to improve the management of these risks.
All persons involved in the certification process, both internal and external, sign an impartiality and confidentiality charter committing them to declare any situation that could create a conflict of interest.
Impartiality Committee
IRICE has an Impartiality Committee ensuring balanced representation of interested parties. This committee is independent of any commercial or financial pressure. It intervenes in particular in the handling of appeals and in the analysis of impartiality-related risks.
IRICE management cannot override the committee's opinions without documented justification. The committee has the right to take independent action with the competent authorities or accreditation bodies in the event of a threat to impartiality.
Non-discriminatory access to certification
In accordance with §4.4 of standard ISO/IEC 17065, access to IRICE certification services is open to all applicants whose activities fall within the scope of its accreditations, without discriminatory conditions.
Access to the certification process cannot be conditional upon the size of the client, its membership of an association or group, or the number of certifications already issued. There can be no abusive condition, whether financial or otherwise.
IRICE may refuse a request only for fundamental and substantiated reasons (illegal activities, history of repeated non-conformities with certification requirements, etc.).
Confidentiality
IRICE is responsible for managing all information obtained or created during its certification activities. Unless otherwise specified (information made public by the client, legal obligation), all information is treated as confidential, in accordance with §4.5 of standard ISO/IEC 17065.
The following are considered non-confidential and publicly accessible: certification standards, the assessment procedure, the complaints and appeals handling procedure, the list of certified projects, and decisions on suspension or withdrawal of certification.
Publicly available information
In accordance with §4.6 of standard ISO/IEC 17065, IRICE maintains and provides on request the following information:
- a) Information on certification programmes — view
- b) General pricing information — request a quote
- c) Rights and obligations of applicants and clients — view
- d) Complaints and appeals handling procedure — view