Complaints and Appeals

1. BACKGROUND

1.1  The SGS QUALIFOR Programme is the FSC-accredited programme of SGS South Africa (Pty) Ltd. SGS is an international company specialising in independent testing, inspection and certification. The Programme head office is based in Midrand. Responsibility for maintaining and controlling the Management system lies with this office.

1.2  Under the SGS QUALIFOR Programme, the following activities are carried out:

• Certification of forest management to the FSC standard,
• Certification of chain of custody for FSC certified products.

1.3  The SGS QUALIFOR Programme maintains a complaints and appeals process which has the following objectives:

• To register and address complaints about clients of SGS QUALIFOR (ie. QUALIFOR forest management and chain of custody certificate holders) from members of the public;
• To register and address complaints about SGS QUALIFOR by members of the public, clients and partners;
• To ensure that complaints which need to be taken to a higher level are identified and dealt with appropriately.

2. COMPLAINTS FROM STAKEHOLDERS

2.1  Members of the public, employees and others may wish to register a complaint with SGS QUALIFOR about the management activities of forest management or chain of custody certificate-holders.

2.2  SGS QUALIFOR can only become involved in dealing with complaints where they relate to the requirements of the Forest Stewardship Council’s Principles and Criteria, or the requirements of the SGS QUALIFOR certification programme.

2.3  Complaints made about SGS QUALIFOR certificate holders should be substantiated with objective evidence as far as possible, and accurate descriptions of locations, dates and people involved.

2.4  All forest management operations which have been certified by SGS QUALIFOR are required to have their own complaints system, for addressing complaints raised by stakeholders. This should be the first point of contact for anyone wishing to make a complaint about management activities of the certificate holder.

2.5  If the complainant does not receive a response, or does not believe they have received an adequate response, the complaint should be addressed to the local programme affiliate or partner office (if known) or the SGS QUALIFOR Programme Director or Manager based at the SGS QUALIFOR Head Office (address below).

2.6  The local office will investigate the complaint and make a judgement about the relevance of the complaint to the FSC certification. The local office may issue Corrective Action Requests, or may request the SGS QUALIFOR Programme Director or Manager to suspend a certificate in the event of a complaint being substantiated. The local office must respond to the complainant informing them of actions taken and results of any investigation. The local office will keep a record of complaints received and actions taken.

2.7  If the complainant does not know the location of the local office, or if they are not satisfied with the response, the complaint should be addressed to the SGS QUALIFOR Programme Director or Manager.

2.8  The SGS QUALIFOR Programme Manager maintains a register of all complaints received in the SGS QUALIFOR Head Office. Complaints are allocated to a member of staff for investigation and response. Complaints against the SGS QUALIFOR Programme Director are allocated to the General Manager of Certification, SGS SA for investigation. (Complaints can also be sent directly to the General Manager.)

2.9  Investigation and follow-up of a complaint may involve unscheduled surveillance visits, or may be checked at a forthcoming scheduled visit; internal audits of local affiliate or partner offices may also be arranged in response to complaints.

2.10  All complaints are tabled for consideration at the SGS QUALIFOR Certification Council meetings. The SGS QUALIFOR Programme Director or Manager may, at their discretion, refer consistent and repeated complaints to a sub-committee of the Certification Council who oversee the activities of the programme.

2.11  The Certification Council sub-committee will investigate any complaint referred to them by the Programme Director or Manager and inform the Programme Director or Manager of its decision in writing.

2.12  Complainants are informed of the results of the investigation and any action being taken as a result. Records are kept of all complaints received and actions taken at the SGS QUALIFOR Head Office.

2.13  For complaints against the SGS QUALIFOR Programme Director, following investigation by the General Manager of Certification, SGS SA, complainants are informed of the results of the investigation and any action being taken as a result. Records are kept of all complaints received and actions taken at the SGS QUALIFOR Head Office.

2.14  If the complainant is still not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, they may refer the complaint to the Forest Stewardship Council Secretariat at the following address:

Forest Stewardship Council A.C.
Charles-de-Gaulle Str. 5,
53113 Bonn,
Germany
Phone: +49 (228) 367 66 19
Fax: +49 (228) 367 66 30
E-mail:

3.COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS FROM CLIENTS

3.1  If a certificate is not issued following assessment, or an existing certificate is suspended or withdrawn, the client may appeal according to the process outlined in the SGS QUALIFOR Code of Practice (RD 01) valid at the time.

3.2  The client should submit a written appeal, clearly stating the grounds of the appeal, to SGS QUALIFOR within 14 days.

3.3  Appeals are forwarded to a sub-committee of the Certification Council, whose decision is final and binding on both Client and SGS QUALIFOR.

3.4  Complaints from clients will be dealt with in the same manner as complaints from other stakeholders.