Critical path

UEBT's verification system is built on verifying the effectiveness of a management system and continuous improvement, in five major steps called the critical path for prospective Trading Members.

Step I

In the first step, an organisation will normally conduct an auto-evaluation to assess if it meets the UEBT's Minimum Indicators and, where necessary, make adjustments to comply with them. At this stage, organisations also submit their membership application in which they are asked to formally commit to the conditions of UEBT, including the process leading to Ethical BioTrade verification. The Membership Committee shall then review the application. If this evaluation is positive, then the organisation will be granted the status of Approved Candidate.

Step II

The Approved Candidate will hire an independent verification body qualified by UEBT to verify the fulfilment of the Minimum Indicators, and analyse the gaps between the prospective Trading Members' operations and UEBT's Verification Framework.

Step III

Seven days after the audit, the qualified Verification Body submits the attestation of conformity with the Minimum Indicators to the UEBT Secretariat. Upon reception and validation of this conformity, the Provisional Member status is granted.

Within the objective of continuous improvement, the Provisional Member will develop its own work-plan describing the sequence of measures and the timeframe by which it will fill the identified gaps. This work-plan will then be sent to UEBT for evaluation and, if accepted, Provisional Member status will be upgraded to membership.

Step IV

The fourth step is the implementation of the work-plan. The maximum timeframe given for implementation is five years, although Trading Members are encouraged to move ahead faster. Once a year, the Trading Member will evaluate and report its progress to ensure it is in line with the previously defined work-plan. The results of these audits will need to be reported to UEBT. Major non-compliance with the work-plan will normally disqualify the organisation from membership.

On the 3rd year after the membership status has been granted, a qualified Verification Body will assess progress and verify that previous reports were accurate. This allows for refining the work plan and minimising the risk of final non-compliance. In case this audit identifies voluntarily misleading self-reports, the Trading Member will be expelled from UEBT.

Step V

In the 5th year, the final verification will be conducted by a UEBT qualified Verification Body. The Trading Member should be in compliance with the Ethical BioTrade Verification Framework. This audit aims, amongst others, to verify the implementation of an effective management system that assures compliance with the minimum indicators for all natural ingredients, and full compliance with the UEBT Verification Framework for native species along the supply chain.

Once in compliance, UEBT membership will be conditional upon continuous compliance with the Verification Framework. A third-party audit should verify this every 3 years, while the organisation will self-report annually in the intervening years.

Trading Members will also be expected to show continuous improvement, which they will be able to measure using a set of impact indicators.