Verification Bodies

In order to minimize costs for the Union and its members, the verification system of the Union for Ethical BioTrade relies as much as possible on existing certification or verification mechanisms.

To this end, the Union has signed Memorandums of Understanding with the Forest Stewardship Council and RainForest Alliance / Sustainable Agriculture Network.

• The Forest Stewardship Council:24 certification bodies, from small NGOs to transnational companies. Certification operational in 79 countries. Web:www.fsc.org
• The RainForest Alliance/ SAN (Sustainable Agriculture Network): 10 certification bodies in Latin America and USA, all NGOs. Certification operational in 19 countries (Latin America, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Philippines). Web:www.rainforest-alliance.org

For verification, the Union for Ethical BioTrade has agreements with the following verification bodies:

1. Imaflora: member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), as well as being a Certification Body to both systems. It is focused mainly on Brazil, but has equally audited in other South American and European countries.Web: www.imaflora.org Contact: Luis Fernando Guedes Pinto.
2. SGS Qualifor: based in South Africa, it has offices in more than 140 countries and is accredited by the FSC. They have issued FSC certificates in 60 countries worldwide. Web: www.forestry.sgs.com. Contact: Gerrit Marais.
3. IMO Control: Swiss-based, it has offices in 7 countries, is FSC accredited and has issued FSC certificates in 10 countries worldwide. Web: www.imo.ch. Contact: Wolfgang Kathe.
4. Fundacion Natura is the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) member in Colombia and is one of the most renowned NGOs in this country.Web: www.natura.org.co. Contact: Ana Maria Hernandez Salgar.
5. Control Union Certifications. CUC is a company member of Control Union World Group and is an inspection and certification body. It has over 50 offices worldwide and is based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Web: www.controlunion.com. Contact: Mike van der Laak. 
6. Ecocert-Afrisco is an organic certification body, which carries out inspections and certification services according to European organic regulations, the US National Organic Program, Japanese organic standards, and the Afrisco Organic Standard. Web: www.afrisco.net
7. SGS del Peru S.A.C. is a division of SGS, a leading inspection, verification, testing, and certification company operating in more than 1,000 offices and laboratories around the world. SGS del Peru has several offices in the nation's main cities where auditing, advisory, and monitoring services are offered exclusively tailored within the context of the country. Web: www.pe.sgs.com

Prospective members that require assistance in the selection of verification bodies are invited to contact the Union. Verification bodies interested in conducting audits for the Union's members are referred to the information for verification bodies.