Certification

The key characteristics of audits against the ResponsibleSteel International Standard are:

01

Third-party audits and certification decisions to enable high levels of independence and impartiality

02

Site visits to enhance confidence in audit findings

03

Stakeholder engagement in audits to ensure a rich and balanced collection of information and evidence

04

Transparent audit findings and certification decisions to build and maintain trust in the ResponsibleSteel programme

The steps to achieve certification

  • Site self-assessment against the ResponsibleSteel International Standard
  • Stage 1 audit, including a desktop review of site documentation, data, records, and self-assessment, and a stakeholder and media analysis
  • Stage 2 audit, including an on-site visit, interviews with site management, workers and external stakeholders
  • Audit report compilation by the certification body and review by an independent Assurance Panel
  • Certification decision and publication on the ResponsibleSteel website
  • Surveillance, including ongoing monitoring and a surveillance audit

Quality control

After the audit report is compiled by the certification body, the ResponsibleSteel Assurance Panel reviews the document. This is one of the key stages in the certification process with the independent panel taking the viewpoint of external stakeholders and ensuring that the report is of good quality and supports the auditor’s certification recommendation. You can find out more about the Assurance Panel and their role in verifying that certification decisions are rigorous here.

Certification resources

We have collated all the information and all the resources needed to become certified and to audit against the ResponsibleSteel International Standard in one place. As we gain experience with ResponsibleSteel audits, the documents held under ‘Certification Resources’ will be revised and updated. We therefore recommend that you visit this page from time to time to make sure you are working with the most up to date versions.