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4C is a sustainability certification system for the coffee sector based on a common code and verification approach.

A third-party attestation that a conformity-assessment body is competent to perform specified assessment tasks within a defined scope.

An accreditation body is an organisation that assesses and recognises the competence of conformity assessment bodies against specified standards.

ASC is a certification programme for farmed seafood and aquaculture supply-chain claims.

An assurance opinion is the conclusion expressed by an assurance provider after assessing subject matter against criteria.

B Corp certification is a private certification for companies assessed against governance, worker, community, environmental and customer criteria.

Benchmarking schemes is the comparison of standards, labels or certification systems against selected criteria, requirements or performance expectations.

Better Cotton is a sustainability programme for cotton production focused on farming practices, livelihoods and continuous improvement.

Bird Friendly is a Smithsonian certification for shade-grown coffee intended to support habitat conditions for birds and biodiversity.

Blue Angel is a German ecolabel for products and services that meet specified environmental, health or consumer-protection criteria.

Bonsucro is a certification platform for sustainability in sugarcane production and supply chains.

BREEAM is a building sustainability assessment and rating method used for buildings, infrastructure and communities.

The Carbon Trust Standard is a certification associated with measuring, managing and reducing environmental impacts such as carbon, water or waste.

A certification decision is the formal decision to grant, maintain, suspend, withdraw or change certification after assessment evidence has been reviewed.

A certification scheme is a structured set of rules, criteria and processes used to certify that a product, service, system, site or organisation meets specified requirements.

Certification scope is the boundary of what a certification covers, including the sites, activities, products, services, standards or time period included.

Competence is the demonstrated ability to apply knowledge, skills and judgment to perform a task or assessment properly.

A conflict of interest is a situation where a person or organisation has interests that could improperly influence, or appear to influence, an assessment or decision.

The demonstration that specified requirements relating to a defined object have been fulfilled.

A conformity assessment body is an organisation that evaluates whether a product, process, service, system or person meets specified requirements.

Action taken to eliminate the cause of a non-conformity and prevent its recurrence, rather than merely removing the immediate symptom.

Cradle to Cradle Certified is a product certification programme assessing materials, circularity, renewable energy, water stewardship and social fairness criteria.

Shared expectations for how a sustainability system should govern evidence, interests, participation, improvement and claims so that its work can be trusted and used.

Demeter is a certification associated with biodynamic agriculture, using standards beyond baseline organic production in participating markets.

Direct trade is a sourcing approach in which buyers claim a closer purchasing relationship with producers, often outside a formal certification scheme.

Energy Star is a programme and label for energy efficiency in products, homes, buildings and facilities in participating markets.

Equivalence recognition is the acceptance that another standard, scheme or assessment provides comparable assurance for a defined purpose or scope.

The EU Ecolabel is a European Union voluntary label for products and services meeting specified environmental criteria.

The EU organic logo is the European Union mark used for products meeting EU organic production and labelling rules.

Fair for Life is a certification programme for fair trade and responsible supply-chain practices.

Fairtrade is a certification and standards system focused on trading conditions, producer livelihoods and selected social, economic and environmental criteria.

The Fairtrade Minimum Price is a floor price set within the Fairtrade system for selected products to provide producers with price protection.

The Fairtrade Premium is an additional sum paid under the Fairtrade system for producer organisations or workers to invest in agreed projects.

FSC is a forest certification system for responsible forest management and chain-of-custody claims.

GLOBALG.A.P. is a farm assurance and certification system covering agricultural practices, food safety and selected environmental and social criteria.

GOTS is a textile processing standard for organic fibres, including environmental and social criteria across parts of the supply chain.

Group certification is certification that covers a group of members, producers or sites under a shared management or control system.

IAF is the International Accreditation Forum, a global association for accreditation bodies and organisations involved in conformity assessment.

ILAC is the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, an international cooperation for laboratory, inspection and related accreditation bodies.

Impartiality is the condition of making assessment or certification decisions without bias, undue influence or conflicting interests.

Independence is the separation needed for an assessor, auditor or assurance provider to make judgments without being controlled by the party being assessed.

An internal control system is the governance and checking system used within group certification or similar models to manage member compliance.

ISEAL Alliance is a membership organisation focused on credible sustainability standards and systems.

ISO 14001 is a management system standard for establishing, implementing and improving an environmental management system.

ISO 14016 is a standard concerned with assurance of environmental reports or environmental information.

ISO 14021 relates to self-declared environmental claims, often called Type II environmental claims.

ISO 14024 relates to Type I environmental labels, which are third-party environmental labelling programmes based on multiple criteria.

ISO 14025 relates to Type III environmental declarations, which communicate quantified environmental information using predetermined parameters.

ISO 14064-1 is a greenhouse gas standard for quantifying and reporting emissions and removals at organisation level.

ISO 14064-2 is a greenhouse gas standard for quantifying, monitoring and reporting emissions reductions or removals from projects.

ISO 14064-3 is a greenhouse gas standard for validating and verifying greenhouse gas statements.

ISO 14065 is a standard for bodies that validate or verify environmental information, including greenhouse gas and other environmental claims.

ISO 14068 is a standard for managing and substantiating carbon neutrality claims within a defined boundary.

ISO 17029 is a standard for validation and verification bodies that assess claims, declarations or information against specified requirements.

ISO 20400 is guidance for integrating sustainability into procurement policies, strategy and purchasing practices.

ISO 26000 is guidance on social responsibility rather than a certifiable management system standard.

ISO 42001 is a management system standard for organisations developing or using artificial intelligence systems.

ISO 45001 is a management system standard for occupational health and safety.

ISO 50001 is a management system standard for improving energy performance through structured energy management.

ISO/IEC 17021-1 is a conformity-assessment standard for bodies that audit and certify management systems.

ISO/IEC 17025 is a standard for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.

The international standard setting competence, consistency and impartiality requirements for bodies that certify products, processes and services.

Label proliferation is the growth of multiple sustainability labels or certifications that can make claims harder to compare or understand.

LEED is a green building rating system for building design, construction, operation and neighbourhood development.

Level of assurance is the degree of confidence an assurance engagement is designed to provide to intended users.

A major nonconformity is a serious failure to meet a requirement, often indicating a systemic issue, significant risk or breakdown in control.

MSC is a certification programme for wild-capture fisheries and seafood chain-of-custody claims.

A judgement about which sustainability matters are significant enough to influence decisions or represent an organisation's most consequential impacts.

A minor nonconformity is a limited failure to meet a requirement that does not usually indicate a systemic breakdown.

A multi-stakeholder initiative is a governance or standards initiative involving multiple groups such as companies, civil society, workers, producers or public bodies.

A multilateral recognition arrangement is an agreement through which accreditation bodies recognise each other's results within defined scopes.

A documented failure to fulfil a specified requirement, supported by objective evidence and a clear statement linking that evidence to the requirement.

Nordic Swan is an official Nordic ecolabel for products and services meeting lifecycle-based environmental and quality criteria.

A normative document is a document that sets requirements, rules or criteria against which conformity can be assessed.

An observation is an audit or assessment note that records a condition, concern or opportunity that may not be classified as a nonconformity.

OEKO-TEX is a group of certification and testing labels for textiles, leather and related products, including chemical safety and production criteria.

Organic certification is third-party certification that production or processing meets specified organic standards or regulations.

PAS 2060 was a publicly available specification for demonstrating carbon neutrality claims under defined requirements.

Peer review in accreditation is an evaluation by qualified peers of whether an accreditation body operates competently and consistently.

PEFC is an international forest certification alliance for sustainable forest management and chain-of-custody certification.

Preventive action is action taken to reduce the likelihood that a potential problem, failure or nonconformity will occur.

Rainforest Alliance is a certification and sustainability programme focused on farming, forests, livelihoods and environmental practices.

Recertification is the process of reassessing whether a certified organisation, product, system or process continues to meet requirements at the end of a certification cycle.

Relationship coffee is coffee sourced through ongoing buyer-producer relationships that may emphasise quality, price transparency or collaboration.

Root cause analysis is the process of identifying the underlying reason a problem, failure or nonconformity occurred.

RSPO is a certification and membership system for palm oil production and supply chains against sustainability criteria.

RTRS is a certification system and multi-stakeholder initiative for responsible soy production and chain-of-custody claims.

SA8000 is a social accountability certification standard focused on labour rights and workplace conditions.

A scheme owner is the organisation responsible for developing, maintaining and governing a certification, verification or labelling scheme.

A standard-setting process is the method by which requirements, criteria or guidance are developed, consulted on, approved and revised.

A surveillance audit is a periodic audit used to check whether certified or assessed requirements continue to be met between initial certification and recertification.

USDA Organic is the United States organic certification and labelling programme administered under the National Organic Program.

UTZ was a certification programme for agricultural commodities that has been integrated into the Rainforest Alliance system.

The evidence-based confirmation that assumptions, methods and information supporting a claim about intended future use or projected results are plausible for that purpose.

A validator is a person or organisation that assesses whether a proposed plan, method, claim or project is reasonable before or as it is implemented.

The evidence-based confirmation that a claim about events, data or results already obtained is truthfully stated within defined criteria, scope and materiality.

A verification statement is a formal statement issued after verification that describes the subject matter, criteria, conclusion and any relevant limitations.

A verifier is a person or organisation that checks information, data or claims against criteria to determine whether they are fairly stated or supported.

The WELL Building Standard is a building standard focused on health and wellbeing features for occupants.

A witness audit is an assessment in which an accreditation body or reviewer observes an auditor or assessment team performing an audit.