Code of Ethics

Introduction

CertCom is fully committed to ethical principles and values. Every member of CertCom staff understands the importance of ethical behavior and demonstrates responsibility, professionalism and honesty towards every Associate and Client. We believe that organizational success is related to full understanding of the needs and expectations of the client.

Our organizational culture has and will continue to demonstrate the highest levels of honesty, professionalism and fairness. We ensure that every member of our organization, especially examiners, auditors and partners, act in accordance with these principles and values.

Our values of professionalism, integrity and development are our assets that drive our development and help us build a strong reputation. The CertCom Code of Ethics describes the values and conduct expected of our staff. We believe that strong ethical values are a condition for a healthy work environment and foster excellent professional relationships. Each employee is responsible for understanding these principles and ensuring that they are effectively implemented in the areas of activity for which they are responsible. Any interested person, who is not familiar with the procedures described in this document or needing more detailed explanations, is encouraged to contact us. We will be happy to explain all of the adopted principles and their implementations in detail.

Application

The CertCom Code of Conduct applies to all CertCom staff and all Clients. It applies to all certified individuals, certified organizations, examiners, auditors, staff, partners and other interested parties. If a CertCom member violates the Code of Ethical Conduct, CertCom may terminate the relationship with the member and revoke any certificates granted.

CertCom Specialists:

Act professionally, with honest, accurate, responsible, independent and open attitude.
Act at all times solely in the best interests of your employer, clients, society and profession by adhering to professional standards and techniques used in the provision of professional services.
Maintain competence in your fields and strive to continually improve your professional skills.
Offer only professional services that you are qualified to perform, and adequately inform clients and consumers about the nature of the services you are offering, including any significant concerns or risks.
Inform your employer or client of any business interests or relationships that may influence their judgment or impair their integrity.
Treat as confidential and private information obtained in the course of professional or business dealings with any current or former employer or client.
Comply with all laws and regulations applicable to your professional activity.
Respect the intellectual property and contributions of others.
It is prohibited to deliberately provide false or falsified information that may jeopardize the integrity of the candidate evaluation process for a professional position.
Do not take any action that might damage the reputation of CertCom or its certification programs.
Participate fully in any investigation into any alleged violation of this Code of Ethics.

Honesty

We fully understand the importance of an honest and ethical approach when establishing the scope of services, policies and procedures. We ensure that every response, action, recommendation, suggestion and assistance provided is in accordance with the highest standards. We strive to provide services without prejudice to origin and preferences of any kind.
We believe that employees, while complying with regulations and requirements, will, on their own initiative, promote actions that are ethically correct.
We strongly condemn the practice of working with a client or developing products based on the provision of inaccurate information or misleading facts.

If there is any doubt about a potential conflict arising from a violation of our Code of Ethics, any person acting for or on behalf of CertCom should consider:

Violated principles, legality and ethics of actions.
Your commitment and the impact of your actions on your professional and personal image.
Impact of the action (direct or indirect) on CertCom’s reputation and goodwill.
A legitimate business purpose and existing alternatives to the proposed action.

In case of negative assessment or any doubts, the CertCom representative should seek advice and reconsider the decision. The existence of a problem can never be ignored.

Impartiality

We are fully aware of the importance of impartiality in the performance of our activities.
We have documented policies and procedures for managing impartiality and ensuring that our activities are undertaken in an impartial manner, guided by impartiality and objectivity, avoiding unacceptable conflicts of interest and excluding the influence of other interests or parties.
We analyze, document and eliminate potential conflicts of interest arising from ongoing certification activities, which are regulated and managed to ensure impartiality.

Conflicts of interest may arise when a candidate applies for certification with CertCom and has a financial interest in or close personal relationship with any CertCom staff involved in certification decisions.
This principle applies to all certification processes.
Conflicts of interest exist if a candidate’s significant interest in a certification causes bias in decision-making and/or reporting of certification activities.
Conflicts can lead to or accompany inappropriate conduct and decision-making for the exclusive benefit of the candidate.
In order to identify, minimize and manage conflicts of interest, all persons acting on behalf of CertCom are responsible for reporting circumstances in which a potential conflict of interest may arise, and further action is taken in accordance with the adopted procedure to ensure impartiality.

Confidentiality

All information is protected, regardless of how it is created, shared, communicated or stored.
Information can exist in many forms. Information security is the protection of information from threats in order to ensure business continuity, minimize business risk, and maximize return on investment and business opportunities.

Our information security priorities are:

Risks related to the security of strategic and operational information are understood and treated as acceptable to the organization.
Confidentiality of all customer and product development information is ensured.

Our team is aware and ensures that any dissemination of information or its public release is conducted in accordance with CertCom’s information security, data protection and confidentiality policies.
Sensitive information will never be shared without the prior consent of the person providing the information. All employees are aware of the sensitivity factors and impact of information, and are held accountable for the oversight of information resulting from their authority and responsibility.

Responsibility

We understand and know how to assess customer needs.
We ensure that every reported issue is treated with responsibility and priority. We have implemented procedures for resolving issues, providing feedback, listening to customer concerns and translating every reported issue into an opportunity for improvement.
Our team is trained to understand and investigate the root cause of issues that occur and provide oversight and action to eliminate them.
CertCom has established a complaint procedure that applies to complaints or appeals received from clients, certified organizations, candidates, certified individuals, and other parties with an interest in CertCom’s policies, procedures, certification decisions, or general operations. This procedure includes the actions and role of the Appeals Committee in the appeal process.

Competence

Every person involved in the certification process or the general activities of CertCom is qualified and aware of the authority and responsibility in achieving organizational goals and meeting customer expectations.
The CertCom team understands how to prioritize and solve problems, our strategy is to analyze the causes and take effective actions.
We have clearly defined duties and responsibilities so that everyone working for CertCom is aware of the established principles of a common approach, important for the improvement and development of management in an integral manner.
One of our ways of ensuring competence is to initiate continuous training and exchange of experiences. Our main goal is to make sure that our team understands the theoretical and practical aspects of the standard requirements and management principles.

Respect and dignity

Every person must be treated with respect and dignity. No action taken at CertCom will be discriminatory or offensive, but will be based on fundamental norms and universal values of human rights. Every person should be respected and treated equally regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or worldview. We encourage freedom of speech, expression and thought by providing a work environment focused on multicultural awareness and tolerance.

Counteracting pressure and corruption

We are committed to combating and condemning any form of pressure or corruption, direct or indirect, including bribery, the use of funds or assets for any unethical purposes. We categorically condemn bribery practices, including those involving the use of funds in order to provide improper benefits to clients, partners, associates and law enforcement agencies. CertCom declares full compliance with anti-corruption laws and local and international requirements.

Evaluation of the Code of Ethics

Compliance with the Code of Ethics is essential for all parties cooperating with CertCom, including CertCom employees, certified persons, examiners, auditors, partners and other collaborators. Compliance with the Code of Ethics is included in the evaluation of each stakeholder’s activities and is subject to continuous monitoring.
The CertCom team understands that any violation of our Code of Ethics will have detrimental consequences for CertCom’s credibility.
Any person acting on behalf of CertCom who fails to comply with the Code of Ethics will be subject to disciplinary action, which may include termination of contract and, in cases where their action seriously affects CertCom, legal action will be taken. In all cases, the author of any violation has the right to be heard and to defend himself against the imposition of disciplinary consequences.

Ecological awareness

Our organization is aware of the damage and externalities that unconscious human actions can cause to the natural world. Therefore, we try to improve our business process to achieve the ideal level of environmental protection and operate in the best possible way.