www.flocert.net 1

Allegations, Appeals, Reviews

& Complaints Statistics 2019

www.flocert.net

Definitions:

2

The present Annual Statistics provide an overview on all requests handled by the Credibility Assurance Unit at FLOCERT in

2019 regarding submitted appeals, reviews, allegations and complaints from 1st of January until 31st of December in

accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on Appeals, Reviews, Allegations and Complaints.

What types of complaints does the Credibility Assurance Unit deal with?

Allegation: a statement of assertion or assertions by a third party against a customer holding a Fairtrade certificate or

being in the process of applying for a certificate (applicant) claiming that this customer is non-compliant with applicable

Fairtrade Standards, or is in breach of policies or other contractual obligations with FLOCERT.

Appeal: An official request by the customer to revoke or reverse a Certification Decision, such as decertification or

suspension. In the case of EDGE customers wanting to challenge the audit findings, the appeals procedure would

apply

Review: An official request by the customer to review an Evaluation Decision such as: review of non conformities,

corrective measures or objective evidence.

Complaint: related to the manner in which FLOCERT provides services, including but not limited to: failure to respond to

certification relevant correspondence within a reasonable amount of time, unprofessional behavior by a FLOCERT staff or

auditor.

For more details please consult the Standard Operating Procedures, which are published on FLOCERT website:

https://www.flocert.net/about-flocert/vision-values/quality-and-appeals/

www.flocert.net

Number of certified organisations

3

+45%Increase in total number

of customers since 2016

2019

5,560

3,7371,823

2017

4,180

2,5891,591

2018

4,947

3,2321,715

2016

3,841

2,3711,470

Producers

Traders

www.flocert.net 4

Four-year overview

80Allegation 644040

14Reviews 769

23Appeals 777

38Complaints 421910

2019201820172016

3,841 4,180 4,947 5,560

www.flocert.net

N/A12 11 1

N/A12 11 1

N/A38 0 0

2555

5

2019 – Status overview

Allegation

Reviews

Appeals

Complaints

OpenClosedPotentialAccepted

5,560

Total submitted in 2019

80

14

23

38

Rejected

or stalled

Decision

reconfirmed

Decision

overturned

0 0

12 0 11

12 0

38 0 0

41 25 14

2

www.flocert.net

Latin America

46Asia

16Africa

13Europe & North America

5

6

Producers

5680*

Traders

24

Total number of allegations by service*The number of allegations doubled

in 2019 since 2016.

Allegations:

www.flocert.net 7

Members of the organisation25

11 FLOCERT Business

partners

10 Competitors

10Operators from

the supply chain

9Individual/

3rd Party/Media

6 Workers

FI1

1

Total

80

NFO

19Banana

19Coffee

11Cane sugar

8Tea

7Cocoa

6Fresh fruits

5Flowers

2Herbs & Spices

2Rice

1Coconut

Top 4 topics

➜ Lack of democracy

➜ Employee benefits

➜ Non-member business

➜ Misuse of Fairtrade Premium

www.flocert.net 8

Investigated allegations:The method of investigation was usually a focused or an unannounced audit. 34% of allegations were

substantiated, 17% were partially substantiated whereas 44% were not substantiated. 5% were not

investigated, mainly because the customer was not certified anymore, or the region could not be visited.

18

Unannounced audits

14

Focused audit

7

Regular audit

1

Desktop audit

Document check

1

Investigative method

18

Not substantiated

14

Substantiated

7

Partially substantiated

2

Not investigated

Result

Average

months

4,5to close an investigation

(max. 6 months allowed)

www.flocert.net 9

Summary:

The number of allegations increased significantly

compared to previous years.

The targeted products remain bananas and coffee

This shows that members and business partners

have confidence and trust in FLOCERT to document

their concerns.

www.flocert.net

*

Asia

5Africa

9Latin America

6Europe & North America

3

10

Producers

1723*

Traders

6

The number of appeals remained

constant from 2016 to 2018 but

increased in 2019.Decertification

9Suspension

7Not init. certified

7

Appeals:

www.flocert.net 11

Appeal decisions:

*Only considered the 12 accepted and closed cases.

Decision

reconfirmed*

11

Decision

overturned*

1

Average

processing time

29 days

www.flocert.net

*

Asia

0Africa

4Latin America

9Europe & North America

1

12

Producers

814*

Traders

6

The number of reviews doubled in 2019

compared to previous years. Non-conformity

11Corrective measures

3

Reviews:

www.flocert.net

Average

processing time

29 days

13

Review decisions

*Only considered the 12 accepted reviews.

Decision

reconfirmed*

11

Decision

overturned*

1

www.flocert.net

Asia

6Africa

8Latin America

13Europe & North America

11

14

Complaints:Producers

1938

Traders

18

The number of complaints doubled

in the last two years.Other/Internal

1

www.flocert.net

Average

processing time

33 days

Time

Auditor

performance

Fee

system

Certification

process

15

38 complaints represents 0,7% considering the

total number of customer: 5560

Complaint topics and decisions: