code development procedure utz certified

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Code development procedure for a UTZCERTIFIED product code September 2009


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Code development procedure for a UTZ CERTIFIED product code

Last revision: 20-11-09

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... 2 Scope of this Code Development Procedure .................................................................................. 3 Approval of this version of the Code Development Procedures ........................................................ 3 Feedback and Complaints on this Code Development Procedure ...................................................... 3 UTZ CERTIFIED and the UTZ CERTIFIED Certification Documents ................................................... 4 The Stakeholders in the Code Development Process ...................................................................... 6

Overview over functions .......................................................................................................... 6 Standards Committee ............................................................................................................. 7

Procedure for the Development of NEW Codes of Conduct ............................................................ 10 Definition of NEW Code ......................................................................................................... 10

Proposal .............................................................................................................................. 10

Research ............................................................................................................................. 10 Establishment of a resource base ........................................................................................... 11 Code development ............................................................................................................... 12

Procedure for the REVIEW AND REVISION of existing Codes of Conduct ......................................... 15 Definition of REVIEW AND REVISION of existing Code ............................................................... 15 Proposal .............................................................................................................................. 15 Research ............................................................................................................................. 15 Code development ............................................................................................................... 16

Special provisions (applicable to both new codes and code revisions) ............................................ 19 Documentation of the Code Development .................................................................................. 20 Requirements for the final Code document ................................................................................. 20 Publication of an approved standard .......................................................................................... 22


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Scope of this Code Development Procedure

The UTZ CERTIFIED ‘Code Development Procedure’ at hand sets the requirementsfor the development of new UTZ CERTIFIED Codes of Conduct as well as the reviewsand revisions of existing UTZ CERTIFIED Codes of Conduct.

The Code Development Procedures are binding for everybody involved in Code ofConduct developments and revisions. Excluded from the scope of this document areamendments of existing code versions. Amendments are defined as ‘corrections ofan existing code, clarifications of control points and mere amendments of technicalissues’. Even though all code revisions are carried with the greatest possiblecarefulness, there will always be small details (formulations, calculations, etc.) that

are not correct and will only be found out during the implementation and auditing ofthe code. Amendments do not have an impact on the nature and goal of the code.They will be included by the UTZ CERTIFIED Standards and CertificationDepartment. Amended version of the code will carry the version number X.X+1(meaning, if the previous version of the code was called version 3.0, the amendedversion will be called 3.1)

UTZ CERTIFIED is a full member of the ISEAL Alliance. This Code DevelopmentProcedure complies with the “ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social andEnvironmental Standards”.

Whenever this document uses the term ´code´, this refers of to an UTZ CERTIFIED

Code of Conduct for sustainable production.

Approval of this version of the Code Development ProceduresThe UTZ CERTIFIED Board approved this version of the Code DevelopmentProcedures during their meeting on October 2nd, 2009.The Procedure comes into effect January 1st, 2010.

Feedback and Complaints on this Code Development ProcedureUTZ CERTIFIED welcomes feedback of its stakeholders on this Code Development

Procedure. Please send your feedback to [email protected]

Stakeholders also have the right to complain against the procedures described inthis document. Please follow the ‘Complaint Handling Procedure’ that can bedownloaded from the UTZ CERTIFIED homepage or requested at

[email protected].


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UTZ CERTIFIED and the UTZ CERTIFIED Certification Documents

UTZ CERTIFIED’S vision, mission and principles

UTZ CERTIFIED Good Inside is dedicated to creating an open and transparentmarketplace for agricultural products.

Vision UTZ CERTIFIED’s vision is to achieve sustainable agricultural supply chains in which:

• Farmers are professionals implementing good practices which lead to betterbusinesses, livelihoods and environments;

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Industry takes responsibility by demanding and rewarding sustainablygrown products;

• Consumers buy products that meet their standard for social andenvironmental responsibility.

Tools• Traceability and transparency: knowing where your product comes from.

UTZ CERTIFIED has been an innovative pioneer in traceability, offering onlinereal-time traceability of agricultural products.

• Facilitate farmers to become better businesspeople: creatingopportunities for all farmers to improve their farm and business practices andmeet increasingly demanding market expectations.

• Providing a credible trust mark: allowing brands to demonstrate theircommitment to sustainability and quality. UTZ is a supportive label to thebrand.

• Professional partnerships: UTZ partners with brands and retailers who arelooking for a hands-on way to incorporate responsible purchasing into theircore business.

UTZ DNAUTZ CERTIFIED Good Inside measures itself on the following five criteria, often

considered the DNA of certification practices, and carefully keeps these elements inbalance:

• Meaningful impact: Sustainability has become a business reality. Governmentsand consumers demand and expect assurance and transparency. We empowerproducers with knowledge about professional farming techniques and withknowledge about how to take care of the people and environment involved.

• Credibility: UTZ CERTIFIED is a full member of the ISEAL Alliance. The UTZCERTIFIED Good Inside Codes of Conduct are based on the international ILOconventions and good agricultural practices. Growers are audited annually byindependent third party auditors with an ISO 65 accreditation.


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• Added value:o For brands: consumers buy a product because they like the brand, its

taste, price and quality. UTZ CERTIFIED gives assurance of responsibilityin sustainable sourcing.

o For producers: better product quality, higher productivity, improved (cost)efficiency and a premium reflecting the recognition of the buyers for theadded value of the certified product.

• Acceptance: UTZ CERTIFIED focuses on the three pillars of sustainability:People, Planet and Profit. The program is recognized for its impact in origin,credible certification procedures and added value for all parties in the coffeechain.

• Efficiency: The UTZ program is a market-oriented model working in the existingmarket structure. This can be seen in the relation between the costs of the

program and UTZ CERTIFIED products on the one hand, and impact, credibility,added value, and acceptance on the other.

The UTZ CERTIFIED Certification Documents

All UTZ CERTIFIED Codes of Conduct adhere to the vision, mission and principlesabove. In particular, they all include the three pillars of sustainability: People, Planetand Profit, or translated into standard terminology, they all contain criteria thatcontribute to a positive social, environmental and economic impact in production in

origin countries.

Furthermore, UTZ CERTIFIED is dedicated to the concept of continuousimprovement – a concept which is present in all UTZ CERTIFIED Codes of Conduct.

The UTZ CERTIFIED Codes of Conduct are intended for direct implementation. Theytherefore have to be written in a language which is as clear and practical aspossible. The language has to be unambiguous and has to allow for consistentinterpretation.


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The Stakeholders in the Code Development Process

Overview over functions

As a multi-stakeholder initiative, UTZ CERTIFIED wants to ensure that participationin the code development reflects a balance of interests among parties involved andinterested in the certification program.

The various stakeholder bodies mentioned in the code development procedure arelisted below.

Stakeholder Body Function in the code

development process

Composition

Board Provides strategic direction forthe organization

Approves or rejects proposal forthe development of a new code.

Approves final code versions byverifying whether the codedevelopment procedure hasbeen duly followed.

Transitional solution: acts asStandards Committee until theStandards Committee isestablished (second half of2010)

Multi-stakeholder group,although board members donot represent thestakeholder group of whichthey may be part, but ratheract in the overall interests ofUTZ Certified.

Standards Committee(see further details

below)

Approves the Terms ofReference and the workprogram of the codedevelopment.

The Standards Committeechecks the content of the codeand whether the code meetsthe overall goal and objectivesas defined in the Terms ofReference.

The Standards Committeeapproves or rejects the Code of

Conduct.

Members of the StandardsCommittee can also beactive in another stakeholderbody, especially the ProductAdvisory Committee1

Technical WorkingGroup (TWG)

Holds the detailed contentdiscussions during thedevelopment of NEW codes

Multi-stakeholder group.

Members are technicalexperts on an aspectimportant in the productionof the crop and cover thestakeholders defined in thestakeholder mapping ascrucial for the codedevelopment process, i.e.

1 Will be established in 2010


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representing important NGOswith different core objectives

(sound representatives fromall parts of the sectors’commodity chain (producers,retailers, processors,traders).

Only exists during thedevelopment phase of a NEWcode. Can evolve into aProduct AdvisoryCommittee1 after finalizationof the code development

All UTZ CERTIFIED

stakeholders

Participate in the stakeholder

consultation. Give feedback on the code

development during workshopsand public consultation period

Producers, Technical

Assistants, NGOs,Processors, Traders,Retailers, Governmentalinstitutions, etc.

Code Team Coordinates the codedevelopment

• Program Manager• Evt. Program

Coordinator• Standards and

Certification Manager• Evt. Standards and

Certification Coordinator

Standards Committee

Role:The Standards Committee is responsible for approving new product codes(standards), approving changes to existing product codes (standards revisions),dealing with complaints, and ensuring the technical consistency and integration ofall UTZ programs.

The Standards Committee may also advise UTZ Directors and the Board on credibleclaims that can be made with respect to different levels of performance.

Membership: The Standard Committee consists of a minimum of 6 (six) up to a maximum

of 12 (twelve) individuals (including non-voting ex officio members) withrecognized expertise in standards and certification, important aspects of theUTZ CERTIFIED program or specific expertise of one or more of the UTZproducts.

Members are appointed by the Board on proposal of the UTZ Directorate, ortheir nominated Standards and Certification Manager.

The composition of the Standards committee represents the variousstakeholders involved in the UTZ CERTIFIED program. In order to ensure a

balanced representation the members of the Standard Committee are


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grouped into the following categories. The number of representatives for eachcategory is binding.

Category Number of

representatives

Comments

Producer and Supply Chainrepresentatives

Minimum of 2

NGOs and Technical Experts onspecific sustainability issues

Minimum of 2

Certification or Sustainabilityexperts

Minimum of 1

UTZ CERTIFIED staff 1 - 2 Non-voting exofficiomember(s)

Additional to the above mentioned categories, the following rules apply for thecomposition of the Standards Committee:

• None of the above categories can be represented with more than 50% ofthe votes.

• At least 30% of the representatives have to come from UTZ CERTIFIEDorigin countries. UTZ CERTIFIED differentiates 3 main origin regions: LatinAmerica, Africa and Asia. Within the origin representation, at least two ofthe regions have to be represented by at least one member. Thestandards committee however has to strive for inclusion of all three

regions (but maintains working status also when only 2 regions arerepresented.• Sub-category: specific product expertise: For each of the products for

which a UTZ CERTIFIED Code of Conduct exists, at least onerepresentative of the standard committee has to have in-depth knowledgeof this product (i.e. one member with proven expertise in coffee, onemember with proven expertise in cocoa, etc.) The in-depth knowledge canbe both in production or supply chain aspects. The ‘specific product ’sub-category will be given to the members of the Standard Committee whereapplicable (some members can be specialists). No sub-category (expertisein one product) can be represented with more than 50% of the votes.

The members of the Standard Committee are appointed for a term of 2 (two)years. The maximum number of terms a member of the Standard Committeecan serve is 3 (three). The possibility to serve for several terms allows forgreater continuity and consistency in the Standards Committee’sperformance.

Communication and Meetings:

• The Standards Committee is informed by the Standards and CertificationManager on ongoing standards developments and revisions as well as specifictopics linked to it.


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• Meetings: The Standards Committee meets twice per calendar year – onemeeting is a physical meeting and one meeting is web-based (web

conference).• If needed, i.e. in periods with intensive code developments and/or code

revisions, the Standard Committee can request additional meetings. Therequest can be approved by the UTZ Directorate, based on resources andtime available.

In-between meetings members of the Standards Committee communicate via e-mail.

Accountability: The Standards Committee reports to the UTZ Directorate, or their nominated

Standards and Certification Manager.

Decision making:• The Standards Committee is striving for consensus-based decision making,

i.e. it takes decisions where possible by consensus whereas consensus isdefined as the absence of sustained opposition but does not requireunanimity; where a consensus is not possible, decisions are taken by majorityvote with any dissenting views noted if wished.

• The Standard Committee approves or rejects new and revised UTZCERTIFIED Codes of Conduct. The final approval of the code is then given bythe Board based on the careful and correct application of the code

development procedure.

Reports:

Minutes of Standard Committee meetings


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Procedure for the Development of NEW Codes of Conduct

Definition of NEW Code

The UTZ CERTIFIED Codes of Conduct are product specific. This means that while allUTZ CERTIFIED codes adhere to the principles UTZ CERTIFIED’s mission and visionthe codes developed break down these principles to the specific situation in theproduction and supply chain of the crop. Developing a NEW code therefore means acode is developed for a product (or a group of products) for which so far no UTZCERTIFIED Code of Conduct existed.

Proposal

1. A request for the development of a new product Code of Conduct (standard)is received by UTZ CERTIFIED. The requests can come from variousstakeholders such as marketing organizations, producers, NGOs and otherinterested parties or from an internal party such as the UTZ CERTIFIEDBoard or management

2. A demand assessment is made. The demand assessment is a carefulevaluation by the UTZ marketing support and certification team whichincludes the overall goal of the standard, an analysis of who needs and willuse the standard, a description of how the demand can be met and a

problem and risk analysis. It includes an assessment of the extent to whichexisting standards fully or partially meet the same goals.

3. If the demand assessment shows a demand and plausible way how thestandard could reach its general goal and contribute to the mission of UTZ,the UTZ management team submits a proposal for development of a newcode to the Board of the UTZ CERTIFIED foundation. The proposal isapproved or rejected by the Board.

4. UTZ CERTIFIED informs ISEAL about its intention to apply this procedurewhich is in line with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice and Guidance forSetting Social and Environmental Standards to the development of a newstandard.

Research

5. A stakeholder mapping is done to identify relevant interest sectors, keyissues for these sectors, key players of these sectors and what means ofcommunication will best reach them.

6. Desk research - Collect information about sustainability and productionissues in respective crop from:

• most important research documents from respected NGOs active in thesector;


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• academic and technical literature;

• relevant websites of industry bodies, roundtables and public-private-partnerships;

• media coverage;

• UTZ CERTIFIED and Solidaridad/CSN experts network;

• other relevant sources of information.

7. Consult with relevant stakeholders (e.g. Research institutes, local commodityboards, local NGOs), industry experts (i.e. company representatives) andauthorities on the subject.

8. Cross-check with existing UTZ CERTIFIED standards and define possiblesynergies and differences.

9. Conduct field visit to major production countries and discuss with local andinternational stakeholders.

Establishment of a resource base

10. A Program Manager is appointed. The Program Manager and the Standardsand Certification manager are responsible for the overall coordination of thecode development.

11. The Program Manager (and possibly a Program Coordinator) together with

the Standards and Certification Manager (and possibly a Standard andCertification Coordinator) form the Code Team.

12. Set up of a Technical Working Group (TWG). Based on the results of thestakeholders mapping, possible members for the TWG are asked for theirparticipation. The members of the TWG are technical experts on an aspectimportant in the production of the crop and cover the stakeholders defined inthe stakeholder mapping as crucial for the code development process, i.e.representing important NGOs with different core objectives (i.e. Social,environmental, good agriculture, development support) and representativesfrom all parts of the sectors’ commodity chain (producers, retailers,processors, traders).

13.

The Technical Working Group may establish subgroups who work moreintensively with specific aspects (such as social and environmental aspects)of the code.

14. Documentation of the code development process: The Code Team isresponsible for the documentation of the code development process. Thedocumentation must include:

• The various steps of the code development process, including dates

• List of stakeholders contacted and involved

• Summary and evaluation of comments received


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Code development

15. Terms of Reference are defined. The TOR have to

• Include the overall goal and objectives of the code (see 2.)

• Explain the decision making process of the code development

• include the demand assessment (see 2.) which is updated if neededbased on the findings of the background research

• give results of the evaluation of other existing standards (see research)

16. A work program is defined which includes

• The overall objective and rationale of the standard

• intermediate goals and timelines

• UTZ CERTIFIED contact details including a specific contact person within theorganization

17. The Standards Committee approves the Terms of Reference and the workprogram.

18. The Terms of Reference are published on the UTZ CERTIFIED homepage andare distributed via the UTZ CERTIFIED newsletter. Stakeholders are invitedto comment on the Terms of References.

19. The work program is published on the UTZ CERTIFIED website and madeavailable to interested parties upon request. The work program is made

available in electronic form or upon request also as hard copies (a small feecan be charged for hard copies, covering the real costs for processing anddistribution).

20. The work program is updated at least every six months. It can be updatedmore frequently in order to describe the timelines of the standarddevelopment as accurately as possible.

21. The Code Team develops a Code Draft Version 0.1 based on the Terms ofReference, the findings of the research (see above) and existing UTZCERTIFED standard experience. Control points have a direct link to thestated objectives.

22.

The members of the TWG give feedback on the Code Draft Version 0.1.Based on this feedback first adaptations of the code are made that lead tothe Draft Version 0.2.

23. 1st public consultation period. The Draft Version 0.2 is posted on the UTZCERTIFIED website and sent out to the stakeholders defined in thestakeholder mapping for the first round of public consultation. The publicconsultation is announced in all UTZ CERTIFIED’s communication means,especially in the newsletter. The duration of the first public consultationround is 60 days (or longer). In order to streamline the feedback receivedthrough the public consultation, a feedback form that includes both a general

comment section as well as feedback possibilities on single control points is


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used to collect comments. Comments received in other formats (e.g.teleconferences, meetings, etc.) are also accepted as public consultation

feedback.24. The feedback received on the Draft Version 0.2 is compiled by the Code

Team, which makes a first evaluation and summary of the comments.

25. The Code Draft Version 0.2, the compilation of comments on this version andthe summary are presented to the members of the Technical Working Group(TWG).

26. The TWG discusses the comments received during the 1st public consultationand states which comments the TWG supports and which they reject.

27. An overview of the comments received and rejected is sent to the Standards

Committee. The process carried out by the TWG (justified inclusion andrejection of comments) is approved by the Standards committee.

28. Based on the TWG’s input the Code Team creates a new Version of the Code,i.e. Draft Version 0.3.

29. An overview of the comments received during the 1st public consultation, thecomments incorporated and comments rejected is prepared by the codeteam and published on the UTZ CERTIFIED website.

30. The new Code Version 0.3 is tested in a field pilot. During the field pilotlocal stakeholders, especially producers and producers’ organizations aregiven the possibility to comment on the code. The auditability of the code is

checked.31. The findings of the field pilots are then included in the code by the code team

and Draft Version 0.4 of the code is created.

32. 2nd public consultation period: The Code Version 0.4 is posted on thehomepage and sent out for public consultation No 2. The duration of thepublic consultation No 2 is 60 days (or longer). In justified cases, e.g. whenthe content and/or structure of the Code Version 0.4 does not significantlydiffer from Code Version 0.3, the 2nd consultation period can be eliminated.The justification for the elimination has to be sent out to the stakeholdersand has to be posted on the homepage. If there is no 2nd public consultation

period then points X. to X. of this procedure are not applicable.33. The feedback received on the Draft Version 0.4 is compiled by the Code

Team a first evaluation and summary of the comments is made.

34. The Code Draft Version 0.4, the compilation of comments on this version andthe summary are presented to the members of the Technical Working Group(TWG).

35. An overview of the comments received during the 2nd public consultation,the comments incorporated and comments rejected is prepared by the codeteam and published on the UTZ CERTIFIED website.

36. The Code Team in co-operation with the TWG designs a final draft version of

the code.


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37. The ‘requirements for the final Code of Conduct document’ (see below) areincluded in the final draft version.

38.

The Code Team submits the final draft version of the code to the UTZCERTIFIED Standard Committee.

39. Approval by the Standards Committee: The Standard Committee checks thecontent of the code, whether the code meets the overall goal and objectivesas defined in the Terms of Reference and the justified inclusion and rejectionof the comments received. The Standards Committee then approves orrejects the Code of Conduct.

40. Final approval by the Board: The Board verifies whether the codedevelopment procedures have been duly followed. If that’s the case, then theBoard will give the final approval.

41. In the case of approval (of both the Standards Committee and the Board)the Code is now named Code Version 1.0

42. A summary of the code development is made, including the major changesfrom the previous code, an explanatory summary on which comments wereincluded and which not and a list of stakeholders involved in the codedevelopment process. This summary is published on the UTZ CERTIFIEDwebsite.


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Procedure for the REVIEW AND REVISION of existing Codes of

Conduct

Definition of REVIEW AND REVISION of existing Code

By REVISION of an existing code, means one of the two following options:

• Full review and revision: The whole product specific Code of Conduct isreviewed in its entirety, meaning that all control points are checked andrevised if needed, control points can be deleted or new ones added.

• Partial review and revision: The partial review and revision focuses on aspecific chapter or the inclusion or deletion of a specific aspect in the code.

In case of a partial revision the criteria below will only focus on the part ofthe code that will be revised.

Proposal

1. All UTZ CERTIFIED Codes of Conduct need to be fully reviewed at leastevery 5 years. An earlier review and revision can be considered (see 2.,below).

2. A request for an earlier review and revision (earlier than the maximumreview period of 5 years) of a product code is received by UTZ CERTIFIED.

The requests can come from various stakeholders such as marketingorganizations, producers, NGOs and other interested parties or from aninternal party such as the UTZ CERTIFIED Board or management or the UTZCERTIFIED Standards Committee.

3. Earlier reviews and revisions only: The request is carefully evaluated by theUTZ Program Manager and Standards and Certification Manager.

4. Earlier reviews and revisions only: A demand assessment is made. Thedemand assessment includes the overall goal of the standard, an analysis ofwho needs and will use the reviewed standard, a description of how thedemand can be met and a problem and risk analysis.

5.

Earlier reviews and revisions only: If the demand assessment shows ademand and plausible way how the standard could reach its general goal andcontribute to the mission of UTZ, the UTZ management team submits aproposal for review and revision of the code to the Board of the UTZCERTIFIED foundation. The proposal is approved or rejected by the Board.

Research

6. The original stakeholder mapping is updated (or a new stakeholdermapping is done) to identify relevant interest sectors, key issues for thesesectors, key players of these sectors and what means of communication willbest reach them.


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7. Desk research. A desk research is conducted to collect information aboutnew trends and developments in the specific crop sector.

8.

Cross-check with other existing UTZ CERTIFIED Codes of Conduct and definepossible needs and opportunities for streamlining the codes.

9. Review of external circumstances and review of continued relevance andeffectiveness in meeting the stated objectives of the standard

10. The Program Manager and the Standards and Certification manager areresponsible for the overall coordination of the code development.

11. The respective Program Manager (and possibly a Program Coordinator)together with UTZ CERTIFED’s Standards and Certification Manager (andpossibly a Standard and Certification Coordinator) form the Code Team.

12.

Based on the results of the stakeholders mapping, a strategy is defined howto involve the various stakeholders in the code development process.

13. Documentation of the code development process: The Code Team isresponsible for the documentation of the code development process. Thedocumentation must include:

• The various steps of the code development process, including dates

• List of stakeholders contacted and involved

• Summary and evaluation of comments received

Code development

14. The original Terms of References (TOR) are updated or when necessarynewly defined. The TOR have to

• indicate whether it is a full code revision or a partial code revision. Incase of a partial code revision, the issues revised are clearly defined.

• include the overall goal and objectives of the standard (see X.X.)

• explain the decision making process of the code development

• include the demand assessment (see X.X) which is updated if needed

based on the findings of the background research• give results of the evaluation of other existing standards (see research)

15. A work program is defined which includes

• The overall objective and rationale of the standard

• intermediate goals and timelines

• UTZ CERTIFIED contact details including a specific contact person withinthe organization

16. The Standards Committee approves the Terms of Reference and the workprogram.


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17. The (updated) Terms of References are published on the UTZ CERTIFIEDhomepage and are distributed via the UTZ CERTIFIED newsletter.

Stakeholders are invited to comment on the Terms of References. The workprogram is published on the UTZ CERTIFIED website and made available tointerested parties upon request. The work program is made available inelectronic form or upon request also as hard copies (a small fee can becharged for hard copies, covering the real costs for processing anddistribution).

18. The work program is updated at least every six months. It can be updatedmore frequently in order to describe the timelines of the standarddevelopment as accurately as possible.

19. The stakeholder consultation is carried out. It consists of:

•

Mandatory: Discussion with UTZ CERTIFIED’S producer supportstructure in origin countries and/or discussion rounds or workshops inorigin countries, organized in co-operation with UTZ CERTIFIED’Sproducer support structure.

• Optional: Written communication to NGO’s and all parts of the sectors’commodity chain (producers, retailers, processors, traders)

• Optional: Discussion round in the UTZ CERTIFIED Standards Committee

20. The Code Team develops a Code Draft Version X.1 (X being the previousversion of the code) based on the stakeholder consultation, the terms ofreferences, the findings of the research (see above) and existing UTZCERTIFED standard experience. Changes from the previous version X. areclearly visible. Control points have a direct link to the stated objectives.

21. 1st public consultation period. The Draft Version X.1 and the terms ofreference of the code are posted on the UTZ CERTIFIED website and sent outto the stakeholders defined in the stakeholder mapping for the first round ofpublic consultation. The public consultation is announced in all UTZCERTIFIED’s communication means, especially in the newsletter. Theduration of the first public consultation round is 60 days (or longer). In orderto streamline the feedback received through the public consultation, afeedback form that includes both a general comment section as well as

feedback possibilities on single control points is used to collect comments.Comments received in other formats (e.g. teleconferences, meetings, etc.)are also accepted as public consultation feedback.

22. The feedback received on the Draft Version X.1 is compiled by the CodeTeam, which makes a first evaluation and includes or rejects thecomments.

23. An overview of the comments received and rejected is sent to the StandardsCommittee. The process carried out by the Code Team (justified inclusionand rejection of comments) is approved by the Standards committee.


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24. Based on the evaluation of the comments and the approval of the StandardsCommittee the code team compiles the Code Draft Version X.2.

25.

An overview of the comments received during the 1st public consultation, thecomments incorporated and comments rejected is prepared by the codeteam and published on the UTZ CERTIFIED website.

26. 2nd public consultation period: The Code Version X.2 is posted on thehomepage and sent out for public consultation No 2. The duration of thepublic consultation No 2 is 60 days (or longer). In justified cases, e.g. whenthe content and/or structure of the Code Version 0.4 does not significantlydiffer from Code Version 0.3, the 2nd consultation period can be eliminated.The justification for the elimination has to be sent out to the stakeholdersand has to be posted on the homepage. If there is no 2nd public consultation

period then points 26. to 28. of this procedure are not applicable.27. The feedback received on the Draft Version X.2 is compiled by the Code

Team a first evaluation and summary of the comments is made.

28. Based on the evaluation of the comments the code team compiles the FinalCode Draft Version X.3.

29. An overview of the comments received during the 2nd public consultation,the comments incorporated and comments rejected is prepared by the codeteam and published on the UTZ CERTIFIED website.

30. The ‘requirements for the final Code of Conduct document’ (see below) areincluded in the final draft version.

31. The Code Team submits the final draft version and the documentation of thecode development process to the UTZ CERTIFIED standards committee.2

32. Approval by the Standards Committee: The Standards Committee checks thecontent of the code and whether the code meets the overall goal andobjectives as defined in the Terms of Reference. The Standards Committeethen approves or rejects the Code of Conduct.

33. Final approval by the Board: The Board verifies whether the codedevelopment procedures have been duly followed. If that’s the case, then theBoard will give the final approval.

34.

In the case of approval (of both the Standards Committee and the Board),the Code is now named Code Version X+1.0

43. A summary of the code revision is made, including the major changes fromthe previous code, an explanatory summary on which comments wereincluded and which not and a list of stakeholders included in the codedevelopment process. This summary is published on the UTZ CERTIFIEDwebsite.

2

The standard committee will be established in 2010. Until its establishment the supervisoryboard acts as standard committee


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Special provisions (applicable to both new codes and coderevisions)

Shortening of the public consultation periods.

The 1st and 2nd public consultation periods are 60 days each. If circumstancesdemand to shorten these public consultation periods, then the Code Team supportedby the TWG has to send a request asking for a shorter period and a justification(why the public consultation needs to be shortened) to the UTZ CERTIFIEDstandards committee. The standards committee will then either grant or reject therequest. Public consultation periods can however never be shorter than 30 days.


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Documentation of the Code Development

Proper records of the code development have to be prepared and maintained. Alldocuments mentioned in this code development procedure and all draft versions aswell as the final version of the code will be (electronically) saved in the UTZCERTIFIED data systems.All records will be maintained for at least 5 years.

Requirements for the final Code document

The final Code document is edited according to the current UTZ CERTIFIED

corporate identity design. The document has to include the following mentions:• Mentioning of ISEAL membership. The following text is included:

‘UTZ CERTIFIED is a full member of the ISEAL Alliance. This standardhas been developed following the UTZ CERTIFIED Code DevelopmentProcedure which complies with the “ISEAL Code of Good Practice forSetting Social and Environmental Standards”

• Date of approval of the code

• Invitation to all stakeholders to send in their feedback and commentson the code as well as proposals for changes in future revisions (seeexample below)

• UTZ CERTIFIED’s contact details (see example below)

• Indication that electronic copies are available for free in electronicformat or can be ordered as hard copies from UTZ CERTIFIED against areasonable cost-covering price (see example below)

• Indication that the English version is the guiding and only bindingversion of the code document (see example below)

• Indication in what further languages the code document is available(see example below). Translated versions of the code are, like theEnglish one, available for free in electronic format or can be ordered as

hard copies from UTZ CERTIFIED against a reasonable cost-coveringprice. Requests for translations into other languages are approved orrejected by the UTZ CERTIFIED Directorate.

• Copyright statement (see example below):

© UTZ CERTIFIED Good Inside 2009

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without fullattribution.


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Example of indication of availability of document, language version, contact details

and copyright statement

Copies of this document are available for free in electronic format onthe UTZ CERTIFIED Good Inside website:

www.utzcertified.org

If you are not able to access this document electronically, you may write to us at thefollowing address to get hard copies at a reasonable cost-covering price:

UTZ CERTIFIED Good InsideDe Ruyterkade 6 bg1013 AA Amsterdam

The Netherlands

This document is also available in Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Vietnamese.

The UTZ CERTIFIED Codes of Conduct are revised on a regular basis. For more detailson the review and revision process, please consult the UTZ CERTIFIED Code

Development Procedure which can be found on the UTZ CERTIFIED website or can berequested at [email protected]

All stakeholders are invited to send comments and suggestions on the code at anytime: these will then be included in the next revision process.

Please use the feedback form that can be found on our website or requested via e-mail and send your comments or suggestions to:

[email protected]

Or via regular mail to:UTZ CERTIFIED Good Inside

Certification DepartmentDe Ruyterkade 6 bg1013 AA Amsterdam

The Netherlands

(usually on the second page of the code document)


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Publication of an approved standard

•

The final code version is proofread for correct English. The English version isthe guiding and only binding version of the code.

• The final Code version (English) is published (within one month afterapproval) on the UTZ CERTIFIED homepage and sent out to the certificationbodies and all stakeholders.

• Translations of the Code are made into languages relevant for the UTZCERTIFIED activities (languages of major production countries/regions whereUTZ is active).

• Translated codes are published on the UTZ website as soon as ready.