Effective date: August 3, 2026
Purpose of This Policy
A certification scheme is only as trustworthy as the impartiality of the people who run it and the recourse available when someone believes a decision was wrong. This policy sets out, publicly, how Standard ESG manages conflicts of interest among reviewers and auditors, what we require of auditor competence, how a certified company can appeal a decision, and how anyone — a competitor, a customer, a worker, a member of the public — can raise a complaint about a certified company. It is the public expression of Section 11 of the Standard ESG Certification Protocol.
Impartiality: How We Manage Conflicts of Interest
Reviewers who approve or reject Level 1 assessments, the internal team who verify Level 2 documents, and auditors who conduct Level 3 on-site assessments are all required to declare conflicts of interest and must not assess a company where a conflict exists — for example, a prior employment relationship, a financial interest in the company under assessment, or a close personal relationship with someone at the company. This requirement applies equally to Standard ESG staff and to partner auditors, who operate under a signed agreement binding them to the same protocol and the same impartiality obligations as internal staff.
If you believe a specific reviewer or auditor assigned to your assessment has an undeclared conflict of interest, raise it immediately using the contact details in Section 9 — this should be addressed before the assessment proceeds further, not after a decision is issued.
Auditor and Reviewer Competence
Level 3 auditors — whether Standard ESG staff or approved partner auditors — are required to complete documented training on the Standard ESG Certification Protocol itself, and to demonstrate familiarity with ISO 20400, SA8000 auditing practice, and health-and-safety inspection fundamentals before conducting assessments. Training records are maintained centrally. This requirement exists so that the judgment applied during an on-site assessment — what counts as a minor versus a major finding, for instance — is grounded in a consistent, documented standard rather than individual auditor discretion.
Your Right to Appeal
If you are a certified company, or a company whose assessment was rejected, you may appeal any of the following within 30 days of the decision: a rejection of your assessment at any level, the score you were assigned, or a revocation of an issued certificate.
To file an appeal, contact us using the details in Section 9, identifying the decision you're appealing and your reasoning. There is no fee to file an appeal.
How an Appeal Is Reviewed
Every appeal is reviewed by a Standard ESG staff member who was not involved in the original decision — a structural separation designed to give your appeal a genuinely independent second look, not a formality that returns to the same reviewer or auditor. The reviewing staff member examines the original assessment record, any evidence you submit with your appeal, and the reasoning behind the original decision, and issues a determination. We aim to resolve appeals promptly; if additional information or time is needed, we will tell you what's outstanding and why.
Third-Party Complaints About a Certified Company
Certification is not a one-time stamp that becomes unreviewable once issued. Any third party — a competitor, a customer, a current or former worker, an NGO, a member of the public — may file a complaint about a certified company through our public site if they believe the company's certification does not reflect reality: for example, evidence that contradicts a certified claim, a labour or environmental incident inconsistent with the company's certified status, or suspected fraud in the original assessment.
A complaint should include enough detail for us to investigate: what you believe is inaccurate or has changed, and any supporting information you can provide. Anonymous complaints can be submitted, though the ability to investigate and follow up may be more limited without a way to request additional information from the complainant.
What Happens After a Substantiated Complaint
A substantiated complaint can trigger re-assessment or revocation of the company's certificate. Where a complaint reveals conduct that meets one of the protocol's certification gates — for instance, credible evidence of child or forced labour, or an undisclosed material sanction for environmental crime or corruption — that finding overrides the company's existing score entirely, consistent with how the same gates apply during a first-time assessment. Revocation, where it occurs, takes effect immediately and is reflected on the company's public verification page without delay.
We do not publicly disclose the identity of a complainant without their consent, and we do not disclose the internal details of an investigation to the complainant beyond confirming whether the certificate's status has changed as a result, consistent with our confidentiality obligations to the certified company described in our Privacy Policy.
What This Policy Does Not Cover
This policy governs appeals of certification decisions and complaints about certified companies specifically. General customer-support issues, billing disputes, or requests related to your own personal data should instead go through standard support channels or be handled under our Privacy Policy, as applicable.
Contact Us
Standard ESG, 32 N Gould St, Sheridan, WY 82801, United States. To raise a conflict-of-interest concern, file an appeal, or submit a complaint about a certified company, contact [email protected]. For general support, contact [email protected].