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NEPCon Complaints, Appeals and Dispute Resolution Policy
1. Complaints from stakeholders (e.g., community residents, adjoining landowners, consulting foresters, government officials, environmental organizations) may arise concerning a NEPCon-certified operation or applicant for certification, before, during or after the initial NEPCon certification assessment process. During or before the assessment, such perspectives will be considered during the assessment process.
2. This policy is provided specifically for challenges relating to operations using NEPCon as their certification service provider, whether in the form of complaints, appeals or other disputes.
3. All appeals, complaints and disputes brought before NEPCon by suppliers or other parties shall be subject to the following procedures. NEPCon shall keep a record of all appeals, complaints, disputes and remedial actions relative to certification, take appropriate subsequent action and document the action taken and its effectiveness, in each case pursuant to the procedures outlined below.
4. NEPCon staff will document and respond in writing to all written challenges within 15 days. A formal NEPCon Complaints Log is maintained by NEPCon, including the following: date when the written complaint is received, contact person and organization the complaint is received from, defendant organization information, including certificate registration code (if not certified, status is noted, e.g., “pending”), NEPCon staff responsible for follow up and follow up activities.
5. In case the complaint is presented in relation to a NEPCon certification client, the complaint shall be forwarded to the manager of the NEPCon legal entity who has performed the assessment. Unless the complainant requires remaining confidential, the complaint may also be forwarded to the contact person at the operation serviced by NEPCon. All NEPCon personnel will honor the confidentiality of the aggrieved party if requested or, in the judgment of NEPCon, in cases where divulging his/her name may be politically or personally inappropriate. It is important to stress that even if a challenge is not lodged in writing, NEPCon may contact the certified operation and let them know what has been heard and communicate about the response process.
6. NEPCon will give the operation an initial opportunity to provide its perspective on the issue, e.g., through the operation’s own version of the incident, historical background, etc. This may be done in either verbal or written fashion, preferably in written.
7. In case the complaint relates to activities of a NEPCon legal entity, the complaint shall be forwarded directly to NEPCon’s CEO.
8. NEPCon will provide written response to the aggrieved party within 5 days from the time that NEPCon has finalized the investigation. NEPCon may ask the certified operation to assist in providing such written response. It is NEPCon’s decision whether to seek comment from the certified operation on the draft response or not. NEPCon may also choose to contact relevant third parties to clarify the situation. NEPCon may need assistance in this regard from the certified operation. NEPCon will deal with such situations expeditiously and professionally with a priority on fairness to the certified operation and the aggrieved party, and on protecting the credibility of NEPCon.
9. If the aggrieved party is not satisfied with NEPCon’s response, it may provide NEPCon with a written response in relation to this matter. In such case NEPCon shall assemble an independent committee, consisting of people outside of NEPCon and forward the complaint to them for decision making. NEPCon will inform the aggrieved party of the people in the committee. Once the committee has reached conclusion, NEPCon will inform the aggrieved party of the outcome.
10. In addition to this policy, we follow our FSC certification partner, Rainforest Alliance’s policy for the handling of all complaints and conflicts relating to our FSC certification activities.
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