Critical path
The verification system is built on five major steps called the critical path.
Step I
In a first step, an organisation will normally conduct an auto-evaluation to assess if it meets the Union’s minimal requirements and, where necessary, make adjustments to comply with them. At this stage organisations also submit their member application in which they are asked to formally commit to the conditions of the Union, including the process leading to Ethical BioTrade verification.
Step II
The applicant will hire and independent third party auditor pre-qualified by the Union to verify the fulfilment of the minimal requirements, and analyse the gaps between a members’ conduct and the Union’s Verification Framework.
Step III
The member organisation will develop its own implementation plan, called the work-plan, describing the sequence of measures and the timeframe by which it will implement the necessary changes. This work plan will then be sent to the UEBT for evaluation and, if accepted, the provisional member status will be upgraded to membership.
Step IV
The fourth step is the implementation of the work-plan. The maximum timeframe given for implementation is five years, although members are encouraged to move ahead faster in their efforts to implement changes. Once a year, a first party (self-evaluation) or second party audit will take place to ensure the member organisation’s progress is in line with the previously defined work-plan. The results of these audits will need to be reported to the Union. Progress that members are making with the implementation of their work plans will be made public by the Union.
One year before the final audit is carried out, a third party audit will assess progress and verify that previous reports of first or second party audits were accurate. This is done in order to allow for corrective actions in the last remaining year and therewith limit the risk of receiving disappointing results during the final 3rd party verification that should establish compliance (step V).
Step V
The final verification will be conducted by an independent 3rd party pre-qualified by the Union. The member should be in compliance with the Ethical BioTrade Verification Framework.
Once in compliance, continuous membership of the UEBT will be conditional upon continuous compliance with the Verification Framework. A third party audit should verify this on-going compliance every 3 years, while the organization will self-report annually in the intervening years.
Members will also be expected to show continuous improvement, which they will be able to measure using a set of impact indicators provided by the UEBT and the UNCTAD BioTrade Initiative.