Management Systems and Certification

Embedding effective quality, environment, health and safety and sustainability management standards into your business

With sustainability and environmentalism at the forefront of consumers' minds, many companies are proactively earning various certifications related to sustainable business practices. If your customers and stakeholders are demanding that your products and services have better quality performance and more sustainable processes in place, we can help you earn the necessary certifications. This will in turn help to strengthen your brand and environmental reputation and improve customer loyalty.

Certification to international standards such as those developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) can demonstrate your commitment to continual improvement, managing risk and improving client satisfaction. Certification can also help to ensure your organization has adopted an internationally recognized approach to managing your business activities, including the sustainability of your business practices, the quality of your products, and the safety and well being of your staff.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Canada is an accredited, independent, third-party provider of certification services to the ISO quality management and environmental management systems standards. These include:

• ISO 9001. This standard forms the management system foundation for strong quality principles and is an internationally accepted benchmark for quality management systems. The implementation of a sound ISO 9001 management system enables direct performance improvements such as more efficient and effective practices and is compatible with Six Sigma programs. It can also help to drive down operating costs, build market share and improve customer loyalty.
• ISO 14001. This standard is an internationally accepted designation for your company's environmental management system. It helps organizations manage the risk of negative impacts that various business processes can have on the environment and helps to demonstrate due diligence and manage compliance with various local, national and international laws pertaining to sustainability and environmental protection.

We also provide certification for occupational health and safety programs:

• OHSAS 18001. This is an international occupational health and safety (OHS) management standard that enables your organization to manage its OHS risks and improve its OHS performance.

Standards designed specifically for the forestry industry:

• Chain of custody (CoC) refers to the tracking of forest products through all stages of transport and transformation from the forest to the end consumer. We provide CoC certification to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and the PwC Independent Chain of Custody (PwC-ICoC) standards. This level of supply transparency is of key importance to the forest products industry, as its customers are asking for credible information on product attributes such as the origin of fibre and amount of recycled content.
• Sustainable Forest Management standards, including CAN/CSA Z809, Sustainable Forestry Inititiative (SFI), American Forest Foundation (AFF) Standards of Sustainability for Forest Certification, and American Tree Farm System (ATFS) Standard Operating Procedures for Independently Managed Groups help forest, paper and packaging companies embed sustainable business practices into the core of their forest management systems.

When should you seek certification of your management system?

Many of our clients turn to PwC when they would like to receive external recognition of their management systems, or are concerned about the value of their existing certification. In some cases, we find the clients' management systems have outgrown the audit/certification process, or the management systems that have been in place for a number of years have lost their ability to drive improvement and change. These are the clients that rely on us to assist in either moving their management system to the next level or in re-energizing the existing management systems and certification process.

Many clients also come to us reactively, after they have had some reputational issues involving quality, environment or health and safety. If this is the case for your organization, our management systems services can help you turn a new page and begin rebuilding your reputation among customers and stakeholders by putting in place the systems that prove you take these concerns seriously.

How PwC can help

PwC is recognized as a high-quality certification body that brings a breath of fresh air to the certification experience. Our management system specialists use a phased systems audit approach that focuses on key risk management issues in the context of your major business drivers. We understand there is a broad range of interpretation of international standards. We believe what sets our experience apart is our strong emphasis on business integration, risk and a collaborative approach to drive change and improvements. We take a common-sense approach and expect the management system to work for you by reducing business, environmental and health and safety risks while at the time supporting the needs of your business.

Complaints and Appeals

PwC has a formal procedure for processing appeals and complaints pertaining to our accredited certification and verification programs. The process can be initiated in writing to the Practice Leader Bruce McIntyre, or by contacting the PwC Canada Complaints and Business Conduct Hotline at 1-877-814-5833. All appeals and complaints will be acknowledged in writing along with providing a description of the complaints and appeals process. All enquiries will be handled in accordance with PwC confidentiality policies.

Contact us today to find out how we can embed the right management system into your organization or re-energize your existing certification program and for information about the status of certificates that have been issued.