As a CSC certified manufacturer, you will demonstrate to both your organization as well as your customers that your products and the raw materials that they’re made of are of responsibly sourced origin. The CSC certificate connects to known sustainability standards like LEED and BREEAM and matches sustainable development as described in ISO 26000 and the environmental standard ISO 14001. The CSC certificate was introduced in early 2017.
Is CSC certification interesting for your organization?
The Kiwa CSC certification program is intended for organizations in the concrete sector that are committed to:
- Promotion and continuous improvement of the sustainable performance of ready mix concrete, precast concrete, cement and aggregates;
- Promotion of responsible production processes throughout the entire production chain;
- Making sustainable initiatives in the concrete industry more transparent;
- Demonstrate leadership in the sustainability of the concrete sector;
- Get their products appreciated in rating systems such as LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, GreenStar, HQE, BES 6001, etc.;
- To be valued in 'green procurement';
- Improvement of the public opinion on the concrete sector.
What are the benefits for your organization?
The CSC certificate provides manufacturers with tangible evidence to share with customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. Social and environmental responsibility are issues of increasing importance worldwide, which gives CSC-certified companies a substantial advantage in procurement processes. The CSC certificate also supports internal investment in sustainable initiatives.
Both environmental and socio-economic impact
The environmental impact of concrete production (the sector’s CO2 footprint) is an integral part of the CSC certification system, but particular attention is also given to the impact on the social and economic environment in which the company is active. Differences between products or production locations of the same organization or between organizations are reflected in different certification levels for those products and/or production sites. This leads to four different degrees of certification (bronze, silver, gold and platinum), each expressing a different level of how an organization stands out in terms of sustainability.
What does the certification process look like?
Kiwa’s roadmap for CSC certification consists of the following steps:
- The producer submits an application for certification at Kiwa;
- The producer submits the relevant information for CSC certification by using the CSC Web Tool to upload the substantiating evidence;
- A Kiwa auditor checks and validates the uploaded information and substantiating evidence in the CSC web tool and compiles an audit report;
- A Kiwa certification manager will review the audit report and determines the final CSC score and decides on the issuance of the certificate;
- If the relevant requirements are met, Kiwa will issue the CSC certificate;
- After certification Kiwa will perform regular compliance checks;
- The certificate is valid for three years. After which reassessment and recertification are required.
Why CSC certification by Kiwa?
With a market share of over eighty per cent, Kiwa is a leading certification institute in the concrete sector. This market leadership only sounds logical, considering that Kiwa is not only one of the founding partners of the CSC brand, but also has all the required expertise to support customers in achieving and retaining certification. With own test facilities, training courses and a comprehensive corporate social responsibility (CSR) portfolio.
Kiwa, the specialist in CSR
The CSC certificate is one of the many services Kiwa provides in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The CSR services of Kiwa are designed to help organizations to get insight into their efforts and achievements in the field of sustainability. Use the hyperlinks for more information about Kiwa and CSR.
More information on CSC certification?
The international website of the Concrete Sustainability Council provides you with more information about the organization and the CSC sustainable concrete certificate. The CSC is currently developing a structure to support clients in every region. As long as there is no regional system operator (RSO) in your region, the Global CSC organization is the system operator.
Why Kiwa?
Kiwa is an international quality organization that is constantly working to improve processes, products, employees and organizations. We do this by assisting customers in certification processes, but also by offering training, inspection, consultancy, research and our technological expertise. In a variety of market sectors for over 65 years!