EN ISO 34101-4:2019

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-september-2019
Trajnost in sledljivost kakava - 4. del: Zahteve za sheme certificiranja (ISO 34101-
4:2019)
Sustainable and traceable cocoa - Part 4: Requirements for certification schemes (ISO
34101-4:2019)
Nachhaltige und rückverfolgbare Kakaobohnen - Teil 4: Anforderungen für
Zertifizierungsprogramme (ISO 34101-4:2019)
Fèves de cacao durable et traçable - Partie 4: Exigences pour les systèmes de
certification (ISO 34101-4:2019)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 34101-4:2019
ICS:
03.120.20 Certificiranje proizvodov in Product and company
podjetij. Ugotavljanje certification. Conformity
skladnosti assessment
67.140.30 Kakav Cocoa
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN ISO 34101-4
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
June 2019
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 67.140.30; 03.120.20
English Version
Sustainable and traceable cocoa - Part 4: Requirements for
certification schemes (ISO 34101-4:2019)
Cacao durable et traçable - Partie 4: Exigences pour les Nachhaltiger und rückverfolgbarer Kakao - Teil 4:
systèmes de certification (ISO 34101-4:2019) Anforderungen für Zertifizierungsprogramme (ISO
34101-4:2019)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 15 April 2019.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey and United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2019 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 34101-4:2019 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3

European foreword
This document (EN ISO 34101-4:2019) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 34 "Food
products" in collaboration with Technical Committee CEN/TC 415 “Sustainable and Traceable Cocoa”
the secretariat of which is held by DS.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by December 2019, and conflicting national standards
shall be withdrawn at the latest by December 2019.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 34101-4:2019 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 34101-4:2019 without any
modification.
INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 34101-4
First edition
2019-05
Sustainable and traceable cocoa —
Part 4:
Requirements for certification schemes
Cacao durable et traçable —
Partie 4: Exigences pour les systèmes de certification
Reference number
ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
©
ISO 2019
ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
© ISO 2019
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting
on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address
below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Fax: +41 22 749 09 47
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Scheme owner requirements . 4
5 Scheme development and management . 6
6 Publicly available information . 8
7 Complaints and appeals to the scheme owner . 8
8 Requirements for certification bodies. 9
8.1 General . 9
8.2 Requirements for processes additional to those specified in ISO/IEC 17021-1 . 9
8.3 Audit cycle for the cocoa bean producing organization .11
8.4 Audit cycle for cocoa supply chain actors .11
8.4.1 General.11
8.4.2 Certification or recertification audit .12
8.4.3 Surveillance audits .12
8.5 Sampling .12
8.6 Methods to obtain information during audit .13
8.7 Time needed for an audit .13
8.8 Timeframe for resolving nonconformities .13
8.9 Expiration of a certificate .13
8.10 Re-obtaining a certificate .14
8.11 Requirements for competence of auditors additional to those specified in
ISO/IEC 17021-1 .14
9 Claims .14
9.1 General requirements .14
9.2 Conditions under which the client can use a claim .14
9.3 Business-to-business (B2B) claims .15
9.4 Business-to-consumer (B2C) claims .16
10 Third-party mark of conformity .16
11 Licensing and control .16
Annex A (normative) Requirements for cocoa sustainability management systems at entry
level .17
Annex B (normative) Requirements for cocoa sustainability management systems at
medium level .25
Annex C (informative) Examples of risks to be assessed .27
Annex D (informative) Risk-based control and review of certification bodies .28
Bibliography .29
ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www .iso
.org/iso/foreword .html.
This document was prepared by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Technical
Committee CEN/TC 415, Sustainable and Traceable Cocoa, in collaboration with ISO Technical Committee
TC 34, Food products, Subcommittee SC 18, Cocoa, in accordance with the agreement on technical
cooperation between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement).
A list of all parts in the ISO 34101 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/members .html.
iv © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
Introduction
The ISO 34101 series specifies requirements for the sustainable production of cocoa beans, for traceability
of sustainably produced cocoa and for the scheme for certifying sustainable and traceable cocoa.
Sustainably produced cocoa beans are obtained by fulfilling the management system requirements of
either ISO 34101-1 or Annex A or B, and the performance requirements of ISO 34101-2.
The stepwise approach of the ISO 34101 series comprises three requirement levels: entry, medium
and high. The requirements for the three levels for the performance requirements are all specified in
ISO 34101-2. The requirements for the three levels for the cocoa sustainability management system
requirements are specified in ISO 34101-1 or this document as follows:
— entry: Annex A;
— medium: Annex B;
— high: ISO 34101-1.
An organization that is sustainably producing cocoa beans can apply for initial certification to any level
and will then be on a path towards a higher level until the high level is reached. The path from entry
level to medium level can take up to 60 months. The path from medium level to high level can take up to
60 months.
The performance requirements specified in ISO 34101-2 are complementary to the cocoa sustainability
management system requirements. Only organizations that fulfil both the cocoa sustainability
management system requirements (either ISO 34101-1 or Annex A or B) and the performance
requirements (ISO 34101-2) may claim their cocoa beans have been sustainably produced.
ISO 34101-3 specifies the requirements for traceability of sustainably produced cocoa (fulfilling the
requirements of the ISO 34101 series) from an organization that is sustainably producing cocoa beans
and throughout the cocoa supply chain.
This document specifies the requirements for the scheme for certifying traceable, sustainably produced
cocoa conforming to the requirements of the ISO 34101 series and includes the requirements for the
entry and medium level for the cocoa sustainability management system.

ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
Document Subject Intended to be applied by
ISO 34101-1 High-level requirements for cocoa Registered cocoa farmers and organizations that are
sustainability management systems. sustainably producing cocoa beans.
(Entry- and medium-level
requirements for cocoa
sustainability management systems
are specified in this document.)
ISO 34101-2 Entry-, medium- and high-level
requirements for performance
(related to economic, social, and
environmental aspects).
ISO 34101-3 Requirements for traceability. The cocoa supply chain actors.
This Requirements for certification Certification scheme owners and certification bodies
document schemes. certifying conformity to the ISO 34101 series.
Entry- and medium-level Organizations wishing certification by an accredited
requirements for cocoa third-party certification body in order to make claims of
sustainability management systems. conformity.
(The high-level requirements for Registered cocoa farmers and organizations that are
cocoa sustainability management sustainably producing cocoa beans applying the entry-
systems are specified in ISO 34101-1.) or medium-level requirements for cocoa sustainability
management systems.
This document specifies the requirements for the entry and medium levels of the cocoa sustainability
management system. ISO 34101-1 specifies the requirements for the high level.
In this document:
— “shall” indicates a requirement;
— “should” indicates a recommendation;
— “may” indicates a permission;
— “can” indicates a possibility or a capability.
Information marked “NOTE” is for guidance in understanding or clarifying the associated requirement.
vi © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
Sustainable and traceable cocoa —
Part 4:
Requirements for certification schemes
1 Scope
This document specifies requirements for certification schemes for sustainable and traceable cocoa,
including the certification of cocoa bean producing organizations and cocoa supply chain actors. It is to
be used jointly with ISO 34101-1, ISO 34101-2 and/or ISO 34101-3.
This document also specifies the requirements for cocoa sustainability management systems:
— at entry level, see Annex A;
— at medium level, see Annex B.
NOTE ISO 34101-1 specifies the requirements for cocoa sustainability management systems at high level.
Only organizations that fulfil both the cocoa sustainability management system requirements of either
ISO 34101-1 or Annex A or B, and the performance requirements of ISO 34101-2 can claim their cocoa
beans have been sustainably produced.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 34101-1:2019, Sustainable and traceable cocoa — Part 1: Requirements for cocoa sustainability
management systems
ISO 34101-2:2019, Sustainable and traceable cocoa — Part 2: Requirements for performance (related to
economic, social, and environmental aspects)
ISO 34101-3:2019, Sustainable and traceable cocoa — Part 3: Requirements for traceability
ISO/IEC 17000:2004, Conformity assessment — Vocabulary and general principles
ISO/IEC 17011, Conformity assessment — Requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity
assessment bodies
ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification
of management systems — Part 1: Requirements
ISO/IEC 17030:2003, Conformity assessment — General requirements for third-party marks of conformity
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 34101-1, ISO/IEC 17000 and
the following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https: //www .iso .org/obp
ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
— IEC Electropedia: available at http: //www .electropedia .org/
3.1
accreditation
third-party attestation related to a conformity assessment body conveying formal demonstration of its
competence to carry out specific conformity assessment tasks
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17000:2004, 5.6]
3.2
accreditation body
authoritative body that performs accreditation (3.1)
Note 1 to entry: The authority of an accreditation body is generally derived from government.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17000:2004, 2.6]
3.3
certification
third-party attestation related to products, processes, systems or persons
Note 1 to entry: Certification of a management system is sometimes also called registration.
Note 2 to entry: Certification is applicable to all objects of conformity assessment except for conformity
assessment bodies themselves, to which accreditation (3.1) is applicable.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17000:2004, 5.5]
3.4
certification body
third party that performs conformity assessment in accordance with a certification scheme (3.6)
3.5
certification requirement
specified requirement that is fulfilled by the client (3.9) as a condition of establishing or maintaining
certification (3.3)
Note 1 to entry: Certification requirements include requirements imposed on the client by the certification body
(3.4), usually via the certification agreement to meet the requirements of this document, and can also include
requirements imposed on the client by the certification scheme (3.6).
3.6
certification scheme
conformity assessment system related to specified products, processes, services and management
systems, to which the same specified requirements, specific rules and procedures apply
Note 1 to entry: The term “conformity assessment system” is defined in ISO/IEC 17000:2004, 2.7.
Note 2 to entry: The rules, procedures and management for implementing product, process, service and
management system certification (3.3) are stipulated by the certification scheme.
Note 3 to entry: General guidance for the development of schemes is given in ISO/IEC 17067, in combination with
ISO/IEC TR 17026.
3.7
cocoa supply chain
sequence of the stages and operations involved in the movement and processing of cocoa, from farm to
the point of exit from the factory door of the manufacturer of the final retail product
[SOURCE: ISO 34101-3:2019, 3.5]
2 © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
3.8
cocoa supply chain actor
organization that physically handles, takes legal ownership or makes claims of sustainably
produced cocoa
[SOURCE: ISO 34101-3:2019, 3.6, modified — Note 1 to entry has been deleted.]
3.9
client
organization or person responsible to a certification body (3.4) for ensuring that certification
requirements (3.5) are fulfilled
Note 1 to entry: Whenever the term “client” is used in this document, it applies to both the “applicant” and the
“client”, unless otherwise specified.
3.10
farmer premium
cash transfer of funds from the organization to a registered farmer for sustainably produced cocoa in
addition to the price for equivalent conventional cocoa
Note 1 to entry: Premiums are provided to a registered farmer to reward his/her efforts and/or incentivize
registered farmers to meet all the requirements of either ISO 34101-1 or Annex A or B and ISO 34101-2.
Note 2 to entry: If a premium is paid in kind per documented negotiations (see 5.11), the party paying the
premium shall demonstrate the cash equivalent.
[SOURCE: ISO 34101-1:2019, 3.26]
3.11
impartiality
presence of objectivity
Note 1 to entry: Objectivity means that conflicts of interest do not exist, or are resolved so as not to adversely
influence subsequent activities.
Note 2 to entry: Other terms that are useful in conveying the element of impartiality include “independence”,
“freedom from conflict of interests”, “freedom from bias”, “lack of prejudice”, “neutrality”, “fairness”, “open
mindedness”, “even-handedness”, “detachment”, “balance”.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, 3.2, modified — "of the certification body" has been deleted from the
end of Note 1 to entry.]
3.12
major nonconformity
nonconformity that affects the capability of the management system to achieve the intended results
Note 1 to entry: Nonconformities could be classified as major in the following circumstances:
— if there is a significant doubt that effective process control is in place, or that products or services will meet
specified requirements;
— a number of minor nonconformities associated with the same requirement or issue could demonstrate a
systemic failure and thus constitute a major nonconformity.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, 3.12]
3.13
scheme owner
organization responsible for developing and maintaining a specific certification scheme (3.6)
ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
3.14
scope of certification
identification of:
— the product(s), process(es), service(s), cocoa field(s) or farm(s), or management systems for which
the certification (3.3) is granted;
— the applicable certification scheme (3.6);
— the standard(s) and other normative document(s), including their date of publication, to which it is
judged that the product(s), process(es), service(s) or management systems comply
3.15
supervisory council
body established by the scheme owner (3.13) consisting of independent members who represent
interested parties
3.16
surveillance
systematic iteration of conformity assessment activities as a basis for maintaining the validity of the
statement of conformity
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17000:2004, 6.1]
3.17
third-party mark of conformity
protected mark issued by a body performing third-party conformity assessment, indicating that an
object of conformity assessment (product, process, person, system or body) is in conformity with
specified requirements
Note 1 to entry: A protected mark is a mark legally protected against unauthorized use.
Note 2 to entry: The specified requirements are generally stated in “normative” documents such as International
Standards, regional or national standards, regulations and specifications.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17030:2003, 3.1, modified — The example has been deleted.]
3.18
verification
confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence, that specified requirements have been
fulfilled
[SOURCE: ISO 9000:2015, 3.8.12, modified — The notes to entry have been deleted.]
4 Scheme owner requirements
4.1 A scheme owner shall be one of the following legal entities:
a) a group of certification bodies; or
b) an organization, such as a government body, regulator, non-governmental organization or a trade
association (not being a certification body), that develops a certification scheme in which one or
more certification bodies participate.
NOTE In cases where a governmental entity is the scheme owner, it is deemed to be a legal entity on the
basis of its governmental status.
4.2 The scheme owner shall be independent of certified clients and shall not be able to influence the
certification decision.
4 © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
4.3 The scheme owner shall identify any risks to its impartiality on an ongoing basis. If a risk to
impartiality is identified, the scheme owner shall be able to demonstrate how it eliminates or minimizes
such risk. This shall include those risks that arise from its activities, or from its relationships, or from the
relationships of its personnel.
The top management of the scheme owner shall have a policy on impartiality and demonstrate their
commitment to impartiality.
NOTE A relationship that threatens the impartiality of the scheme owner can be based on ownership,
governance, management, personnel, shared resources, finances, contracts, marketing (including branding), and
payment of a sales commission or other inducement for the referral of new clients, etc.
4.4 A scheme owner shall establish an independent supervisory council, which shall be constituted
by a representative balance of interested parties, including external interested parties that are directly
affected by the scheme. The composition of the independent supervisory council shall be transparent to
the public.
NOTE Directly affected interested parties are those who will be impacted by implementation of the
ISO 34101 series. This includes cocoa farmers and/or cocoa bean producing organizations, clients, community
groups affected by the application of the document and environmental, social and socio-economic organizations
that have an interest in the implementation of the ISO 34101 series.
4.5 The supervisory council shall not engage in any activities that can conflict with their independence
of judgement and integrity in relation to activities of the scheme owner, or have functions that can
influence the outcome of certification decisions.
NOTE Examples of conflicts are personal involvement in complaints, appeals, finances, contracts, marketing
(including branding) and payment of a sales commission, etc.
4.6 The responsibilities of the supervisory council shall include the following:
a) ensuring the impartiality and independence of the scheme, including ensuring the scheme does not
allow commercial, financial, political or other pressures to compromise impartiality;
b) overseeing the risk management policies and processes associated with ensuring impartiality and
independence;
c) approving the operational framework of the scheme;
d) addressing unresolved complaints and appeals, and the scheme owner’s actions for resolving them,
including recommending to the scheme owner further actions for resolution;
e) reviewing and validating annually the report from the scheme owner on the scheme owner's
activities;
f) reviewing the scheme’s activities annually and providing feedback to the scheme owner; any
recommendation(s) made in the report shall be made publicly available.
4.7 The scheme owner shall ensure that the supervisory council has adequate competencies, including:
a) an in-depth knowledge of the requirements of the ISO 34101 series;
b) an understanding of the objectives of the ISO 34101 series and, in particular, the critical economic,
social and environmental issues of cocoa supply chains;
c) competence to assess whether the systems, policies, procedures, system rules and other activities
of the scheme owner achieve the objectives of the ISO 34101 series.
ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
5 Scheme development and management
5.1 The scheme owner shall be responsible for developing and maintaining its certification scheme
in accordance with this document. The scheme owner shall set up a structure for the development,
operation and management of the scheme and provide guidance when required.
NOTE General guidance for the development and operation of schemes is given in ISO/IEC 17067.
5.2 The scheme owner shall create, control and maintain adequately documented information for the
operation, maintenance and improvement of the scheme. The documented information shall specify the
rules and the operating procedures of the scheme and, in particular, the responsibilities for governance
of the scheme.
5.3 The scheme owner shall be able to take on full responsibility for the objectives, the content and the
integrity of the scheme.
5.4 The scheme owner shall evaluate and manage the risks arising from its activities.
NOTE Risks to the integrity of the scheme are those risks that would undermine the consistency, rigour,
competence, impartiality and transparency of the scheme, and the conformity assessments activities taking
place. Annex C provides examples of risks to be assessed.
5.5 The scheme owner shall establish requirements for the certification bodies involved in the
certification process. These requirements shall include:
a) accreditation of certification bodies to ISO/IEC 17021-1 by an accreditation body operating in
accordance with ISO/IEC 17011;
b) accreditation of certification bodies to this document when such accreditation is available.
The scheme owner shall define any further requirements regarding accreditation bodies (e.g. that the
accreditation body is a member of a mutual recognition arrangement between accreditation bodies).
5.6 The scheme owner shall establish criteria for the access of certification bodies to the scheme and
for the access of clients to the scheme. The scheme owner shall specify what the certification bodies and
clients shall report to the scheme owner.
5.7 The scheme owner shall establish the content of contracts between the scheme owner and
certification body, the scheme owner and clients, and the certification body and clients. The rights,
responsibilities and liabilities of the various parties should be defined in contracts.
5.8 The scheme owner shall ensure consistency of audits performed by certification bodies. The
scheme owner shall define what shall be considered as major nonconformities. The scheme owner shall
establish a sanctions policy to be applied by certification bodies.
5.9 The scheme owner shall define procedures for the control and review of certification bodies. These
procedures shall ensure consistency, rigour, competence and impartiality of certification activities, and
may include observation of audits, audits at short notice, reviews of audit processes or reviews of auditor
competence evaluations. These procedures shall define actions to be taken, and any sanctions to be
imposed, if certification bodies fail to meet scheme requirements.
NOTE Annex D gives guidance for risk-based control and review of certification bodies.
5.10 The scheme owner shall establish and maintain a traceability system in order to monitor and
validate transactions in sustainable and traceable cocoa. The traceability system shall distinguish
between the types of traceability allowed as specified in ISO 34101-3 [identity preserved (IP), segregated,
mass balance]. The traceability system shall allow the scheme owner to verify the reconciliation of inputs
6 © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
and outputs of cocoa supply chain actors operating mass balance traceability systems. The traceability
system should allow the scheme owner to control the use of certificates, claims or third-party marks
of conformity in accordance with this document. The traceability system may include provisions and
procedures for validating transactions monitored by another scheme.
5.11 The scheme owner shall have a procedure and monitor implementation of that procedure for
negotiation of farmer premiums, cost recovery mechanisms and the right of first refusal between:
a) the first buyer and the cocoa bean producing organization;
b) the cocoa bean producing organization and registered farmers.
The procedure shall provide that the outcome of the negotiations is documented and confirmed by both
parties, and that the payments of cost recovery mechanisms and farmer premiums are recorded and
verified. If a premium is paid in kind, the first buyer shall demonstrate the cash equivalent.
NOTE Regarding the requirement for the organization and registered farmers, see ISO 34101-1:2019,
4.5.1 g).
5.12 The scheme owner shall make arrangements to protect the confidentiality of information provided
by the parties involved in the scheme.
5.13 The scheme owner shall have the financial stability and resources required to fulfil its role in the
operation of the scheme.
5.14 The scheme owner shall have adequate arrangements to cover liabilities arising from its activities.
Arrangements should be appropriate, for example, for the range of activities and schemes undertaken
and in the geographic regions in which the scheme operates.
5.15 The scheme owner shall define a process for reviewing the operation of the scheme on a periodic
basis. This review shall identify aspects requiring improvement, taking into account feedback from
interested parties, including farmers, cocoa bean producing organizations and cocoa supply chain actors.
The review should include provisions for ensuring that the scheme requirements are being applied in a
consistent manner.
5.16 The scheme owner shall develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation plan that includes
all the steps required to assess their contributions to economic, social and environmental impact. These
steps include identifying the impact they are seeking to achieve, defining strategies, choosing indicators
and collecting data, conducting regular analysis and reporting of data, as well as additional impact
evaluations and setting up feedback loops to improve the scheme over time.
5.17 The scheme owner shall monitor changes of requirements in the ISO 34101 series and other
normative documents that define the specified requirements used in the scheme. The scheme owner shall
have a process for making the necessary changes in the scheme whenever changes in these documents
occur, and for managing the implementation of the changes (e.g. transition period) by the certification
bodies, clients and, where necessary, other interested parties.
5.18 The scheme owner should engage in periodic peer assessment of its scheme in accordance with
the principles of ISO/IEC 17040. The result of this peer assessment of the scheme shall also be available
to its supervisory council.
The scheme owner shall describe the specific actions taken or planned to be taken, within a defined
time, to remedy any identified nonconformities and to inform the supervisory council accordingly.
ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
6 Publicly available information
Scheme owners shall ensure the following information is maintained and made publicly available in a
timely manner, by the scheme owner or by the certification body, as appropriate:
a) operational framework and organizational structure of the scheme;
b) policy on impartiality and the risk management policies and processes associated with ensuring
impartiality and independence;
c) impact of the scheme towards a sustainable cocoa sector, see 5.16;
d) type of assessment process employed, including methodology, sampling requirements and
frequency of assessment;
e) list of certification bodies that are approved to certify clients to the scheme requirements;
f) list of accreditation bodies having accredited the above-mentioned certification bodies;
g) procedure for control and review of certification bodies;
h) current list of clients, including the issuer and expiry date of their certificates;
i) list of clients whose certificates have been withdrawn;
j) the result of any peer assessment of its scheme;
k) policy on monitoring and validating transactions in sustainable and traceable cocoa, including
provisions agreed with other schemes, as applicable;
l) policy on premium and cost recovery negotiation(s) and its procedures;
m) policy on sanctions for different levels of nonconformity.
NOTE These requirements are additional to requirements regarding publicly available information found in
other clauses of this document [for example, in 4.4, 4.6 f), 7.1, 7.5 and 9.1].
7 Complaints and appeals to the scheme owner
7.1 The scheme owner shall define and make publicly available a procedure for the handling of
complaints and appeals against a client, a certification body or the scheme owner itself. At a minimum,
the procedure shall provide that:
a) complaints about contractual obligations between a client and the certification body, complaints
about a client, and appeals against the decision of a certification body shall be addressed to the
certification body in the first instance and resolved according to the certification body’s complaints-
and appeals-handling processes (see ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, 9.7 and 9.8);
b) complaints about the certification activities of a certification body shall be addressed to the
certification body in the first instance and, in addition, the certification body shall provide a copy
to the scheme owner upon receiving and resolving the complaint;
c) complaints and appeals that have not been, or cannot be, resolved by the certification body shall be
addressed to the scheme owner;
d) complaints and appeals about nonconformity to the scheme owner’s policies, procedures and
certification requirements, including complaints relating to misleading statements or potential
fraud, shall be addressed directly to the scheme owner;
e) the scheme owner shall facilitate complaints (from clients and the public) regarding the scheme
owner’s policies, procedures, systems and certification requirements.
8 © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

ISO 34101-4:2019(E)
7.2 The scheme owner shall investigate and take appropriate action regarding complaints, including
reviewing and taking any necessary corrective actions to its policies, procedures, systems and
certification requirements.
7.3 The scheme owner shall retain documented information of all complaints and appeals, including
actions undertaken to resolve them.
7.4 The scheme owner shall ensure that the submission, investigation and decision on complaints and
appeals shall not result in any discriminatory actions against the complainant or appellant.
7.5 The scheme owner shall determine, together with the complainant or appellant and the certification
body, to what extent the subject of the complaint or appeal and its resolution is made public.
7.6 The scheme owner shall provide an annual summary report to the supervisory council, as a means
to support its role as specified in 4.6.
8 Requirements for certification bodies
8.1 General
8.1.1 Certification bodies shall fulfil the requirements specified in ISO/IEC 17021-1. Certification
bodies shall permit clients to make claims of product conformity when allowed and controlled by a
scheme operating in conformity with this document.
8.1.2 Certification bodies shall apply a risk-based audit approach (see ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, 4.8).
The certification body shall identify risks and establish the risk management
...