Responsible Trade Standard

The Responsible Trade Standard (RTS) is a sustainability standard that promotes transparency and sustainability in the supply chain.

About the Standard

The standard integrates social, environmental, quality and responsible trade criteria into a single certification scheme, with the aim of promoting responsible practices, improving traceability and fostering fairer trading relationships for producers, companies and consumers. The certification process is independently audited by Control Union.

Certification process

Application with We Wonder Company (WWC)

The applicant first contacts We Wonder Company so that the application form can be provided to the applicant. The applicant submits the completed application form to WWC, which then forwards it to Control Union Services for review and audit planning.

Planning

The audit will be planned in accordance with the Program’s requirements. The relevant RTS documents will be shared to assist in preparing for the audit.

Initial Audit/Certification

This is the first audit conducted for a client/organization under the RTS Program. A qualified auditor and/or audit team will assess the organization’s operations against the Program requirements. As a result of the audit, nonconformities (NCs) against the Program requirements may be identified. The Lead Auditor will inform the client of these findings during the closing meeting and will communicate the applicable deadlines for addressing them. The client must submit corrections, a root cause analysis, and corrective actions to address the NCs, as well as evidence of implementation for the core requirements. This information will be evaluated by the auditor, who will determine whether the evidence provided is sufficient for the effective closure of the nonconformity.

Certification Decision

Based on the audit results and/or the effective resolution of findings, the certifying body will make a certification decision, granting or denying certification in accordance with the program requirements.

Certification Maintenance

The client must demonstrate continued compliance with the Program requirements. Annual remote surveillance audits will be conducted to assess the client’s costs, self-assessment, and progress toward the effective closure of NCs.

Benefits

Promote supply chain transparency, including the traceability of benefits and payments all the way to producers.

Require the assessment of living wages and fair compensation through a proprietary pricing methodology.

Consolidates quality, social responsibility, environmental sustainability and economic equity requirements into a single scheme, reducing complexity and the audit burden for producers.

Ensure that certification costs are not borne by producers or cooperatives, but by the purchasing company.

Enquiries: If you have any questions about the RTS programme, please contact us at cert.sost.peru@controlunion.com; we will be happy to assist you.

Our office hours are Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

How can we help you?

Want to apply for a certification program? Our Certification team will be happy to help you.

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