What is the difference between certification and accreditation?
Certification is the confirmation that a client operates in line with a set of requirements, provide by a standard setter (i.e. FSC or MSC).
To ensure the independence of standard setting and evaluation, most certification schemes appoint a third-party accreditation body to assess the suitability and qualification of certification bodies for their system.
Accreditation is the confirmation that a certification body is able to thoroughly assess clients against these requirements and issue certificates in an impartial manner.
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