TÜV AUSTRIA Hellas, consistent in the effort for the effective and continuous support of business needs of its clients and colleagues wish to inform you that our Certification Body is now qualified to conduct audits for the new service IFS ESG Check.
The IFS ESG Check was published by IFS as of 7th July 2022, and it constitutes a new validated assessment protocol for sustainability management systems. Through IFS ESG Check, a verification audit of the implemented ESG management practices is carried out and an important basis is created for businesses to determine their level of sustainability and guides them to redesign their Sustainability Management System towards a higher sustainability and active climate protection.
The check features a unique combination of self-assessment and verification by an auditor on-site.
The scheme is comprised of:
- Basic (compulsory) IFS ESG Check module: focused on the implementation of a sustainability management system, it will consider the company’s sustainability policy, the commitment of senior management to its sustainability objectives and an appropriate framework.
- Additional (voluntary) IFS Carbon Footprint module (CFP): assesses a company’s implemented carbon footprint management system and mitigation strategies.
The IFS ESG Check focuses on small and mid-sized companies. It applies to organizations covered by any scope of the IFS schemes (i.e. food, logistics, brokering, wholesale, household and personal care products and packaging sectors), either IFS certified or as a “standalone” private protocol for companies which are not IFS certified.
In any case, ESG Check results will have no impact on the IFS Food certification results.
It is in principle an annual verification check whose frequency could be increased within the year to show more progress.
Through IFS ESG Check confirmation, the companies are able to:
- Determine their current position and possible gaps regarding sustainability and ESG principles
- Prepare for the evolving legal landscape on sustainability and ESG principles
- Gain increased trust among business partners and customers, of their ESG engagement
- Have a tool recognized by renowned retail companies
- Ensure that the data are robust and trustworthy, based on the unique combination of self-assessment and on-site verification procedures by a credible Certification Body.
The steps required by a company in order to get confirmed on IFS ESG Check are the following:
- Application for Certification to TÜV AUSTRIA HELLAS
- Filling of the self-assessment form(s) and sending to TÜV AUSTRIA HELLAS for remote evaluation.
- Conduction of an on-site verification audit in the company’s site.
- Issuance of the Letter of Confirmation and granting a Logo License to the company. The Confirmation Letter as well as the completed report are registered in the IFS database and can be made available to interested parties.
The assessment is used as an indicator of the company’s current position in environmental, social and governance aspects and helps to identify areas for improvement. The final score ranges from A to E, reflecting a final result: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced.
TÜV AUSTRIA HELLAS, with its specialized personnel, will keep you constantly informed about the developments that concern IFS ESG Check.