Transition requirements for SCC’s Greenhouse Gas Accreditation Program

Bulletin date:
Bulletin number:
2021-15

Action required

All accredited Greenhouse Gas Accreditation Program (GHGAP) organizations must ensure they complete their transition reviews to the applicable standards by the deadline.

 

Affected customers

Existing SCC GHGAP customers and new applicants.

 

Background

Old versions of the standards: ISO 14064-1:2006, ISO 14064-2:2006, ISO 14064-3:2006, ISO 14065:2013

 

New versions of the standards: ISO 14064-1:2018, ISO 14064-2:2019, ISO 14064-3:2019, ISO 14065:2020

 

New standard: ISO/IEC 17029:2019 

With the release of the new ISO/IEC 17029:2019, the ISO 14065:2020 General principles and requirements for bodies validating and verifying environmental information is a sector application of ISO/IEC 17029:2019, which contains general principles and requirements for the competence, consistent operation and impartiality of bodies performing validation/verification as conformity assessment activities.

 

New requirements

Further to Accreditation Services Bulletin #2020-15, both the ISO 14065:2020 and ISO/IEC 17029:2019 standards have been released. Presented below is updated information related to the transition to these standards.

 

There are several voluntary and regulatory GHG programs that reference the older versions of the standards; these versions can remain on the scope of the GHG accredited customers (VVBs) until the relevant program requirements are fully developed or revised.

 

SCC will assess conformity to the requirements of ISO 14064-1:2018 & ISO 14064-2:2019 as part of the scheduled office assessments by 2021-12-31 and ISO 14064-3:2019 and ISO 14065:2020 by 2023-04-30. 

 

The VVB is expected to provide a transition plan to SCC that includes the necessary changes to meet the requirements of ISO 14064-1:2018, ISO 14064-2:2019, ISO 14064-3:2019, and ISO 14065:2020/ISO/IEC 17029:2019 respectively as per the deadline dates below. 

 

The transition plan, which shall include, but is not limited to, the following items: 

  • Gap analysis
  • High-level description of VVB’s requirements to be met by their applicants and clients
  • Mechanisms and timelines for transition of their clients to the revised standards
  • Plans for training validators/verifiers to the revised standard 
  • The date after which applications for validation/verification to the old versions of the standards are no longer accepted by the CB
  • An outline of provisions in the case of unsuccessful transition by their clients

 

During the transition period, SCC assessors will raise observations related to the implementation of this bulletin. After the end of the transition period, and dependent on the VVB’s scope, SCC assessors will raise non-conformities related to the respective version of the standards. At the end of the transition period, dependent on the GHG programs, the VVB shall demonstrate to SCC’s satisfaction that it has implemented the changes to meet the necessary requirements of all applicable versions of the standards. 

 

After the transition to the new standards is approved, both versions of the standards can be listed on the scope of accreditation.

 

The scheduling and planning of the witness audits will need to explicitly state which version of the standard and which GHG program the witness audit is applicable for.

 

After the transition deadline, witness audits must be to the new versions of the standards unless there are program specific requirements citing the older versions. 

 

VVBs should note that until SCC has approved the transition(s), VVBs shall not provide validation and verification services to the new versions under their SCC accreditation. A VVB may submit its transition plan as soon as it is ready or before the next planned head office assessment. If requested, SCC will evaluate transition plans through a desk review/assessment for which SCC fees will apply. Once SCC approves the transition, the accreditation scope will be updated to include the applicable standards. This indicates that the VVB can start providing validation and verification services to the new versions of the standards. SCC will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the transitions over the course of planned SCC assessments. SCC encourages accredited VVBs to start developing their transition plans now and advise their respective account manager when they would like to have their transition plan assessed.

 

Deadline

Transition deadlines for existing VVBs:

 

ISO 14064-1:2018 & ISO 14064-2:2019 is 2021-12-31 

 

ISO 14064-3:2019, ISO 14065:2020 and ISO/IEC 17029:2019 is 2023-04-30

 

Effective November 2021, applications must be to the new versions of the standards. If applicable, an applicant must provide the evidence, justification, and rationale as part of the application for the older versions to be part of the scope of accreditation for SCC application and document review.

 

Questions?

Please contact Abdel Kassou, Manager, Compliance and Assessment Services, at abdel.kassou@scc-ccn.ca or +1 613 238 3222 for more information.