Quality Management System

Quality Policy

POLICY STATEMENT 

Standards play an important role in the voluntary carbon markets, working in close collaboration with various stakeholders, including Developers, Buyers, Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs), governments and local communities.

ERS strives to achieve and maintain a high-quality service and product to serve its multiple stakeholders. ERS acknowledges that the industry's overall quality is not yet fixed. Expectations will change, and quality will rise to follow the science that underpins ERS' work and the VCM norms within which it operates.

For these reasons, ERS has implemented a Quality Management System (QMS) aligned with ISO 9001 standards. By building a culture of continuous improvement, ERS hopes to steadily evolve to serve better its stakeholders, the market, and the planet.

COMMITMENT OF THE EXECUTIVE TEAM

ERS’s Leadership plays a pivotal role in integrating the company’s Quality Policy. The engagement of the Executive Team will enhance ERS's credibility as a high-quality Standard and improve operational efficiency in certification processes. More specifically, ERS Executive team members must: 

1. Review and adapt the QMS annually to ensure it reflects ERS's mission, values, and strategic direction. Executive team members must proactively engage with the QMS to ensure its credibility, effectiveness, and ongoing relevance.
2. Integrate ERS’s QMS into the organisation’s business processes. 
3. Allocate the necessary resources to achieve ERS’s quality objectives. This includes engagement and communication regarding the QMS and the Quality Objectives.
4. Champion a culture of “Raising the Bar”, where performance, user experience, and continuous improvement are central to every entity. 

QUALITY OBJECTIVES

ERS quality objectives must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART). Leaders of ERS Entities should conduct quarterly reviews to assess progress towards these objectives. Quality performance will be reviewed annually and reflected in the ERS Strategy Plan.  

1. Certification

   1. At least 80% of certifications are performed under six (6) months (from the moment the Certification Agent receives the full documentation until the Project is assessed). 
   2. A Net Promoter Score (NPS) of at least 80% from Developers that have completed the full assessment process.
   3. 90% of Projects that passed the Project Design Review have a successful Validation or Verification by a third-party VVB.

2. Secretariat

   1. VVBs 

      1. 90% of Projects have been allocated a VVB, and the completion of their mandate did not exceed four (4) months.
      2. The Secretariat assessed 100% of VVBs’ performance less than one month after completing their first audit (Validation or Verification).  

   2. Stakeholder Consultation 

      1. 100% of grievances have been addressed in less than two (2) business days.
      2. At least twenty-five (25) surveys were completed at the end of a Standard Public Comment Period.

   3. Training & Capacity Building 

      1. 100% of ERS Agents trained on AML/CFT at year-end with a performance score of 80% or higher. 
      2. 100% of ERS Agents trained on the Code of Ethics & Business Conduct at year-end with a performance score of 80% or higher. 

   4. Regulatory & Compliance Monitoring

      1. ERS Programme and methodologies fully comply with IC-VCM, ICROA and CORSIA requirements at publication.
      2. ERS’s RGPD & AML/CFT policies are updated in the three (3) months following regulatory changes. 

3. Research & Development 

   1. Important processes are automatically tested before each release.
   2. Implementation of a monitoring system that alerts the R&D Team in case of malfunction.
   3. 100% of critical user flows are successfully tested on ERS Apps before release.
   4. 100% of the sensitive data stored on ERS Apps is fully encrypted when at rest.
   5. 95% uptime (outside scheduled maintenance) for the ERS Registry, Apps, and website.

4. Administrative Team 

   1. 100% of ERS Agents are trained on the latest version of the ERS Programme, methodologies and tools at year-end. 
   2. 100% of ERS Agents trained on ERS’ QMS at year-end.

Quality Management Process

OVERALL PROCESS

1. The Chief of Staff is responsible for upholding this Quality Management Process (QMS). 
2. Each quality objective is assigned to an Executive team member. 
3. Each Executive team member must report annually to the Chief of Staff on: 
   1. Performance on their assigned quality objectives;
   2. Potential risks and opportunities identified;
   3. Resources, including personnel, infrastructure and knowledge necessary to meet quality objectives in the future.  
4. The Chief of Staff compiles information from all Executive team members as part of the Annual Report. 
5. The Annual Report is published on ERS website. 
6. The Annual Report is used to inform ERS Administration. 

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

1. The Quality Management Process and its objectives are reviewed and refined annually by the Executive team. ERS highly encourages the identification and implementation of opportunities for improvements by all ERS Agents. 
2. Quality objectives can be updated more frequently to better reflect ERS’ activities. 
3. ERS’ QMS is audited annually as part of ERS' annual third-party audits. 

TRAINING & AWARENESS

1. All ERS Agents and relevant stakeholders, such as consultants or service providers, must be informed of ERS’s QMS. 
2. This training must emphasise QMS benefits, each ERS Agent or stakeholder's role, and how they can contribute to its effectiveness.
3. Such training must be updated regularly to reflect changes in ERS’s QMS.