Simply Certification is pleased to welcome the members of our impartiality committee.
As a certification body, we are required to establish an impartiality mechanism to ensure impartiality.
Our members are highly experienced business professionals from a wide range of backgrounds who have been specially selected to provide depth and breadth of knowledge and skills to ensure Simply Certification continues to deliver the high levels of customer care and impartiality within our regulated environment.
Claire Riley, Executive Director of Corporate Governance, Communications and Engagement, North East and North Cumbria ICB (NHS).
Claire has an impressive and exceptional career in corporate affairs, business strategy and communications and has led multi-award-winning teams in both the public and private sectors.
Prior to joining the Integrated Care Board, Claire was executive director of communications and corporate affairs at Northumbria Healthcare for 12 years.
Prior to that, she was director of communications for the North East Strategic Health Authority, where she joined in 2007 with more than 20 years of experience in the private sector.
Her skills and knowledge in corporate governance and compliance will be of great value to Simply Certification.
Stephen Dunn - Director of personnel and compliance, Commercial Maintenance Services UK Limited
With a career spanning nearly 30 years within law enforcement, compliance, HR and engineering, Stephen brings a wealth of experience to Simply Certification and is one of our original impartiality committee members.
Stephen is responsible for over 140 team members and leads people management and compliance for a national facility maintenance provider and brings great resourcing skills.
Andrew Champion, Managing Director, Jarion
Andrew has spent most of his career in various insurance roles in both volume and large commercial insurance and on both the underwriting and brokerage sides of the industry.
Most recently he was Managing Director of Towergate's North West office, overseeing the company's journey from a small local organization to part of the largest independent broker in the UK.
He has hands-on experience in most aspects of business management, including sales and marketing, finance, HR, business transformation, behavior and operations.
Andrew's expertise is invaluable to our ability to ensure we meet our compliance and impartiality requirements.
Tyron Stalberg, Bid Director, Vinci Facilities
Tyron is an experienced housing and construction professional and has worked both on the client side and for service providers. He has a deep understanding of Retrofit, one of Simply's premier certification offerings.
Tyron provides well-informed perspectives on the sourcing and delivery of housing management, asset management and construction functions gained in leadership roles.
A strong advocate of collaboration and partnering, he is also an active member of the Alliance Steering Group and other membership bodies.
Lyndsey Gates Manager of Compliance and Operations, Simply Certification
Lyndsey is the sole member of Simply Certification's impartiality committee. She coordinates the committee and ensures that results are fed back to the company.
One of Lyndsey's main objectives within Simply Certification is to ensure Simply Certification's impartiality through the implementation and management of our robust management system that complies with ISO 17065 (accredited by UKAS) and ISO 17021 (soon to be submitted to UKAS).
Alex Gates, Managing Director of Simply Certification said:
"We are delighted to welcome such a diverse and highly respected impartiality committee to Simply Certification. The committee brings together a wealth of talent from across the UK, with a strong set of skills across a range of business functions. It will help us expand our offering within the compliance environment, without compromising the level of service and customer service that our stakeholders have come to expect."
Impartiality Committee spokesperson Claire Riley said:
"I am delighted to be involved with such a progressive and customer-focused certification body as Simply Certification. They are very committed to delivering a quality service for all the standards they certify and they want to continue to provide leading certification services to better support the growth of built environment and low carbon businesses in the UK. We will ensure they continue to do this in a customer-focused way.
Impartiality is essential for confidence in the certification process. I am delighted to be part of the impartiality committee for Simply Certification, one of the leading certification services in the UK."
Impartiality Committee spokesman Andrew Champion said:
"As a member of Simply Certification's impartiality committee, I have been able to see up close how they are committed to impartiality in their operations.
It is a crucial time for the building industry in terms of energy efficiency, especially for retrofitting existing buildings. It is vital that we ensure that the supply chain not only grows, but grows with high-quality sources, and part of that is ensuring that assessments and certification services are delivered with the highest level of integrity."
What is an impartiality committee?
An impartiality committee is a governing body within a certification body that oversees and ensures the impartiality of the certification process.
Our board consists of individuals who are a balanced representation of interested parties, impartial to our company. They have expertise in ethics, compliance, governance and stakeholder representation and ensure that we provide a consistent and impartial approach to our certification activities and that there is confidence that the certifications we issue are done in an impartial manner.
How often do they meet/ How does it work?
Our impartiality committee meets quarterly to discuss a pre-agreed agenda.
Simply Certification presents the committee with data about our company. This includes impartiality risks, data, partnerships, complaints and appeals, and new products and services so they can comment on impartiality risks.
These are discussed and documented in the Simply Certification Management System, which can then be reviewed by the senior management team and address any issues raised, as well as being readily available to UKAS when needed during their audits.
Our impartiality committee is responsible for:
Overseeing impartiality.
Our board oversees the certification process to ensure that it remains free from bias, conflict of interest or undue influence by internal or external parties.
Establish policies and procedures
Our board is responsible for agreeing on our policies and procedures that promote impartiality during the certification process, including criteria for auditor selection, conflicts of interest, and handling complaints or appeals related to impartiality concerns.
Risk assessment and management.
The board will assess potential risks to impartiality and provide ideas for strategies to effectively mitigate these risks. This may include reviewing our auditing and certification activities and the measures we plan to implement to identify risks.
Review decisions
In the rare event that impartiality issues arise, the board may review decisions made by the certification body and provide guidance on how to address any concerns or conflicts.
Stakeholder engagement
Our board engages with stakeholders such as customers, regulators and industry representatives to ensure that their views are considered where appropriate in maintaining impartiality.
Training and awareness
Our board may also evaluate training programs for employees and auditors to increase awareness of impartiality requirements and ensure compliance with relevant standards and regulations.
What is the purpose of the impartiality committee?
Our board plays a critical role in maintaining the integrity and credibility of the certification process by providing independent oversight and guidance on impartiality-related matters.
Certification bodies, which are responsible for assessing whether products, services or systems meet certain standards or requirements, must remain impartial to ensure the credibility and integrity of our certification processes. An impartiality committee plays a critical role in maintaining this impartiality.
Maintain credibility and reliability
Impartiality is essential to ensure that the certification process is fair and unbiased.
Stakeholders, including companies seeking certification, consumers who rely on certified products/services and regulatory agencies, must have confidence in our certification process.
An impartiality committee helps us demonstrate our commitment to maintaining fairness and objectivity.
Avoiding Conflicts of Interest.
As we add more products and services at Simply Certification, we may face potential conflicts of interest due to various factors, such as financial interests, personal relationships or industry pressures.
Our impartiality committee helps identify and manage these conflicts by providing oversight and guidance on decision-making processes.
Compliance with standards and regulations.
We work within regulatory frameworks and adhere to national and international standards (e.g., ISO/PAS).
These standards require us to demonstrate impartiality in our activities. An impartiality committee helps us meet these obligations.
Risk management
Our impartiality committee helps assess and mitigate risks by monitoring potential threats to impartiality and implementing measures to effectively address them.
Continuous improvement
As part of our own continuous improvement, our council will review our procedures, identify areas for improvement and ensure we are following best practices. This proactive approach helps us remain operationally effective in an ever-changing landscape.