General
The CERA 4in1 certification scheme is the first global scheme of its kind to universalise and standardise the evaluation of social, environmental and ethical practices across the raw materials value chain. CERA 4in1 uses sub-standards according to the value chain, allowing the certification system to prove the sustainability of products along the entire value chain, from mineral exploration to the final product.
Certification covers any formal procedure through which an accredited organisation or agency assesses a range of attributes and compares them to established requirements or standards which are then verified in a certificate. Certification schemes for ethics and sustainability have been launched for example for foodstuffs, textiles and marine conservation.
Certification schemes are determined by the sectors, materials or processes with which each is concerned, but broadly will assess attributes, characteristics, quality, goods or services, procedures or processes, or events or situations.
The CERA 4in1 project has been in development since 2015, initially within DMT, an international independent engineering and consulting company headquartered in Germany, before a formal project consortium, partly funded by EIT Raw Materials, was formed in 2017.
CERA 4in1 Association as responsible actor for the standard will be a non-profit organisation. Registration and labelling fees as well as the optional purchasing of services are necessary for being a part of CERA 4in1. The main costs for organisations that are looking for CERA 4in1 certification are coming from consultancy and certification fees that are different case-by-case. By recognising other verifiable standards, such as ISO standards and other trustworthy sustainability standards, unnecessary costs are avoided.