Streamlining Your Certification Process with GreenCircle Certified’s New Audit Readiness Assessment
At GreenCircle Certified, we’re committed to helping companies navigate the complexities of sustainability certification with ease. We understand that every business has its own unique challenges when it comes to meeting compliance requirements and certifying their products or services. That’s why we’re excited to introduce our brand-new Audit Readiness Assessment – an optional pre-assessment phase that offers an early compliance evaluation against our GreenCircle audit plan.
This service is designed to give you a head start in your certification journey, accelerate your decision-making process, and provide valuable insights early on, all while reducing the financial risk associated with the certification process.
What Is the Audit Readiness Assessment?
The Audit Readiness Assessment is an optional pre-assessment step that gives you an early evaluation of your product’s compliance with GreenCircle’s audit requirements. This service is simple to access: you submit a minimal amount of initial information, and in return, we’ll provide you with a detailed Audit Readiness Assessment Score. This score gives you an early indication of where your product stands in terms of meeting our sustainability and certification criteria.
By offering this initial compliance review, we give you the confidence to make informed decisions about whether moving forward with full certification is the right step for your business.
4-Step Audit Readiness Process
Who Will Benefit from the Audit Readiness Assessment?
Our new service is particularly beneficial for businesses in the early stages of product development or those that need to justify the costs and efforts associated with the certification process. Here’s how the service can help:
Organizations Looking to Justify Certification Costs: If you need support in convincing stakeholders or decision-makers about the value and cost-efficiency of pursuing certification, the Audit Readiness Assessment provides an early snapshot of your product’s compliance and can help clarify the financial and time commitments involved.
Companies in the Early Product Development Phase: For those still refining products, the pre-assessment provides compliance observations and education that can inform your design and production decisions to align better with certification goals.
Fast-Moving Businesses Needing Speed to Market: With an initial assessment available within 20 business days, the Audit Readiness Assessment allows you to make quicker informed decisions to bring your product to market all while ensuring that you’re on the right track with compliance.
Key Benefits of the Audit Readiness Assessment
Reduced Risk: With an early assessment, you get a clear understanding of what’s needed to meet compliance requirements, helping you avoid surprises later in the certification process.
Cost Justification: The service helps you estimate the overall costs of certification and allows you to present this information effectively to internal teams or stakeholders, helping to justify the expense.
Supports Product Development: If you’re in the process of developing new products, the Audit Readiness Assessment can provide crucial observations that inform the final stages of design and production, helping to align your product with sustainability and compliance standards from the outset.
Flexibility and Integration with Full Certification: The service is offered as an optional, initial step, meaning that businesses can choose to proceed with full certification once the pre-assessment is completed, with the fee for this service contributing toward the overall certification costs.
What’s Included in the Audit Readiness Assessment?
The final deliverable from this service is the Audit Readiness Assessment Score, which provides businesses with a clear indication of their product’s current compliance status against GreenCircle’s audit plan. This score can then be used to help guide the next steps and determine if additional work is needed before pursuing full certification.
Get Started Today
At GreenCircle Certified, we understand that compliance and certification are critical to your company’s ESG goals and long-term success. With the Audit Readiness Assessment, we’re making it easier for you to get the insights and support you need – whether you’re just starting the certification process or looking for early validation to justify certification efforts.
Ready to simplify your journey to sustainability certification? Contact us today to learn more about the Audit Readiness Assessment and how it can help you achieve your business and certification goals faster and more efficiently.
Written by Sara Risley, Certification Officer, GreenCircle Certified
About Sara
Sara brings over 15 years of experience in product certification and regulatory compliance. Before joining GreenCircle, she served as the Vice President of Certification at Green Seal, where she led the certification department for two years. Prior to that, she led NSF International's food product certification division, overseeing independent verification for food labels and packaging claims such as Organic and Non-GMO certifications. Additionally, she spent five years as the technical operations lead at NSF International, managing ANSI-accredited standards for commercial food equipment, food contact materials, and water filters.
