Company
Scientific Certification Systems, Inc., now doing business as SCS Global Services, is a trusted leader in third-party environmental, sustainability and food quality certification, auditing, testing and standards development.
We partner with companies, government agencies, and stakeholders worldwide to identify and drive practices, policies and processes that advance the goals of sustainable development and give innovators a competitive advantage. Working with capable leaders across the forestry, green building, energy, agricultural, fisheries, and consumer products sectors, we proudly provide services in every corner of the earth. These services are enabling policy-makers, procurement officers, company decision-makers and consumers to make informed decisions based on the highest level of environmental, ethical and quality accountability.
We also are playing a leading role in driving the development of national and international leadership standards to create a framework for continuous improvement.
SCS Global Services 2012 Annual Report
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Neutral Third Party
Audits, test results, and certifications conducted by a neutral third-party provide the independent perspective needed to help clients evaluate their own performance, identify improvement opportunities, and determine the best steps forward. Third-party certification also builds customer and stakeholder confidence.
We vigorously uphold our third-party status through the following steps.
- We are financially independent from our clients, and have no financial backing from any institution who has an interest in representing our clients or their products.
- We operate on a fee-for-service basis, providing transparency and ensuring that our fees are not attached to the volume of sales of certified products.
- Our internal quality system and company policies ensure insulation from commercial, financial and other pressures that might influence the findings of a certification, verification or validation assessment, and interpretations of test results.
- Each SCS Program Director and Manager is responsible for identifying, analyzing and documenting potential conflicts of interest relative to project-specific evaluation, audit and certification activities.
- SCS requires all personnel, internal and contracted, to reveal any situation known to them that may present them or SCS with a potential conflict of interest.
Vision and Mission
Our Vision
Simply put, our vision is to promote sustainable decision-making and policies in every sector of the economy around the world, in order to safeguard our environment, support workers and communities, and raise the standard of living for all.
Our Mission
To achieve this vision, we have established programs and services designed to:
- Recognize the outstanding achievements of companies, institutions and organizations who are meeting the highest levels of performance in environmental protection, social responsibility, product safety and quality; and
- Stimulate continuous improvement on the path toward sustainability. In this undertaking, we employ a life-cycle framework, state-of-the-art science, proven analytical methods and performance metrics and professional expertise.
Objectives
To accomplish our mission, our programs and services are oriented toward:
- Promoting management system certification, product certification, inspection, validation and verification in accordance with the applicable certification standards;
- Assisting companies and industries implement systems and practices that minimize impacts on human health and the environment;
- Delivering world-class assessment and certification services;
- Continually monitoring scientific developments, market dynamics and regulatory requirements; and
- Continually improving SCS services to meet multi-stakeholder objectives.
History
Back in 1984, when SCS first began providing third-party certification services, sustainability was hardly on the radar screen. Fast forward to today, sustainability innovation is a key business driver around the globe. Here are just a few of the many exciting milestones in our history.
What's in a Name?
Names say a lot about intentions, and we've chosen a name that communicates ours. We first incorporated under the name, Ohlone Inc., in honor of the sustainable practices of the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay Area where we began offering services. In 1988, we became Scientific Certification Systems, Inc. (SCS), to communicate our efforts to apply rigorous science to the task of independent, third-party certification of claims, paying attention to holistic, system-wide ramifications. Today, we are SCS Global Services, communicating the importance of serving the international community with science-based certification, auditing, and testing services and insights.
B Corporation
In January 2010, SCS became a Certified B Corporation. The certification was granted by B Lab, a nonprofit organization dedicated to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. To earn the certification, SCS was successfully reviewed against a set of social and environmental impact criteria.
In addition, in January 2012, was officially reorganized and recognized as one of the first California Benefit Corporations. Over the long term, California Benefit Corporations will enjoy tax incentives, procurement preferences, and eligibility for participation in a social stock exchange for sustainable businesses.
Certified B Corporations conduct business for the benefit of people and the environment, with products and services that promote sustainability and transparency. This growing, elite community of businesses is explicitly organized to meet higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. At the time of certification, the B Corp community represented more than 50 industries, $2 billion in collective revenues and $6.5 billion in capital under management.
