4C Cooperating Certification Bodies

 Become a 4C Cooperating Certification Body

4C Cooperating Certification Bodies, or 4C Cooperating CBs, play a crucial role in the 4C Certification System. They are the main bridge between the 4C Units and 4C Services, providing independent third-party assessments. It is a 4C Services policy to work with local and/or locally operating companies, as they understand the context and bring multifaceted angle to the 4C System learning process.

The indicated certification scope refers to the provided services for each CB and is related to 4C Training participation by the respective staff and auditors and the resulting approval by 4C Services to offer such services.
If you are interested in certification of 4C Units and their coffee production, please make sure the certification body is operating in your country.
For Chain of Custody certification, the limitation by country does not apply.

Listed 4C addons are Carbon Footprint (CF), Gender Equality (GE) and Food Security (FSS) and depend on CB staff attending the respective additional trainings organized by 4C.

You can find the list of all 4C Cooperating Certification Bodies and their regions of operation below.

How to become a 4C Cooperating Certification Body

Requirements for new 4C Cooperating Certification Bodies (CBs)

If you want to become a 4C Cooperating CB, you need to comply with the following general requirements:

• CBs must be registered as legal entities or as a subsidiary of a larger legal entity,
• CBs must be ISO / IEC 17065 accredited (for agricultural scope),
• CBs must be free from any potential conflict of interest and/or situation which may affect their impartiality and objectivity in their respective tasks within the 4C certification process.
• CBs must only conduct audits in those regions and countries that they are approved for.

Further specific requirements are listed in the 4C Certification Body Regulations v.4.0.