Certified clients may use our certification marks to demonstrate their achievement — provided the marks are used correctly and only within the approved scope of certification.
Your certificate is a genuine and valuable asset, and the marks that accompany it carry the credibility of an accredited body. Using them correctly protects that value — for you, and for every other certified organisation whose own hard-won credibility depends on those marks continuing to mean exactly what they say. Misuse by one holder quietly erodes the trust that all holders depend upon, which is why this policy matters to the whole community of certified organisations, not just to us.
Why correct use protects everyone
The marks work as a signal precisely because they are used consistently and honestly. If some organisations were allowed to stretch them — implying a broader scope than they hold, or suggesting product certification where only a management system is certified — then buyers would learn to distrust the marks, and their value would fall for everyone. Enforcing correct use is therefore not pedantry; it is how we keep the marks meaningful for the honest majority who use them properly.
Correct use
- Marks may be used only for the scope and the specific sites actually covered by the certificate.
- Marks must not be applied to a product, or used in any way that implies product certification where none exists.
- Any misleading reference to certification — in advertising, on packaging, or in tenders — is strictly not permitted.
- On suspension, withdrawal or expiry of certification, all use of the marks must stop immediately and completely.
Monitoring and enforcement
We actively monitor the use of our marks and the associated accreditation symbols. Where we find incorrect or misleading use, we will require it to be corrected promptly, and persistent or serious misuse may affect certification status. This is not bureaucracy for its own sake; it is simply how we protect the integrity of the mark for every honest organisation that has earned the right to display it with pride.
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