Certification
Unlike existing national quality assurance schemes which are primarily developed for; and informed by; supply chain interests post primary production, the Green, White and Gold Standard Sustainability and Quality Management Scheme, was developed by farmers, for farmers to enable farmers given the requirements, needs and expectations of the consumer, the market and wider community as required by international standards and market regulations.
The GWGS-SQMS is a holistic primary producer organisational management system. The scheme requirements are tailored to beef producers of all kinds, irrespective of farm scale or type.
The GWGS SQMS was developed in accordance with the guidelines set out in ISO 17067:2013 and ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 standard for accredited Conformity Assessment Bodies for independent audit and certification purposes.
The scheme was developed following wide-ranging consultation with relevant industry stakeholders, ensuring that the GWGS-SQMS fulfils market needs and the needs of all stakeholders, primarily farmers, for whom this scheme is intended.
On becoming a member of the Green State Farms producer organisation, the member
automatically signs up to our GWG SQMS.
The application of the requirements are tailored to the needs of the individual producer
organisation, ensuring process
controls are practical and proportionate given the nature and scale of the producer member
activities.
Membership requires two simple steps:
The GWGS certification is valid for a three-year cycle. During a certification cycle, surveillance activities are performed in order to make sure that all relevant requirements of the GWGS standard are fulfilled. Before the end of a certification cycle and the start of a new cycle, a physical farm inspection will be scheduled.
A critical determinant of eligibility and membership of the Green, White and Gold Standard SQMS will be the producer’s willingness to commit to the scheme’s values, ethos and principles as set out in the three core pillars. This essential understanding is required to ensure the continued integrity, credibility, and confidence of the scheme’s certification in the interests of all stakeholders, including consumers, other producer members, regulatory authorities, international standards accreditation bodies and the public.
The scheme is comprised of a series of inter-related processes that together permit an integrated, process-based management system that will enable greater process visibility, transparency, and accountability. Conformance to the scheme requirements will bring economic, environmental, and social sustainability under the primary producers’ explicit systems control.
The scheme is in line with OECD-FAO guidelines on responsible agriculture, ISO international standards, EU Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and internal market regulations.
The GWGS-SQMS offers distinct advantages to producer members and include: