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3 January 2023

As from 1st March 2023, a new revised version of the SQAS questionnaires will be used in all SQAS assessments.

The main changes can be found in the SQAS Core questionnaire and were triggered by the alignment with the Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) certification scheme.

About the OCS Certification Scheme:

Cefic, ECTA, EFTCO and Fecc have been working together with Plastics Europe (PE) and the European Plastic Converters (EuPC) associations in the development of this scheme during the last two years. Our main objective was to avoid double audits on SQAS
assessed companies. For that purpose, SQAS was proposed as an alternative system to the OCS certification scheme.

A set of questions called “OCS mandatory requirements” were identified by a column on the right of the SQAS Rev 2 questionnaires.

The OCS certification scheme is supervised by a board composed of environment authorities, NGOs, certification bodies and industry representatives. The European Commission and Cefic have an observer status in this board.

On 16 November 2022, the board recognized SQAS as an alternative valid system to the OCS Certification Scheme.

A public register webpage of companies complying with OCS mandatory requirements is being developed by PE and EuPC and will shortly be available.

The webpage will include a list of plastic pellet producers and plastic converters certified by certification bodies, and another list of SQAS assessed companies scoring 100% on OCS mandatory requirements.

Process for an SQAS assessed company to be listed on the OCS public register webpage:

This is a voluntary process. If a SQAS assessed company wants to be listed in the OCS public register webpage, it will have to follow the steps described below:

  • Companies which will be assessed as from 01/03/2023 with SQAS Rev 2 version will have to score “1” in all applicable OCS mandatory questions. In principle, all questions identified with an “M” in the column on the right of the SQAS questionnaires are
    applicable. Some questions of the specific questionnaires, for example question 12.3.3.3.f. of the SQAS Rev 2 Warehouse questionnaire could be not applicable if the company is not filling liners.

If they do not get such level of compliance in the first assessment, they will have to be reassessed by an intermediate assessment covering only the questions scored “0” during the first assessment. This intermediate assessment should be carried out not
later than 6 months after the initial assessment. If it is carried out after 6 months, all OCS questions will have to be reassessed.

  • Companies assessed between 01/01/2022 and 28/02/2023 with the current version of SQAS questionnaires may request to be listed in the OCS public register.

For that purpose, they will have to go through an intermediate assessment as from 01/03/2023 of all questions corresponding to OCS mandatory requirements of the SQAS Rev 2 version of the questionnaires.

  • As from 01/03/2023, the companies that scores 100% on the applicable OCS requirements of SQAS Rev 2 and want to be listed in the OCS public register webpage will have to request it by email to the SQAS Manager. Cefic will issue a summary report indicating
    that %.
  • All requests for publication will be collected (with a frequency to be defined by Cefic) and communicated to the administrators of the OCS public register

Translations:

Translated versions of SQAS Rev 2 questionnaires to German, French and Spanish will be available as from 3rd Feb 2023

04-05-2022

SQAS 2022 Revised version and ESAD 2022 questionnaires

A revised version of SQAS 2022 and ESAD 2022 questionnaires has just been uploaded into the “Questionnaires” section. The assessments with these new versions will start on 31st October 2022.
The changes include:

•SQAS 2022 Revised:

  • Clarification and amendments to the new sections about GHG emissions, pellet loss and digitalization
  • A new container depot section: it is integrated into the Transport Service, Tank Cleaning and Warehouse questionnaires. It will be triggered by the PAD.

Changes in the text regarding the current SQAS 2022 questionnaires are in green. A column has been inserted to the right of the questionnaires to show the questions related to pellet loss.

•ESAD 2022: new versions of the questionnaires:

  • Core plus ESAD supplement
  • Chlorinated Solvents
  • F&G

Changes regarding the current ESAD 2019 questionnaires are in blue.

Translated versions of the questionnaires to German, French and Spanish will be available by 9 September 2022.

01-02-2022

Cefic offers a training for new SQAS assessors in April 2022!!

Do you plan to become a new SQAS assessor? Are you based in Europe? The dates for the online training are now available:

  • Wednesday 20 April, 09.00 - 17.00: General Training, part 1
  • Thursday 21 April, 09.00 - 17.00: General Training, part 2
  • Tuesday 26 April, 09.00 - 17.00: Examination and Interviews


The training, examination and interviews will be offered virtually (via Teams) and will have no cost, provided that the candidate complies with the pre-requirements.

Please, read the SQAS accreditation manual and verify if you comply with the pre-requirements defined in item 2.2.

If you fulfill the requirements, please fill in the application Form and send it to Victor Trapani by Friday 18 Feb 2022.

12-11-2021

From 3 January 2022 all SQAS assessments will be carried out with the SQAS 2022 version of the questionnaires.

Final versions of the SQAS 2022 questionnaires in English are uploaded in the “Questionnaires” section. Translations of the questionnaires in Spanish, French and Italian are expected by 15 October 2021. The translation of the questionnaires in German are expected by 6 Dec 2021.

The main changes in SQAS 2022 are:
  • An upgraded section about measurement and management of GHG emission of logistics suppliers in the Transport Service, Warehouse and Tank Cleaning questionnaires.
  • The incorporation of new requirements to avoid plastic pellets loss.
  • New questions about digitalization of transport information.

Changes in the text compared to the SQAS 2019 version are in blue.

New versions of ESAD questionnaires are under development and will be communicated in due course. The ESAD 2019 version will continue to be used from 3 January 2022 till further communication.

Welcome to SQAS

SQAS (Safety & Quality Assessment for Sustainability) is a system of uniform third party assessments to evaluate the performance of Logistics Service Providers and Chemical Distributors. SQAS assessments cover quality, safety, security, environment and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). SQAS is not a certification system; it is an assessment system that provides a detailed factual assessment report. The SQAS assessment reports allow chemical companies to evaluate their logistics service providers according to their own standards and requirements.

SQAS is a key element of Responsible Care in logistics operations.

Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, manages the SQAS system and ensures its integrity.

SQAS modules

All transport companies and other types of service providers that are active in land logistics and chemical distribution are covered by SQAS through five separate modules:

  • Transport Services
  • Rail Operators
  • Tank cleaning stations
  • Warehouses
  • Chemical distributors

Benefits of using SQAS

Using SQAS offers several advantages:

  • A key tool in the Risk Management of logistics operations, as part of Responsible Care
  • Five SQAS modules covering the different types of Logistics Service Providers active in land logistics
  • Common and uniform industry assessment questionnaires
  • Trained and accredited SQAS assessors
  • Easy access to all assessment reports via a central SQAS database
  • No duplication of assessments by individual chemical companies
  • Supported and used by most chemical companies and logistics service providers

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