Launching of new version of SQAS questionnaires and OCS public register of SQAS companies

As from 1st March 2023, a new revised version of the SQAS questionnaires is 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 recognised SQAS as an alternative valid system to the OCS Certification Scheme.
A public register webpage of companies complying with OCS mandatory requirements was developed.
The webpage includes 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 are assessed as from 01/03/2023 with SQAS Rev 2 version will have to score “1” in all applicable OCS mandatory questions.
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 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