Learn the difference
The distinction between verification and certification may be confusing for technology providers, buyers and other stakeholders. Here are some key differences between verification and certification
Certification is a pre-defined procedure in which an independent organisation confirms whether products or services meet specific standards and/or requirements (e.g., a standards body such as CEN)
Verification, in the context of environmental technologies, is the process of independently confirming the level of performance of a technology (good or poor) claimer by the proposer. This is done through the provision of objective evidence put forward by the provider of the technology, in particular the result of performance tests under quality-controlled conditions.
- ETV includes independent confirmation of tested and quantified performance claims whereas certification is generally issued according to compliance with pass/fail criteria included in the relevant standard.
- Verifications are not exhaustive and include those operational, environmental and additional parameters considered relevant and agreed by the technology developer and the verification body, but it cannot be guaranteed that all possible parameters have been considered. The parameters for certification, against which compliance is assessed, are fixed and defined by an independent organisation (e.g., a standards body such as CEN) according to the standard against which certification is assessed.
- The Statement of Verification is based on a ‘snapshot’ of the technology performance. There is no regular third-party surveillance in the ETV scheme to confirm that the technology continues to meet the performance claim(s) in the statement of verification. Certification requires that changes made to the certificated technology are reported in advance to the certification body so that checks can be made to ensure the product continues to meet the requirements for certification. In ETV it is the owner of a technology that is responsible for ensuring that the verified technology conforms to the published Statement of Verification and for taking action in light of any changes to the technology with respect to meeting the verified performance claims.
- Unlike certification, in ETV, on-going consistency of the manufacturing process is not verified.
