Before planning a shared scope, check the scheme, ownership structure, roles of individual sites, material and data flows, and the current RecyClass requirements for multisite certification.
Several addresses do not automatically mean one certificate
Multisite certification is available in specified schemes and is subject to detailed conditions. The scope must be assessed against the current documentation for the relevant scheme, rather than solely against the group's organisational structure.
RP and RC: one operation across two sites
According to the Q&A, multisite certification in RP and RC concerns one operation performed at two separate sites: the output of the first becomes the input of the second. Both sites are visited during the audit, resulting in one report and one certificate.
SP: separate operations under common ownership
Sorting Process provides a different model: several sites with independent operations under common ownership, a shared quality management system and similar processes. Some sites are assessed on site and the remainder remotely. Monitoring covers all sites; at least 33% must receive an on-site visit, with rotation from the previous audit. Every site must be visited in person within six years.
The SP site list is established in the application. An additional site cannot simply be added during the process or after the certificate has been issued: it requires a separate application. A site that fails to meet the criteria cannot be removed from the scope merely to obtain a certificate for the remaining sites.
What should be checked before applying?
- which RecyClass scheme applies to each site;
- who owns and operates the individual plants;
- whether processes are run within one coherent management system;
- how materials move between sites;
- how documentary and physical traceability are maintained;
- whether products, materials and additional modules have a shared or different scope;
- which audit requirements apply to each site.
A shared system must not conceal differences between sites
Each site may have different production lines, inputs, products, suppliers, storage systems and risks. Where these differences are relevant to scheme requirements, they must be visible in the documentation and audit plan.
Material flow between plants
Material transferred from one site to another should remain traceable. Identify who owns the material, where its status changes, how it is labelled, which system records it and which data enters the volume reconciliation.
Common risks
- assuming every company in a group can automatically be covered by one certificate;
- failing to assign processes clearly to sites;
- inconsistent material codes and terminology;
- undocumented transfers between plants;
- different ERP systems without an agreed reporting method;
- extending certified status to material outside the relevant scope.
How should the scope analysis be prepared?
Before requesting a quotation, prepare a table of all sites, their roles, processes, input and output materials, flows between plants and additional modules. The certification body can then assess whether the multisite model is possible and how the audit should be planned.
Key takeaway
Multisite certification should reflect the actual operating system. Its purpose is to certify a coherent, controlled scope covering more than one site, rather than simply combining addresses.