Conformity Credential

info

Please note that this content is under development and is not ready for implementation. This status message will be updated as content development progresses.

Versions

DPCC Version	Date	status	JSON-LD Context
0.2.0	06-04-2024	Raw (not for implementation)	DPP context - TBA

The current version of this specification is v0.2.0

Overview

Conformity credentials are usually issued by independent third parties and provide a trusted assessment of product ESG performance against credible standards or regulations. As such the credential provides trusted verification of the ESG claims in the passport. Since the passport may make several independent claims (eg emissions intensity, deforestation free, fair work, etc) there may be many linked conformity credentials referenced by one passport. As an additional trust layer, the conformity credential may reference an accreditation credential that attests to the authority of the third party to perform the specific ESG assessments. The conformity credential data model has been developed by a separate UN/CEFACT project on digital conformity that has expert membership from accreditation authorities and conformity assessment bodies.

Conceptual Model

Conformity Credential

Requirements

The digital product conformity credential (DPCC) is designed to meet the following detailed requirements as well as the more general [UNTP Requirements(https://uncefact.github.io/spec-untp/docs/about/Requirements)]

ID	Name	Requirement Statement	Solution Mapping
DPCC-01	Authorised source	The DPCC MUST be verifiable as issued by an authorised source, typically a conformity assessment body (CAB)	DPCC MUST be issued as a digital verifiable credential signed by the CAB
DPCC-01	Assurance level	The DPCC MUST the identify the nature of any authority or support for attestation, such as formal recognition by a Governmental authority or an Accreditation Body	Authority
DPCC-03	Subject of conformity	The DPCC MUST unambiguously identify the subject of the conformity assessment, whether a product or facility.	Product, Facility
DPCCE-04	Reference standard or regulation	The DPCC MUST identify the reference standard(s) and/or regulation(s) that specify the criteria against which the conformity assessment is made. If appropriate this must include specific measurable trhesholds (eg minimum tensile strength)	Standard, Regulation, Metric
DPCC-05	Conformity Attestation	The DPCCE MUST unambiguosly state whether or not the subject of the assessment is conformat to the reference standard or regulation criteria	Assessment
DPCC-06	Measured metrics	The DPCCE SHOULD include actual measured values (eg emissions intensity, tensile strength, etc) with the conformity assessment	metric
DPCC-07	Evidence	The DPCCE MAY include references to auditable evidence (eg instrument recordings, satellite images, etc) to support the assessment. If so then the hash of the evidence fileset SHOULD be included (so that an auditor can be sure that the evidence data has not changed). The evidence data MAY be encrypted with decryption keys provided on request	Conformity Evidence

Logical Model

Conformity Credential

Data Definitions

ConformityAttestation

A conformity attestation issued by a competent body that defines one or more assessments (eg carbon intensity) about a product (eg batttery) against a specification (eg LCA method) defined in a standard or regulation.

Property	Definition	Type
id	The unique identifier of this conformity attestation	URI
assessorLevel	Assurance code pertaining to assessor (relation to the object under assessment)	Code (assessorAssuranceCode)
assessmentLevel	Assurance pertaining to assessment (any authority or support for the assessment process)	Code (assessmentAssuranceCode)
type	The type of criterion (optional or mandatory).	Code (attestationType)
description	A textual description of the scope or purpose of this confomrity attestation	Text
scope	A list of relevant standards and/or regulations against which apply to this attestation (eg AS1163:2016).	ConformityAssessmentScheme
issuedBy	The party that issued the conformity attestation.	Party
issuedTo	The party to whom the conformity attestation was issued.	Party
validFrom	The date from which the conformity attestation is valid.	Date
validTo	The date until which the conformity attestation is valid.	Date
status	The status of this conformity attestation (eg pending, valid, expired, revoked)	Code (status)
assessments	The list of specific assessments made within this conformity attestation.	ConformityAssessment
evidence	Evidence supporting the assessment	ConformityEvidence
accreditation	The accreditation from a competent authority (ag NATA) that confirms the issuers authorised scope of assessments.	Authority
regulatoryApproval	The regulatory approval under which this conformity attestation is issued.	Authority
certificate	A reference to the human / printable version of this conformity attestation - typically represented as a PDF document. The document may have more details than are represented in the digital attestation.	BinaryFile

ConformityAssessmentScheme

A formal governance scheme under which this attestation is issued (eg ACRS structural steel certification)

Property	Definition	Type
id	THe unique identifier of the formal scheme (eg steelcertification.com/product-certification)	URI
name	The name of the conformity scheme (eg ACRS structural steel certification)	Text
trustmark	The trust mark that represents the conformity assessment scheme.	BinaryFile
issuingBody	The issuing body of the conformity scheme.	Party
dateOfIssue	The date of issue of the scheme.	Date

Facility

The physical site (eg farm or factory) where the product or materials was produced.

Property	Definition	Type
identifiers	A unique, resolvable, and verifiable identifier for the facility (eg https://maps.app.goo.gl/ULJFeVuA75M8cuQc8)	Identifier
name	The name of this facility	Text
classifications	The UN CPC service calssificaiton for the activities undertaken at this facility.	Classification
geolocation	The geolocated point or area that can be used to place the location on a map. Should be a PlusCode - eg https://plus.codes/4RQGGVGP+	URI
verfifiedByCAB	Indicates whether the conformity assessment body has verified the identity of the subject of the assement (a facility or product / batch).	Indicator

Product

The facility (fatctory, farm, etc) or product or produciton batch that this conformity attestation is about.

Property	Definition	Type
identifiers	A unique, resolvable, and verifiable identifier for the product (eg id.gs1.org/gtin/5000127163096)	Identifier
marking	Markings or codes on the product that can be used to match the physical product to this confomity assessment. if not provided then the productID MUST be marked on the product.	Text
name	the name of this product as defined by the manuracturer or retailer.	Text
classifications	The UN CPC product classification code.	Classification
testedBatchId	A unique, resolvable, and verifiable identifier for the product serial number or batch (eg id.gs1.org/gtin/614141123452/lot/ABC1/ser/12345?exp=180426)	URI
verfifiedByCAB	Indicates whether the conformity assessment body has verified the identity of the subject of the assement (a facility or product / batch).	Indicator

ConformityAssessment

A specific assessment about the product or facility against a specific specification. Eg the carbon intensity of a given product or batch.

Property	Definition	Type
referenceStandard	The reference to the standard that defines the specification / criteria	Standard
referenceRegulation	The reference to the regulation that defines the assessment criteria	Regulation
assessmentCriterion	The specification against which the assessment is made.	Criteria
subjectProducts	The list of products that are the subject of this conformity assessment	Product
subjectFacilities	The list of facilities that are the subject of this conformity assessment.	Facility
measuredResults	The list of specific values measured as part of this assessment (eg tensile strength)	Metric
compliance	An indicator of whether or not the assessment meets the specification.	Indicator
sustainabilityTopic	The UN ESG topic category for this assessment (eg vocabulary.uncefact.org/sustainability/emissions)	Code (sustainabilityTopic)

Metric

A numric value of the conformity claim - eg this product scope 1 emissions intensity is 5 KgCo2e/Kg

Property	Definition	Type
name	A short name for the metric - eg emissions intensity	Text
value	The measured value.	Measure
minimumValue	maximum measured or allowed value	Measure
maximumValue	minimum measured or allowed value	Measure

ConformityEvidence

The specific collection of evidence that was used to inform the conformity claim. Eg satellite images and supporting declarations in support of a deforestation claim.

Property	Definition	Type
evidenceRootHash	An MD5 hash representing the root of the evidence.	Text
description	A textual description of the evidence.	Text
evidenceData	Files that constitute the evidence.	BinaryFile
decryptionKeyRequest	A URI to request the decryption key for the evidence.	URI

BinaryFile

A file representing a data snapshot that is used to infomr the conformity assessment.

Property	Definition	Type
fileHash	The MD5 hash of the file.	Text
fileLocation	The location of the evidence file.	URI
fileType	The type of file, represented as a MIME type.	Code (mimeType)
EncryptionMethod	A code indicating the encryption method applied to the file.	Code (encryptionMethod)

Authority

The authority under which a conformity claim is issued. For example a national accrediation authority may accredit a test lab to issue test certificates about a product against a standard.

Property	Definition	Type
number	The reference number for the accreditation - issued by the accreditation body (AB) to the confomrity assessment body (CAB)	Text
authorityEvidence	The evidence that supports the authroty under which the attestation is issued - eg an accreditation certificate.	Evidence
trustmark	The trust mark image awarded by the AB to the CAB to indicate accrediation.	BinaryFile
authority	The competent authority that issued the accreditation.	Party

Standard

A standard (eg ISO 14000) that specifies the criteria for conformance.

Property	Definition	Type
id	A unique identifier for the standard (eg https://www.iso.org/standard/60857.html).	URI
name	The name of the standard (eg ISO 14001 Environmental management system)	Text
issuingBody	The party that issued the standard	Party
issueDate	The date when the standard was issued.	Date

Regulation

A regulation regulation (eg EU deforestation regulation) that defines the criteria for assessment.

Property	Definition	Type
id	The identifier of the regulation - eg https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023R1115)	URI
name	The name of the regulation - eg EU deforestation regulation.	Text
issuingBody	the issuing body of the regulation.	Party
effectiveDate	the date at which the regulation came into effect.	Date

Criteria

A specific rule or criterion within a standard or regulation. eg a carbon intensity calculation rule within an emissions standard.

Property	Definition	Type
id	A unique identifier for the criterion - managed by the standards wuthority or regulator.	URI
threshold	A conformity threshold defined by the specification (eg minimum compressive strength)	Metric
name	A name that describes this criteria (eg tensile strength)	Text

Party

A party in the conformity domain such as the manufacturer, assessment body, standards authority, accreditation authority, etc

Property	Definition	Type
identifiers	A unique, resovable and verifiableidentifier for the party (eg abr.business.gov.au/ABN/90664869327)	Identifier
name	The name of the party - should match the name in the corresponding formal register.	Text

Evidence

Evidence to support a conformity or identity claim.

Property	Definition	Type
format	Format of the evidence (verifiable credential, document, website, etc)	Code (evidenceFormat)
credentialReference	The URL of the evidence credential. Should be a hashlink to avoid post-issue tampering.	URI

Classification

A classification scheme and code / name representing a category value for a product, entity, or facility.

Property	Definition	Type
scheme	Classification scheme - eg https://unstats.un.org/unsd/classifications/Econ/cpc	URI
classifierValue	classifier value within the scheme - eg "01211" in UN CPC	Text
classifierName	Name of the classifier - eg "Asparagus" for code "01211" in UNCPC	Text
classifierURL	Linked data URL to a web vocabulary entery for this classificaiton code. When this property is provided, the scheme, value, and name properties of the classifer are not required. eg https://vocabulary.uncefact.org/unlocode#AUBNE represensign the port of Brisbane in the UN/LOCODE classification scheme.	URI

Identifier

An identifier of a party, product, or facility that is defined by an identifier scheme and idenfier value and, optinally, verification evidence

Property	Definition	Type
scheme	the identifier scheme as defined by the registrar that manages the identifier registry. If the identifier scheme is registered with UNTP then this URI can use used to dicsover the resolution method (to get more data) and the verification method (to prove ownership).	URI
identiferValue	The value of the identifier within the scheme	Text
identifierURI	The fully qualified URI representing the globally unique record for this identifier.	URI
verificationEvidence	Link to evidence that attests to the validity and ownership of the identifer.	Evidence

Measure

The measure class defines a numeric measured value (eg 10) and a coded unit of measure (eg KG).

Property	Definition	Type
value	The numeric value of the measure	Numeric
unit	Unit of measure drawn from the UNECE rec20 measure code list.	Code (unitOfMeasure)

Code Tables

assessorAssuranceCode

Code that describes the assurance level of the conformity assessment

Name	Description
Self	self-assessment
Commercial	conformity assessment by related body or under commercial contract
Buyer	conformity assessment by potential purchaser
Membership	conformity assessment by industry representative body or membership body
Unspecified	conformity assessment by party with unspecified relationship
3rdParty	3rd party (independent) conformity assessment

assessmentAssuranceCode

Name	Description
GovtApproval	conformity assessment delivered under authority granted by national government
GlobalMLA	conformity assessment delivered under authority granted by IAF/ILAC signatory body
Accredited	conformity assessment delivered under an independent accreditation
Verified	conformity assessment externally verified
Validated	conformity assessment externally validated
Unspecified	conformity assessment claiming no external authority or else unspecified

attestationType

A code for the type of the attestation credential

Code	Description
certification	A formal third party certification of conformity
declaration	A self assessed declaration of conformity
inspection	An Inspection report
testing	A test report
verification	A verification report
validation	A validation report
calibration	An equipment calibration report

status

Code values for this table are derrived from the state lifecycle chart: null

value

sustainabilityTopic

Name	Description
environment.energy	claims supporting clean energy transition
environment.emissions	claims supporting GHG emissions reduction
environment.water	claims supporting minimising water usage impact
environment.waste	claims supporting waste processing and reduction
environment.deforestation	claims supporting native forest restoration
environment.biodiversity	claims supporting improved biodiversity outcomes
circularity.content	claims supporting the use of recycled content in products
circularity.design	claims supporting product design for circularity outcomes
social.labour	claims supporting labour rights including fair wages
social.rights	claims supporting human rights and anti-discrimination
social.community	claims supporting local community development
social.safety	claims supporting process and product safety
governance.ethics	claims supporting ethical conduct and corporate governance
governance.compliance	claims supporting regulatory compliance including taxation and community protection
governance.transparency	claims supporting transparency and traceability

mimeType

Code values for this table can be found here:
https://mimetype.io/all-types

encryptionMethod

Name	Value	Description
none		no encryption
AES		AES standard

evidenceFormat

A code describing the format of the conformity evidence

Name	Description
w3c_vc	A W3C Verifiable Credential
iso_mdl	an ISO 108013 identity credential
document	a binary document for human consumption such as a PDF
website	a reference to an entry on a public website.
other	some other representation

unitOfMeasure

UNECE Recommendation 20 Unit of Measure codelist

Code values for this table can be found here:
https://vocabulary.uncefact.org/UnitMeasureCode

Sample

{
  "id": "http://example.com",
  "assessorLevel": "Self",
  "assessmentLevel": "GovtApproval",
  "type": "certification",
  "description": "string",
  "scope": {
    "id": "http://example.com",
    "name": "string",
    "trustmark": {
      "fileHash": "string",
      "fileLocation": "http://example.com",
      "fileType": "string",
      "EncryptionMethod": "none"
    },
    "issuingBody": {
      "identifiers": [
        {
          "scheme": "http://example.com",
          "identiferValue": "string",
          "identifierURI": "http://example.com",
          "verificationEvidence": {
            "format": "w3c_vc",
            "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
          }
        }
      ],
      "name": "string"
    },
    "dateOfIssue": "2019-08-24"
  },
  "issuedBy": {
    "identifiers": [
      {
        "scheme": "http://example.com",
        "identiferValue": "string",
        "identifierURI": "http://example.com",
        "verificationEvidence": {
          "format": "w3c_vc",
          "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
        }
      }
    ],
    "name": "string"
  },
  "issuedTo": {
    "identifiers": [
      {
        "scheme": "http://example.com",
        "identiferValue": "string",
        "identifierURI": "http://example.com",
        "verificationEvidence": {
          "format": "w3c_vc",
          "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
        }
      }
    ],
    "name": "string"
  },
  "validFrom": "2019-08-24",
  "validTo": "2019-08-24",
  "status": "string",
  "assessments": [
    {
      "referenceStandard": {
        "id": "http://example.com",
        "name": "string",
        "issuingBody": {
          "identifiers": [
            {
              "scheme": "http://example.com",
              "identiferValue": "string",
              "identifierURI": "http://example.com",
              "verificationEvidence": {
                "format": "w3c_vc",
                "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
              }
            }
          ],
          "name": "string"
        },
        "issueDate": "2019-08-24"
      },
      "referenceRegulation": {
        "id": "http://example.com",
        "name": "string",
        "issuingBody": {
          "identifiers": [
            {
              "scheme": "http://example.com",
              "identiferValue": "string",
              "identifierURI": "http://example.com",
              "verificationEvidence": {
                "format": "w3c_vc",
                "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
              }
            }
          ],
          "name": "string"
        },
        "effectiveDate": "2019-08-24"
      },
      "assessmentCriterion": {
        "id": "http://example.com",
        "threshold": [
          {
            "name": "string",
            "value": {
              "value": 0,
              "unit": "string"
            },
            "minimumValue": {
              "value": 0,
              "unit": "string"
            },
            "maximumValue": {
              "value": 0,
              "unit": "string"
            }
          }
        ],
        "name": "string"
      },
      "subjectProducts": [
        {
          "identifiers": [
            {
              "scheme": "http://example.com",
              "identiferValue": "string",
              "identifierURI": "http://example.com",
              "verificationEvidence": {
                "format": "w3c_vc",
                "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
              }
            }
          ],
          "marking": "string",
          "name": "string",
          "classifications": [
            {
              "scheme": "http://example.com",
              "classifierValue": "string",
              "classifierName": "string",
              "classifierURL": "http://example.com"
            }
          ],
          "testedBatchId": "http://example.com",
          "verfifiedByCAB": true
        }
      ],
      "subjectFacilities": [
        {
          "identifiers": [
            {
              "scheme": "http://example.com",
              "identiferValue": "string",
              "identifierURI": "http://example.com",
              "verificationEvidence": {
                "format": "w3c_vc",
                "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
              }
            }
          ],
          "name": "string",
          "classifications": [
            {
              "scheme": "http://example.com",
              "classifierValue": "string",
              "classifierName": "string",
              "classifierURL": "http://example.com"
            }
          ],
          "geolocation": "http://example.com",
          "verfifiedByCAB": true
        }
      ],
      "measuredResults": [
        {
          "name": "string",
          "value": {
            "value": 0,
            "unit": "string"
          },
          "minimumValue": {
            "value": 0,
            "unit": "string"
          },
          "maximumValue": {
            "value": 0,
            "unit": "string"
          }
        }
      ],
      "compliance": true,
      "sustainabilityTopic": "environment.energy"
    }
  ],
  "evidence": {
    "evidenceRootHash": "string",
    "description": "string",
    "evidenceData": [
      {
        "fileHash": "string",
        "fileLocation": "http://example.com",
        "fileType": "string",
        "EncryptionMethod": "none"
      }
    ],
    "decryptionKeyRequest": "http://example.com"
  },
  "accreditation": {
    "number": "string",
    "authorityEvidence": {
      "format": "w3c_vc",
      "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
    },
    "trustmark": {
      "fileHash": "string",
      "fileLocation": "http://example.com",
      "fileType": "string",
      "EncryptionMethod": "none"
    },
    "authority": {
      "identifiers": [
        {
          "scheme": "http://example.com",
          "identiferValue": "string",
          "identifierURI": "http://example.com",
          "verificationEvidence": {
            "format": "w3c_vc",
            "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
          }
        }
      ],
      "name": "string"
    }
  },
  "regulatoryApproval": {
    "number": "string",
    "authorityEvidence": {
      "format": "w3c_vc",
      "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
    },
    "trustmark": {
      "fileHash": "string",
      "fileLocation": "http://example.com",
      "fileType": "string",
      "EncryptionMethod": "none"
    },
    "authority": {
      "identifiers": [
        {
          "scheme": "http://example.com",
          "identiferValue": "string",
          "identifierURI": "http://example.com",
          "verificationEvidence": {
            "format": "w3c_vc",
            "credentialReference": "http://example.com"
          }
        }
      ],
      "name": "string"
    }
  },
  "certificate": {
    "fileHash": "string",
    "fileLocation": "http://example.com",
    "fileType": "string",
    "EncryptionMethod": "none"
  }
}

Versions​

Overview​

Conceptual Model​

Requirements​

Logical Model​

Data Definitions​

ConformityAttestation​

ConformityAssessmentScheme​

Facility​

Product​

ConformityAssessment​

Metric​

ConformityEvidence​

BinaryFile​

Authority​

Standard​

Regulation​

Criteria​

Party​

Evidence​

Classification​

Identifier​

Measure​

Code Tables​

assessorAssuranceCode​

assessmentAssuranceCode​

attestationType​

status​

sustainabilityTopic​

mimeType​

encryptionMethod​

evidenceFormat​

unitOfMeasure​

Sample​

Versions

Overview

Conceptual Model

Requirements

Logical Model

Data Definitions

ConformityAttestation

ConformityAssessmentScheme

Facility

Product

ConformityAssessment

Metric

ConformityEvidence

BinaryFile

Authority

Standard

Regulation

Criteria

Party

Evidence

Classification

Identifier

Measure

Code Tables

assessorAssuranceCode

assessmentAssuranceCode

attestationType

status

sustainabilityTopic

mimeType

encryptionMethod

evidenceFormat

unitOfMeasure

Sample