Legal responsibility: The Green Builder® Coalition is a 501(c)(6) organization.
Contractual agreements: The Green Builder® Coalition maintains legal agreements between parties active in its certification system. Typical agreements are in Appendices of this manual.
Controlled use of certificates of compliance: A Certificate of Compliance is the participant’s representation that the subject of conformity validation has been evaluated and approved using procedures prescribed by this manual. Agreements between applicant, participants, and The Green Builder® Coalition, as well as the conditions on each Certificate of Compliance, specify how Certificates of Compliance may be used. No participant has the right to use validations or to claim that their subjects of validation have been evaluated in conformance with the procedures outlined in this manual unless and until they have received a Certificate of Compliance to use as prescribed.
Management impartiality: Except in connection with fees received for the services provided by The Green Builder® Coalition in regard to The Green Builder® Coalition WERS Certification System, the employees, and managers of The Green Builder® Coalition shall hold no ownership or other financial interest in an organization or business enterprise using The Green Builder® Coalition WERS Certification System, including the Clients, Property/Product Owners, and their agents, or any other participant.
Liability and financing: The Green Builder® Coalition is funded by the fees for services charged under an executed agreement. The Green Builder® Coalition shall maintain adequate insurance covering reasonably anticipated liabilities arising from its operations and the financial stability and resources required for its operations.
Nondiscriminatory conditions: The Green Builder® Coalition makes its services accessible to all applicants whose activities fall within its scope of operations. The policies and procedures under which The Green Builder® Coalition operates are nondiscriminatory and are not used to impede or inhibit access to services by clients. Access is not conditional on the size of the client or membership of any association or group, nor is certification conditional upon the number of certifications issued. The Green Builder® Coalition confines its certification system requirements, evaluation, review, decision, and surveillance to matters related to certification.
Confidentiality: The Green Builder® Coalition has entered enforceable confidentiality commitments managing information obtained or created during performance of its certification activities. Except for information used in the aggregate, or where the client makes public disclosure, disclosure is legally mandated, or when agreed between The Green Builder® Coalition and the client, information is considered proprietary and regarded as confidential. If the Green Builder® Coalition is required by law or allowed by contractual arrangements to release confidential information, the parties concerned are, unless prohibited by law, notified of the information provided. Non-public information about the client obtained from sources other than the client is treated as confidential.
Publicly available information: The Green Builder® Coalition maintains and makes available upon request:
- Information about its certification system, including evaluation procedures, rules and procedures for granting, maintaining, extending, reducing, suspending, withdrawing or refusing certification;
- The means by which The Green Builder® Coalition gets financial support and general information on the fees charged to applicants and to clients;
- The rights and duties of applicants and clients, including requirements, restrictions or limitations on using The Green Builder® Coalition’s name, Program marks, and appropriate use of the certification granted;
- Information about procedures for handling complaints and appeals, including the process for initiating a complaint or appeal.
The program participants and The Green Builder® Coalition, shall be bound by the “Program Code of Ethics”.