Impartiality & Independence

Sterling is a consultancy — we never have been and never will be a certification body, and we never issue certificates. International rules (ISO/IEC 17021-1) separate those who help build management systems from those who certify them, because a certificate is only worth the independence behind it. We keep that boundary absolute: your certification body is your choice from accredited bodies; we support selection but hold no stake in it, and every certificate facilitated through our engagements is traceable through official accreditation registers — we put that traceability in writing.

What we refuse: issuing or arranging certificates from non-accredited “certifiers”, shortcut or days-not-months certification schemes, fabricated records, and any engagement whose outcome we’d be unwilling to have audited. Where a conflict of interest could arise — including engagements touching our own group companies — we disclose it before contract and decline where disclosure can’t cure it.

Concerns about our independence are welcome at info@iso-certification.ph and are handled under our Complaints Policy.

Effective 07 July 2026 · Reviewed annually.

Last updated: July 2026 · Sterling International Consulting — Metro Manila · Cebu · Davao.