Contact us
Tel: +354-511-1330
Email us:
msc@tun.is for MSC og ASC certification (sjávarafurðir og fiskeldi),
organic@tun.is vegna lífrænnar vottunar,
tourism@tun.is vegna ferðaþjónustuvottana,
eða tun@tun.is vegna annarra fyrirspurna.
Certification of sustainable use of land and sea
For over 30 years, Tún has conducted audits and certifications on sustainable use of land and sea. The establishment of Tún in 1994 arose from the need for certification of organic products in Iceland. In 2008, Tún began offering audits and certifications for sustainable fish stocks and traceability of seafood according to the requirements of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and later also certification of fish farming according to the requirements of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). In the years 2019-2020, Tún added three tourism certifications: Vakinn, Green Key, and Blue Flag.
Tún is a certification body that certifies according to the aforementioned certification schemes. This means that Tún may only provide information on what the relevant certifications or standards entail, but may not provide advice on how to meet the provisions of the standards. Therefore, the certification body is not a consulting company.
Sustainability is the key to the future, and sustainability certifications are the best tool for operators to prove to customers and consumers what their contribution to society is in this field.
What is certification
Certification is confirmation by a third party that the applicant meets the requirements set forth in the certification system. The requirements are generally based on the presence of an active environmental and/or quality system with all its procedures, processes, and responsible personnel. Certification is therefore obtained only when the systems are operational.
The third-party audit must meet requirements for impartiality, proper methods for verification, and the processing of the audit. Tún is an accredited certification body for organic certification according to ISO 17065:2012 standards regarding the work of certification bodies, and other certification systems follow the same standards. Tún’s employees and contractors also follow ISO 19011:2018 standards for conducting audits.
Certification bodies are prohibited from providing advice, for example, on addressing nonconformities or setting up systems so that they comply with audits. This is to ensure that certification bodies are not evaluating their own work. However, we are allowed to guide on how to interpret requirements and so forth.
New applicants
The first question that interested parties in certification need to answer is why they want to obtain certification. Certification can serve various purposes, and access to a specific market is the most common. A certification mark recognizable to customers can make the difference in whether your product or service is chosen over competitors. Certification also provides valuable accountability for managers in the fields of environmental and/or quality matters to many certificate holders. In most cases, certification means that processes become clearer, responsibilities are better defined, and operations are consequently more efficient.
Once the first question has been answered, one should familiarize themselves with the requirements of the relevant certification system and evaluate how the operation fits with those requirements. If there are significant gaps, it can be beneficial to find a consultant with experience in the field to help bring the operations closer to the standards. However, if there are few gaps, it may be a good time to contact us and get a price for the service. You can do this by clicking the green button at the top right corner of the page.
Our employees can then also better specify which requirements apply to the respective operation if there is any doubt about it. All our requirements are accessible either here on the website or from the owners of the respective systems.
Why sustainability
Sustainability actually means that the given entity maintains itself but does not damage its foundations through recklessness, whether it is an individual, a company, or a society. In its simplest form, corporate sustainability means that companies remain in good operational health after several years. This means attention must be paid to the resources the company relies on, which often come from nature, the human resources that build the company — considering not only employees but also stakeholders and society — and finally finances, as a company is not considered sustainable if it goes bankrupt.
The three pillars of corporate sustainability are therefore Society, Environment, and Economy.
Certification systems serviced by Tún all make demands for environmental management in one way or another, while some also require verification of social responsibility and responsible business practices. Although the certification systems all have different names and serve different groups, they all contribute to increased sustainability among their certified organizations.
The main goal of increased sustainability are to reverse the development of climate change, the unequal distribution of wealth in the world, and the ever-declining biodiversity of the Earth. Although the problem will not be solved by a single individual or company, it is the statement we make by choosing the better option for the future that has the greatest impact on our local community.
If you want to convey a suggestion or complaint regarding either services provided by Tún or products or services certified by Tún, we ask you to click the button above and fill out the form in detail.
If the matter concerns a product or service labeled as organic and there is suspicion that it has not been certified, it is recommended to report this to MAST at mast@mast.is.
All reports are handled in accordance with the privacy policy of the Certification Body Tún ehf. If further information is needed, Tún reserves the right to request it by response email to the sender's email address. If the nature of the report requires it, Tún will inform the sender about the results of the matter.