Assurance System defines all process aspects of the certification scheme, including steps towards obtaining certification, assessor accreditation, hydropower assessment processes, claims, renewal, appeals, and other governance processes.
For more information about the Assurance system, please follow the links below:
Assurance functions of the Secretariat
Secretariat carries out a number of processes designed to monitor and support the integrity and credibility of Assurance System:
Facilitating project certification process
Fees management, including costs of certification
Public information management including key governance documents
Records management of assessment reports, certification documents, accredited assessors’ documents, Council and Governance Committee meeting minutes, complaints and appeals, translations of technical and governance documents
Consultations with Governance Committee and Council
Training and support through the Hydropower Sustainability Training Academy
For more information about the Assurance system, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions.
For any questions, please contact the Secretariat at sustainability@hydropower.org.
Harmonisation with the Hydropower Sustainability Tools
The Standard is derived from the existing Hydropower Sustainability Tools (HST), the leading global assessment framework to evaluate the sustainability of hydropower projects.
Certification against the Standard is open to all hydropower projects, including those that have been assessed using the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP) or Hydropower Sustainability Gap Analysis Tool (HESG).
Projects assessed using HSAP are evaluated against international levels of basic good and proven best practice. Projects assessed using HESG are only evaluated against international levels of basic good practice. HESG assessments also involve preparing an Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP), which consists of recommended actions to take to address and resolve the identified significant gaps.
Project Proponents wishing to apply for certification against the Standard following an HSAP or HESG Assessment, can do so if a Harmonisation Request is made to the Secretariat within three months of the date of the HSAP or HESG Final Assessment Report.
Following the approval of a Harmonisation Request, the Project Proponent would need to contract the Accredited Assessors to convert the HESG or HSAP Assessment findings into the Assessment report template for the Standard.
Following the harmonisation process and production of the Preliminary Assessment Report, Steps 2, 3 and 4 of the Certification process apply.