22 january 2024
RHP works closely with the affiliated, certified companies and users to keep the standards up to date. To this end, there is an annual meeting structure of various product groups, a Technical Committee and a Central Board of Experts. How does RHP work with these groups?
There are product groups for all certified raw materials and end products. These product groups include both product experts from certified companies and a user of the product. Topics are viewed and discussed from different angles. They share the developments from the sector. They also provide advice on the standards and draw up standard proposals for the RHP and RAG quality marks. RHP provides the product groups with updates on, among other things, research projects, policy-making and sustainability themes such as the LCA tool and the covenant ‘Environmental impact of potting soil and substrates’.
The standard proposals that come from the product groups are assessed on content by the Technical Committee (TC) and ratified by the Central Board of Experts (CCvD), which takes a decision on them. These consultative bodies include representatives from the entire horticultural sector and beyond. The TC consists of independent experts from various disciplines in the field. The CCvD consists of delegates from various areas within the substrate sector and users. They are advised by the certification bodies involved. On the basis of the CCvD decisions, the standards for the RHP and RAG quality marks will be updated. For the RHP quality mark, this is done annually. The updated product certification scheme will be shared with the certified companies on 1 February. Three months later, on 1 May, the new requirements will take effect and they must have implemented them in their business operations and quality management system.
We would like to thank everyone who participated in the meetings last year for their time and commitment!
