Procedure by which an accredited external, independent, certification body which is not involved in standards setting or has any other conflict of interest, analyzes the performance of involved parties, and reports on compliance. This is in contrast to first party certification (by which a single company or stakeholder group develops its own standards, analyzes its own performance, and reports on its compliance and second party certification (by which an industry or trade association or NGO develops standards, analyzes the performance of involved parties, and reports on compliance).