About CRT
Proposed Governance Structure
CRT proposes an independent governance model that separates the founder's role from the ongoing oversight of the Commission. The structure described here is proposed; formal appointments and legal embodiment are planned for a later phase.
Governance principles
CRT proposes to operate under four core governance principles:
- Independence
- The Commission must be able to set and apply standards without undue influence from any commercial interest, including its founding members or primary funders.
- Transparency
- Governance decisions, financial accounts, and standards-setting processes will be documented and made publicly available to the extent consistent with data protection obligations.
- Accountability
- The Commission will be accountable to its members, to the public interest in honest trade, and — where applicable — to any applicable regulatory framework.
- Proportionality
- Governance structures will be proportionate to the stage of the initiative. Founding-stage governance is necessarily simpler; complexity will grow with the institution.
Proposed structure
CRT Board
Independent oversight; strategy, standards approval, financial governance. Proposed composition: independent non-executives with relevant expertise in trade, law or professional body governance.
Standards Committee
Technical oversight of the Competence Framework, Code of Conduct and certification standards. Proposes new standards for Board approval.
Assessment Panel
Examines and certifies candidates for the Foundation Certificate and specialist qualifications. Operates under delegation from the Standards Committee.
Executive Function
Day-to-day operations, platform management, member services and intelligence publishing. Initially fulfilled by the founding team.
These roles are proposed and not yet filled. Current governance rests with the founder. Formal appointments will follow once initial funding and legal structure are established.
Independence safeguards
Several specific safeguards are proposed to protect the Commission's independence:
- No single member, funder or commercial partner may hold a majority of board seats
- Board members will be subject to conflict-of-interest policies and declaration requirements
- Standards and certification decisions will not be subject to veto by commercial sponsors or partners
- The founder will not serve in any role that exercises direct control over standards-setting once the independent board is established
- Revenue concentration limits will prevent any single source from providing more than a defined proportion of total income
The specific thresholds and mechanisms will be defined in the constitutional documents of the legal entity, which are in preparation.
Transparency commitments
CRT commits to publishing the following, once the relevant functions are established:
- Annual report and financial accounts
- Register of board members and declared interests
- Register of material funders and funding conditions
- Consultation records and standards-change history
- Appeals and complaints statistics (anonymised)
Current transparency disclosures are available on the Transparency page.
Current status
Governance is proposed, not yet established
The structures described on this page are proposed. No board has been appointed, no legal entity has been formally established, and no committees are currently operational. All governance decisions are currently made by the founder.
Last updated: June 2026