Why it Matters

Every professional certification program developed and administered by the Certification Commission has at its core the one study required of all fair and credible certifications — the Scope of Practice Study and Analysis.

• For the Certified Compost Operations Manager™ (CCOM™) and Certified Composting Professional™ (CCP™) credentials, the CCREF conducted the Compost Operations Manager Scope of Practice Study during the summer of 2015. More than 7,000 composting manufacturers, educators and regulators received email invitations to participate in the study.
• The survey respondents represent stakeholder groups in all available configurations, including all ten US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regions along with sixteen countries outside the United States.
• The respondents also effectively exemplify stakeholders by facility type or role (government owned facility, non-profit facility, for-profit facility, teacher/trainer/educator, regulator, and consultant) and across two key experience levels (less than five years of experience versus five or more years of experience).
• In addition to the required amount of statistical data needed to complete the study and determine the certification test blueprint, the investigation included open conversations in focus groups and in surveys to find out what skills, knowledge, abilities and performance define the professional in the organics recycling industry.
• And those who teach it and regulate it feel so strongly that the time has come for professionalism and nationwide certification.
• In fact, hundreds of compost operations owners, managers and workers have joined the conversation about the value and importance of achieving professional certification.

Through this website, and many other ways of listening and sharing your comments, we tell your career story and provide reasons why CCOM™ and CCP™ is important.