Effective 1 April 2025, we are launching a significant update to the ZDHC Gateway Chemical Module, designed to streamline chemical product upload and verification processes. It will reimagine workflows for all stakeholders.
Recognising the need for increased efficiency and improved user experience, we’ve developed APIs to enable seamless communication between the Gateway and ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifiers’ databases. This automation eliminates manual verification, leading to:
- Faster verification and publication of ZDHC MRSL conformant chemical products.
- Improved data accuracy.
Please refer to the below FAQs for a more detailed understanding of the new process.
Chemical formulator. The process for formulators to upload and create product profiles remains. They will continue to provide essential information such as product names, application fields, and Safety Data Sheets (SDS).
Chemical formulators will no longer need to upload certification information manually. This will now be handled directly by the ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifier.
No, the certifier’s primary responsibility is to add and manage the certification information through the API or via the Bulk Upload on ZDHC Gateway. The formulator continues to be responsible for the accuracy of their general product information.
ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifier. Certifiers will manage and add certification details directly to the product profiles via APIs or the Bulk Upload on the ZDHC Gateway.
The formulator's unique ZDHC AID (Account ID), Product Name and optionally PID (Product ID). The ZDHC AID ensures you are adding certification data to the correct account, especially for formulators with multiple accounts. PID provides a more accurate matching.
A certificate PDF file is no longer necessary. To further simplify the process and avoid duplicating the efforts, we encourage ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifiers to stop creating PDF certificates that demonstrate compliance with ZDHC MRSL, as products being published on the Gateway are sufficient.
"Stop creating PDF certificates" means that ZDHC no longer requires ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifiers to issue physical certificates (or PDF files) to formulators. This is because uploading the product to the ZDHC Gateway for verification is now the key step. So, if a product is certified for a formulator, it will only be recognised as ZDHC MRSL-conformant if it is uploaded and published on the Gateway.
The mandatory information for the certifiers to feed in the API includes: ZDHC MRSL Certification Standard, ZDHC MRSL Version Name, Issue Date, Expiration Date, Formulator Name, Formulator ZDHC AID, Product Name, and ZDHC Product ID (not mandatory but highly recommended).
Once the product is recertified offline, ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifiers will use the API or a Bulk Upload process to update the certification details within the formulator's product profile.
The certification details will appear on the formulator's "Products” page. If the product is new, a formulator will then review and publish the product. If the certification details are updated within an existing product, no further action is needed.
This change streamlines the process by assigning certification data management to the ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifier, as the certification process occurs offline before products enter the ZDHC Gateway. It improves efficiency and reduces redundancy.
To help you get started, please refer to our technical documentation. This document includes both a high-level overview of how the APIs function collectively and detailed explanations of the requirements and responses for each API. We recommend forwarding this documentation to your technical team or expert for review and assessment. If your organisation decides to proceed, please reach out to the ZDHC Customer Support Team to request your individual authentication and user keys, specifying if you would like to use an existing account or create a new dedicated user account for the user key. Please also provide your Organisation Name and ZDHC Account ID when sending your request.
Yes, please follow the process described under "I am interested in using the APIs, how do I get started?" and specify that you are interested in the testing environment.
Users with both Account Admin and Viewer accesses on ZDHC Gateway will receive email and bell notifications about certification verification, which is performed automatically via the APIs or manually via the bulk upload process. All users will also receive a monthly report via email.
No, there are no additional costs. The process remains as is for both chemical formulators and ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifiers.
No, only ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifiers can upload product data via APIs.
Usually, certification details naturally expire and there is no need to delete them before the expiration date. In case there is a need to expire certification details before the initial expiration date you can adjust the expiration date to an earlier date. If you would like to remove certification details, please select 'Yes' under "Mark as 'Yes' if For Removal" in the APIs or in the manual Bulk Upload Template. A Certification ID is required when removing certification from a product.
In case a published product's certification details have not yet expired, when a ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifier renews those details, a formulator only gets a notification and does not need to accept them or re-publish the product.
However, if the published product's certification details have already expired, the product automatically unpublishes. If now a certifier recertifies the product and updates certification information - the product can then be easily re-published by the formulator.
When uploading the filled-out template within the Bulk Upload process page, the platform will verify for any incorrect formats or other inconsistencies and return the file with an error listed. However, if an incorrect level or date was entered and the details were pushed into the product profile, a formulator can still decline them in case a product is completely new. If a product is existing or if a formulator accidentally accepted incorrect certification details, a ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifier should go through the Bulk Upload process again to adjust those details.
When using a Bulk Upload template, you will notice that sometimes it's generated with pre-populated details. Those details correspond to existing products your organisation has certified before. In case those details show up in red, it means that they are expired or are about to expire. Please note that when entering details into the template, it doesn't matter which colour you use.
No, the API structure remains the same. You can find the latest documentation here.
Certifiers should proactively request the ZDHC AID and PID from the formulator when certifying a product. This ensures that the certification data is pushed directly into the ZDHC Gateway without missing any requests. If the product is not found, the formulator may need to create it on the Gateway first.
Certifiers need to coordinate directly with the formulator. The formulator must share their ZDHC AID to ensure that certification data is assigned to the correct account.
It is a formulator’s responsibility to provide the correct ZDHC AID. If there is a typo or mismatch, the system will generate an alert.
Yes, certifiers should only push certification data if the product has successfully passed all required tests and meets the criteria for the registered level.
This can only occur if the product has already been created under a different account. If this happens, the certification may be mapped to the incorrect organisation. It's the formulator's responsibility to make sure they share the correct ZDHC AID and PID with the ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifier.
Each commercial name should have a separate product profile, which will generate a unique Product ID (PID). The ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifier must add certification information to each product separately if multiple commercial names fall under the same certification.
No, there are no changes. The product remains valid until its natural expiry date.
The formulator must first create the product in the ZDHC Gateway. Once the product is available, the ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifier can proceed with pushing the certification information.
ZDHC is aiming to close the manual process by the end of 2025. Until then, all ZDHC Approved MRSL Certifiers should transition to the API process.
If you are using the manual Bulk Upload on the ZDHC Gateway, please download the Bulk Upload template for the formulator in question (follow the steps here) and find the pre-populated certification details you would like to remove. In these details, under the column "Mark as 'Yes' if For Removal", type Yes. Upload this template back into the platform. The certification details are now completely removed from the product.