JOINT STATEMENT ON WORLD ACCREDITATION DAY 2022

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have provided clear objectives for the
globe to focus on now and in the future.
Two of the core elements of the SDGs are simultaneous economic growth and environmental performance, linked by a common desire for sustainable delivery of both objectives.
The collaboration of IAF and ILAC illustrates that seemingly differing focuses can be brought
together to achieve positive action.
Our two accreditation organizations have long worked to support business, government,
consumers, and other groups in accessing accreditation as a means to deliver enhanced
economic and environmental performance. There has always been a focus on achieving
these two things sustainably, but with heightened awareness, not least through COP 26, the
wide range of solutions that accreditation provides, helps all organisations deliver more.
Whether through environmental protection performance, helping manage climate change,
developing the circular economy or providing tools to measure performance, accreditation
and conformity assessment are constantly reviewing and evolving to ensure that the right
tools are available to support the SDGs both now and moving forward.
From some of the earliest testing laboratory accreditation activities supporting environmental
regulations, to the more recent accreditation of certification bodies for ISO 14001, a sector
specific standard focused on environmental performance, and the introduction of standards
for validation and verification, IAF and ILAC are seeking to help organisations measure,
manage and/or report sustainable economic growth and environmental performance.
As Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria has become an increasingly popular
method for measuring organisational impact and basing sound investment decisions the
accreditation community will continue to engage with a range of organisations, with different
needs and priorities, to deliver the relevant accreditation and conformity assessment solutions.
The phrase, ‘There is no Planet B’ highlights the ever more pressing need for simultaneous
sustainability in economic growth and the environment.
World Accreditation Day 2022 enables the International Accreditation Forum (www.iaf.nu),
the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (www.ilac.org) and their members
to highlight how accreditation is delivering sustainability in economic development and the
environment. IAF and ILAC provide a range of information to explain accreditation’s role in
sustainability, economic growth and environment, including further illustrations of its use:
Economic development – Public Sector Assurance and Environmental Protection – Public
Sector Assurance