World Accreditation Day 2021: Supporting Sustainable Development Goals

The 2021 theme is: Accreditation: Supporting the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

There are 17 SDGs at the core of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a broad and ambitious plan of action with the overarching objective of “leaving no one behind.” Accreditation, in collaboration with other quality infrastructure institutions, provides the technical foundations that are critical to the functioning of developed and developing societies. It enables trade and industrial development, competitiveness in global markets, the efficient use of natural and human resources, food safety, and health and environmental protection.

Join World Accreditation Day Activities

World Accreditation Day 2021 (#WAD 2021) is celebrated with events, seminars, and media coverage around the globe, providing the opportunity to explore how accreditation can help deliver a safer world and support businesses, government, and regulators seeking standards, conformity assessment, and accreditation tools.

Xiao Jianhua, chair, IAF, and Etty Feller, chair, ILAC issued a joint statement on their respective websites in conjunction with World Accreditation Day 2021.

Access World Accreditation Day resources, including the poster and brochure via the IAF website and the ILAC website.

IAF and ILAC have also released three videos with the themes of people, planet and prosperity.

Accreditation Supports Sustainability…and U.N. SDGs

The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) supports sustainability and SDGs as it accredits organizations providing third-party validation and verification of greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and removals. ANAB’s accreditation program provides validation/verification bodies recognition from various voluntary and mandatory GHG programs, including the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, Climate Action Reserve, American Carbon Registry, and more.

ANAB also has accreditation programs for Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) standards.

Additionally, ANAB provides accreditation based on ISO/IEC 17025 for environmental testing laboratories under multiple programs, including the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP), the EPA Energy Star Laboratory Accreditation Program, among others.

Relevant to U.N. SDG 2 on “zero hunger,” ANAB supports the food safety training industry. As an example, ANAB accredits product certification bodies for a variety of food safety certification programs based on ISO/IEC 17065 and relevant scheme requirements.

Accreditation for food safety spans the U.S, as laws in California, Illinois, Arizona, West Virginia, Texas, New Mexico, and Hawaii, and even some local jurisdictions require food handlers within their limits to have a food-handling training certificate from an ANAB-accredited certificate program, demonstrating compliance with ASTM E2659, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs, an American National Standard. Read more about personnel certificate and certification help to assure food safety.

ANAB is a wholly owned subsidiary of ANSI, coordinator of the standards and conformity assessment system in the U.S. This year, the standardization community recognizes the tremendous role of standards and conformity assessment in advancing and implementing U.N. SDGs as part of the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day 2021 theme, Standards for Sustainable Development Goals.

Need help deciding or convincing others that accreditation is right for your organization? The Business Benefits and Public Sector Assurance websites, which contain case studies, research, and supporting materials demonstrating the benefits and value of accreditation, now feature an option for searching by SDG.

Read more about the federal, state, and local jurisdictions that recognize and rely on ANAB accreditation to help ensure safety, quality, security, and sustainability.

Follow @ANAB_ACCREDIT and the conversation on social media: #WAD2021.