ANAB Accredits First Verification Body for Environmental Technology Verification

ANAB has accredited Southern Research to ISO 14034, the international standard for environmental technology verification (ETV).

Southern Research, based in Birmingham, AL, is the first verification body to be accredited under ANAB’s ETV program, which ANAB introduced in response to the global need for greater accountability regarding environmental management.

Environmental technology verification is a process providing independent and credible information on new environmental technologies by verifying that performance claims are complete, fair, and based on reliable test results. ANAB’s ETV accreditation program supports the advancement of innovative environmental technologies to meet environmental priorities.

“With new environmental technologies developed to save resources and reduce costs, an independent assessment is required to ensure a product’s environmental claims are true and verified,” ANAB Vice President Doug Leonard said. “Organizations accredited under our ETV program can provide an assessment of a technology’s environmental potential and value.”

To become accredited under ANAB’s program, an organization must meet the requirements of ISO/IEC 17020, the international standard for operating bodies performing inspection, as well as ISO 14034. Published in 2016, ISO 14034 is the first international standard aimed at creating a uniform approach to the ETV process. It specifies principles, procedures, and requirements, and is designed to deliver multiple benefits to enhance confidence in the selection of technologies that add environmental value.

“Southern Research is proud to be the first accredited organization under ANAB’s ETV program. For 25 years, we have supported the development and evaluation of innovative, clean technologies, from lab through commercial field deployments,” Tim Hansen, P.E., Director of Cleantech Engineering Services at Southern Research, said. “We have always focused on providing high quality data and information about the performance and impacts of innovative environmental technologies.

“But now they will carry the weight of an ANAB-accredited program, and an ISO standard that encourages international recognition of results. We hope these efforts will help address continuing environmental challenges and provide credible data to investors, purchaser, and end users of these potential solutions,” Hansen said.

ANAB requirements for accreditation for ISO 14034 and ISO/IEC 17020 can be found  at www.anab.org/lab-related-accreditation/iso-iec-17020-inspection-bodies/environmental-technology-verification.