World Accreditation Day 2021: Supporting the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

Ahead of World Accreditation Day (WAD) on June 9, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) recognize the important role of accreditation around the globe. Jointly established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperative (ILAC), the 2021 WAD theme celebrates how accreditation supports implementation of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

There are 17 SDGs at the core of the U.N.’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a broad and ambitious plan of action with the overarching objective of improving the lives of people all over the world. Accreditation, in collaboration with other quality infrastructure institutions, provides the technical foundations critical to the functioning of developed and developing societies. It supports trade and industrial development, competitiveness in global markets, the efficient use of natural and human resources, food safety, and health and environmental protection.

How ANAB Supports the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

ANAB supports sustainability and SDGs in numerous ways, including:

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

Learn about the broad scope of ANAB’s efforts to support sustainability at anab.ansi.org.

Collaborative Efforts for World Accreditation Day 2021

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.

For the 2021 celebration, Xiao Jianhua, chair, IAF, and Etty Feller, chair, ILAC issued a joint statement on their respective websites. There are also several videos available highlighting people, the planet, and prosperity.

On June 9, the co-chairs of the IAF/ILAC Joint Working Group Communications, Brahim Houla and Verónica Ramirez, will host an online celebration for World Accreditation Day 2021, held in conjunction with UNIDO and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) across two time zones. ANAB’s Reinaldo Figueiredo, senior program director of product, process, and services accreditation programs and chair of ISO CASCO will deliver remarks.

ANAB is a wholly owned subsidiary of ANSI, coordinator of the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system. This year, the standardization community also recognizes the tremendous role of standardization 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.

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