Joint Statement
by Xiao Jianhua, Chair IAF, and Etty Feller, Chair ILAC

Accreditation:
Supporting the implementation of SDGs.
World Accreditation Day 2021 highlights therole of accreditation in Supporting

theimplementation of UN Sustainable Development
Goals.

ILAC and IAF have maintained a close strategic partnership and technical cooperation with theUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as it recognises the important rolethat accreditation plays in the achievement of the sustainable development agenda and its impact
on industrial development and economic growth.
The United Nations’ (UN) ambitious strategy toend poverty by 2030 and make significant global
social and environmental progress could create
almost 380m jobs and opportunities worth$12trn (£9trn) in sectors ranging from affordable
housing and energy efficiency to circular
economy models and advances in healthcare. The
UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
represent a blueprint for achieving a better andmore sustainable future. They address global
challenges including poverty, inequality, climatechange, environmental degradation, and justice.

thematic priorities: creating shared prosperity,
advancing economic competitiveness andsafeguarding the environment.

There are 17 SDGs with 169 associated targets
which seek to guide all global, regional andnational development endeavours. Accreditation
and, with it,other quality infrastructure (QI) institutions
including metrology, standardization, conformity
assessment and market surveillance, is a criticalcornerstone
in supporting the SDGs and the three interrelated

It provides a trusted platform for defining,developing and verifying requirements for
products and services, helping to ensure anddemonstrate that products and services meet
specified requirements.

The technical and operational foundations thatare critical to the functioning of developed anddeveloping societies are delivered throughaccreditation. It supports policy objectives inareas including cross-border trade, food safety,
health andenvironmental protection, and industrial
and infrastructural development.

It provides policymakers, businesses and other stakeholders with the technical knowledge and capacity tostrengthen the implementation, measurement and monitoring of many of the objectives and targets
contained in the SDGs, and support to achieve them.
Affirming the partnership between ILAC, IAF and UNIDO, the recent publication 'Quality and Standards andTheir Role in Responding to COVID-19', which examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade,highlights the important role that accreditation can play in mitigating negative impacts and supporting theSDGs.

While there have been a number of successes
around the world, the theme of this year’s World
Accreditation Day 2021 has been chosen toensure that policymakers continue to use
accreditation and QI services to support theirSGD Agenda. It provides the opportunity for ILAC
and IAF members to share examples of how it
may be applied to meet objectives such asincreasing trade, addressing health and safetyconcerns, and improving the general overall
quality of output in an economy. The theme canalso act as a trigger for evolution, and to ensurethat accreditation continues to be relevant in theface of ever more rapid technologicalinnovations, the impact of the 4th Industrial
Revolution and the threats posed by climatechange, pollution, and the diminution ofresources.
Resources such as business-benefits.org andpublicsectorassurance.org will support events,press and television coverage, and workshops
and seminars taking place in conjunction withthe celebration of World Accreditation Day inover 100 economies to raise awareness of thevalue that accreditation plays in supporting theimplementation of the SDGs.

Xiao Jianhua, IAF Chair
For further details, contact your local accreditation body.
http://www.iaf.nu//articles/IAF_MEMBERS_SIGNATORIES/4 and https://ilac.org/ilac-membership/
Further case studies, research and support material is available at http://www.publicsectorassurance.org/

Etty Feller, ILAC Chair