ANSI chosen as accreditation body by ISCC for certification of sustainability and GHGs

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the US voluntary standardisation system, has been selected by International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) to be the accreditation body for its certification system for sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions related to biomass products. ANSI is accepting applications for this pilot programme through 26 March 2015.

Based on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by both parties, ANSI and ISCC will cooperate to regularly assess, monitor, and oversee applicant certification bodies for continuous compliance with ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS certification scheme requirements. ANSI will also verify these bodies' competence in accordance with international standards for accreditation.

ISCC certification can be applied to meet legal requirements in the bioenergy markets as well as to demonstrate the sustainability and traceability of feedstock in the food and feed (chain of custody). ISCC is recognised by the European Commission as a certification scheme that demonstrates compliance with the EU Renewable Energy Directive's (RED) requirements.
ANSI accreditation adds value to the ISCC certification process by providing third-party assurance that certification bodies are capable and competent to carry out their responsibilities.

'Adding ANSI accreditation to our ISCC certification programme fosters the continuous improvement of ISCC,' says Dr. Norbert Schmitz, MD of ISCC. 'We are happy to have ANSI as a reliable partner to monitor the performance of our certification bodies and to keep up the integrity and trustworthiness of ISCC sustainability certification.'

Reliance upon accreditation brings another important benefit to ISCC-certified bodies: international relevance and portability. The accreditation assesses that the competence of certification bodies is in conformance with ISO/IEC 17065, Conformity Assessment - Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services, in addition to ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS. As ANSI is a signatory to the International Accreditation Forum Multilateral Recognition Arrangements (MLA) for the accreditation of product certification bodies, an ANSI-accredited certification benefits from worldwide recognition, reducing the need for duplicative credentials for different markets.

ANSI's accreditation programme meets the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011, Conformity assessment - General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies, which represents the highest internationally accepted practices for accreditation bodies.

The institute's portfolio of accreditation services includes programmes for all types of certification and verification bodies, including those for products, personnel, and greenhouse gas emissions as well as standards developers.