(ISO: Geneva) -- Demonstrating that a company complies with International Standards is one way of creating confidence among regulators, consumers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. But how do we know that a certificate granted by one certification body is that same as that offered by another? Two new International Standards address this problem by providing harmonized and effective best practice for certification bodies and auditors around the world:

• ISO/IEC 17065:2012—“Conformity assessment—Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services”
• ISO/IEC TS 17021-2:2012—“Conformity assessment—Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems—Part 2: Competence requirements for auditing and certification of environmental management systems”

Product certification

Companies can use product certification to show that a product, service, or process has been inspected, tested, and approved. ISO/IEC 17065 ensures that certification is carried out in a fair and capable manner.

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