Water, nature and biodiversity
With water quality continually deteriorating, biodiversity collapsing and pressures on the environment increasing due to economic development, it is more essential than ever for society to reconcile growth with sustainable development.
Accreditation can be used to address this challenge, by allowing the public authorities and decision-makers to draw on reliable inspections and data to check whether targets set by environmental policy are being attained.
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Comparaisons interlaboratoires
NF EN ISO/IEC 17043
Les laboratoires accrédités ou candidats à l’accréditation se doivent d’assurer la validité des résultats qu’ils rendent. Cette obligation passe par la mise en œuvre de contrôles externes permettant de s’assurer de la performance de leurs activités de laboratoires, tels que des comparaisons interlaboratoires par exemple.
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Les campagnes proposées par les organisateurs de comparaisons interlaboratoires (OCIL) permettent aux laboratoires participant de démontrer leur aptitude à réaliser des analyses. Afin de renforcer leur crédibilité sur le marché et d’assurer leur développement, certains organisateurs font le choix d’avoir recours à l’accréditation pour cette activité spécifique.
En garantissant la compétence des OCIL, l’accréditation renforce encore un peu plus la confiance dans les résultats délivrés par les laboratoires d’analyse accrédités. -
Certification of products and services
NF EN ISO/IEC 17065
In France, in application of the Consumer Code, only bodies benefiting from accreditation can conduct certification for products or services.
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These certifications provide a guarantee that a product, service or process complies with precise criteria. The fact that they are covered by accreditation reinforces the market's confidence in its conformity.
These accredited certifications are used in particular for promoting modes of agricultural production that are more environmentally friendly or for limiting the use of pesticides. They also contribute to promoting sustainable management of natural resources. -
Certification of management systems
NF EN ISO/IEC 17021-1
Certain management systems aim to reduce and manage the impact of human activity on nature and biodiversity. This is the case in particular with environmental management systems.
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Certification of such systems by a third party is a means of getting their conformity with international norms and standards recognised, and in this way certifying that the organisation in place meets precise requirements in terms of respect for the environment.
Use of accredited certification allows a customer to obtain assurance that the Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) whose services it is using is competent and impartial. It is a token of confidence in the quality of the certification delivered. -
Tests
NF EN ISO/IEC 17025
Knowing the state of the environment is essential for taking the measures necessary to protect it. With this in mind, many parameters are monitored: nitrate or pesticide concentrations in water, presence of heavy metals, populations of living organisms in waterways, etc.
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Many analyses are carried out as part of this monitoring. Many of these analyses are accredited, enabling these results to be used as reliable data for implementing environmental policies. -
Inspection
NF EN ISO/IEC 17020
The use of accredited inspections is extremely widespread for the inspection of installations whose correct operation is essential for preserving the environment, as is the case, for example, with the sanitation networks for collecting and transporting waste water. Such inspections reinforce confidence in the reliability of the checks carried out, since they are conducted by impartial and competent bodies.
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Accredited inspections are also used in the surveillance of crop health and combating crop pests.