ISO 14001 Certification in India gains global acceptance

The 14^th Plenary Meeting of the Pacific Accreditation Co-operation (PAC) was held in Singapore from 7 to 14 July 2007. National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies, a constituent of Quality Council of India represented India at the meeting.

The NABCB has been set up to establish and mange accreditation services in the area of certification and inspection. Accreditation based on international standards is one of the means identified by WTO/TBT agreements for the mutual recognition of conformity assessment schemes.

The acceptability of certificates (test certificates, management system certificates, product certifications) issued in one country by another country is ensured by membership of the Multilateral Arrangement for Mutual Recognition (MLA) of regional / international co-operations like the Pacific Accreditation Co-operation (PAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

NABCB had signed the Multilateral Arrangement for Mutual Recognition with PAC and IAF for Quality Management Systems in 2002, which enabled the acceptance of Indian QMS certified companies to gain access in global markets.

The NABCB (QCI) achieved another major distinction by signing the PAC MLA for Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001) recently. The admission to the PAC MLA was achieved after a rigorous peer assessment by a team of accreditation experts from Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.

This achievement would significantly enhance to value of EMS certification being conferred by the Accredited certification bodies in India.

The signing ceremony was held in a glittering function held during the PAC Plenary meetings at Singapore held on 12 July 2007. Mr .B.Venkataram, Director, (NABCB) signed the agreement with Ms Elva Nilsen, Chairperson, PAC. Mr Venkataram was also re-elected a member of the Executive Committee of the PAC.

Mr Anupam Kaul, Senior Counsellor, Institute of Quality, CII attended the signing ceremony and also the Open house meeting on 13 July 2007. During interactions, the Chairperson invited CII to become a member of the PAC in its capacity as a responsible Industry body.

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