World Accreditation Day 2025: Small and Medium Enterprises
This year’s World Accreditation Day theme, “Accreditation: Empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),” focuses on how SMEs are essential to the global economy, driving innovation, creating jobs, and supporting local communities.
Importance of Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs)
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are businesses that fall within a specific size category, typically defined by employee count and/or revenue. They encompass a wide range of businesses, from local shops, online retailers, and restaurants to manufacturing firms, construction businesses, and IT service providers. Hence, SMEs are the backbone of our economy, driving innovation, fueling job creation, and vastly contributing to local and global markets.
How Does Accredited Conformity Assessment Empower SMEs?
Many SMEs face barriers in accessing international markets, demonstrating compliance, or gaining consumer trust. Luckily, accreditation and third party accredited conformity assessment help bridge these gaps by verifying the quality, safety, and sustainability of products, services, and processes, and the competence of the personnel. Accredited conformity assessment assures that products, services, and processes meet internationally recognized standards, which can open up new markets and opportunities for growth. Simply put, accredited conformity assessment empowers SMEs by enhancing credibility and trust, facilitating access to markets, and building a strong brand image and reputation.
ANAB Accredited Conformity Assessment for SMEs
Accredited conformity assessment can provide SMEs with a competitive edge, demonstrating their commitment to quality, environmental responsibility, and safety. It can also enhance customer trust and confidence.
As an example, ANAB accredits management system conformity assessment bodies to ISO/IEC 17021, which allows them to certify organizations (SMEs) to standards such as ISO 9001: Quality Management Systems. ISO 9001 focuses on quality of the SMEs management system and helps SMEs assure that they have processes in place to consistently deliver products and services that meet customer requirements and legal obligations. Accreditated certification to ISO 9001 can enhance credibility and market access.
Other common management system standards valuable to SMEs include ISO 14001 (environmental management), ISO 45001 (health and safety), and ISO/IEC 27001 (information security). ISO 14001 deals with environmental management systems, helping SMEs identify and reduce their environmental impact, comply with regulations, and potentially reduce costs. ISO 45001 focuses on occupational health and safety, assuring a safe and healthy working environment for employees. This standard also helps SMEs meet legal obligations, reduce accidents and injuries, and potentially lower insurance costs. ISO/IEC 27001 addresses information security, helping SMEs protect their data and systems from cyber threats.
SMEs can also hold accredited certification to other standards depending on their specific industry and needs. You can see which ANAB accreditation schemes or programs can be applicable to your industry.
Celebrating World Accreditation Day (WAD) 2025
Celebrated annually on June 9 to raise awareness of the importance of accreditation activities, World Accreditation Day was established jointly by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). The theme for WAD 2025 is “Accreditation: Empowering Small and Medium Enterprises”. IAF and ILAC will also be holding a virtual event on June 9th to celebrate WAD 2025. The event will be held in two time zones, encouraging international participation of #WAD2025 and will include presentations from the IAF and ILAC Chairs, UNIDO and FSSC. The event will highlight the role that accreditation can play in empowering small and medium enterprises. There will also be video presentations from SMEs relating how accredited conformity assessment has improved their business models.
You can attend the IAF/ILAC event at either 9:00 UTC or 17:00 UTC, by registering in advance at one of the following links:
- 9:00 UTC session: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8RyTTi8lTVaJi5daZ-VWrQ
- 17:00 UTC session: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QQi-8F48QA-o0zE2cl7nJw
ANAB, the ANSI National Accreditation Board, will join this global celebration and will also be hosting an event on June 6th, 2025, for Scheme Owners.
To learn more about WAD celebrations around the globe, follow @ANAB_ACCREDIT and the conversation on social media: #WAD2025.
