The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) announced that it has achieved ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996 accreditation - the world’s most prestigious endorsement of a product certification program as developed by the International Organization for Standardization.
ATLANTA - The GREENGUARD Environmental
Institute (GEI) announced that it has achieved ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996
accreditation - the world’s most prestigious endorsement of a product
certification program as developed by the International Organization for
Standardization.
ISO-Guide 65 specifies requirements for bodies that operate third-party
certifications of products to ensure that those bodies conduct their
certification processes in an impartial, reliable, and consistent
manner. Conformity to these standards provides assurance that a certification
program is of high quality, integrity, and competency, and that it is free of
any conflicts of interest, such as financial, commercial, or social
influences.
“The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute has always stressed the
importance of third-party certification as a means of validating the credibility
of a product, service, or organization,” said Henning Bloech, executive director
of GEI. “We find it so important, in fact, that we voluntarily subjected ourselves to rigorous third-party
inspection to ensure not only that we’re performing up to the highest quality
standards, but also that we’ve evaluated every potential conflict of
interest. Achieving ISO Guide 65 accreditation confirms that GEI operates fairly
and objectively.”
In addition, as part of its commitment to transparency, fairness, and
objectivity, GEI will go above and beyond the requirements of ISO Guide 65 by
submitting all procedural documentation for every new certification to The
Epsten Group, Inc., a strategic consulting firm, for independent review and
analysis. This provides an extra level of checks-and-balances to ensure that
GEI’s certification processes are carried out appropriately.
“Subjecting ourselves to additional scrutiny by a third-party reviewer
demonstrates that we’re willing to go the extra mile and practice what we
preach,” said Dr. Marilyn Black, founder of GEI. “We’re not just talking the
talk; we’re walking the walk.”
GEI’s ISO Guide 65 accreditation is especially important at a time when
multiple ‘green’ labels and certifications (some of which have prompted civil
law suits against product manufacturers, as well as intervention by the Federal
Trade Commission) are flooding the marketplace.
“Consumers need to know who to
trust,” Black says. “We’re pulling out all the stops so that people know, beyond
the shadow of a doubt, that they can trust the GREENGUARD Environmental
Institute.”
GEI initiated the long and painstaking ISO Guide 65 accreditation process
in Nov. 2008 and underwent a comprehensive audit in February 2010. GEI earned
the official accreditation two months later. To maintain the accreditation, GEI
will be required to pass regular surveillance assessments. For more information
about the International Organization for Standardization, visit www.iso.org.
GREENGUARD Environmental Institute Achieves ISO-Guide 65 Accreditation