ISO's mission is to develop coherent ... for its member to ensure the consistent application of ISO standards in assessi
A Comparison of ISEAL, ISO and IAF ISEAL Fact Sheet – October, 2013
This fact sheet compares the structure, decision-making and operating practices of the ISEAL Alliance, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). ISEAL is a membership organisation of international standards systems that focus on sustainability issues. ISEAL’s mission is to strengthen sustainability standards systems for the benefit of people and the environment. ISEAL develops Codes of Good Practice (in Standard-Setting, Assurance and Impacts) to guide the effective and credible implementation of these systems. These Codes build on and complement ISO standards where appropriate, providing additional criteria that are relevant for the development and implementation of sustainability standards. Code content is approved by a Technical Advisory Committee that includes both ISEAL members and a majority of external experts and stakeholders. Compliance with ISEAL Codes forms the basis of membership in ISEAL but they are primarily intended as tools for learning and improvement. Assessment of compliance with the Codes and associated membership criteria is carried out by independent expert evaluation and complemented by member peer review. For accreditation bodies, requirements include compliance with ISO 17011. ISO is a membership organization whose members are national standards bodies. ISO’s mission is to develop coherent, effective, widely recognized and relevant standards through an effective process which meets customer needs. The bulk of ISO’s standard-setting work is done by the 2,700 technical committees, subcommittees, and working groups. Each committee and subcommittee is headed by a Secretariat from one of the member organizations and includes experts nominated by the national members. Decisions on standards are taken by vote of the participating national standards body members. ISO standards on certification and accreditation (ISO 17021, 17065, 17011) are widely applied and form the foundation for credible operation of certification and accreditation bodies. ISO recognizes (through ISO 17067) that scheme owners are responsible for defining the practices and competencies specific to their schemes, to supplement ISO standards. IAF is also a membership organisation whose members are national accreditation bodies. The purpose of IAF is to ensure that certification of products, processes or services in one region or country should be accepted in other regions or countries. IAF is primarily a mechanism for mutual recognition of accreditation results of its members. National accreditation bodies commit to join an IAF Multilateral Agreement (MLA) whereby their operations are assessed by peer review for compliance with ISO 17011 for one or more specific scopes. These scopes include ISO 9001 (Quality management systems), ISO 14001 (Environmental management systems) and ISO 65 (Product certification). There is a separate MLA for each scope. IAF also publishes mandatory Guidance for its member to ensure the consistent application of ISO standards in assessing certification bodies. The following table provides a comparative overview of relevant aspects of each organisation.
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Organisation
ISEAL
ISO
IAF
Founded
2002
1947
1993
Legal Status
NGO
NGO
NGO
Structure
Membership-based
Membership-based
Membership-based
Members
Sustainability standards bodies and international accreditation bodies
National standards bodies
National accreditation bodies
Membership
21 Full and associate members (e.g. MSC, FSC, ASI)
160 Members and correspondent members (e.g. BSI, ANSI)
62 Members (e.g. UKAS, ANAB)
Operational Governance
Board of Directors - 9 members elected by the Full Members
Council - 20 members elected by the membership plus officers and chairs of 3 policy development committees
Board of Directors - 6 members elected by the Accreditation Body Members and Association Members
Criteria for Membership
International standardsetting bodies that comply with the ISEAL Codes of Good Practice (Standardsetting, Assurance, Impacts); International accreditation bodies that comply with ISO 17011
National bodies considered the most representative standards body in each country
Accreditation bodies that declare their intention to join one or more IAF Multilateral Agreements (for scopes ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 65)
Basis for Members’ Standards Development
ISEAL Standard-Setting Code of Good Practice
ISO/IEC 17007:2009 Conformity assessment -Guidance for drafting normative documents suitable for use for conformity assessment
Standards Development Structure
Technical Committees consisting of experts from within and outside membership chosen
Technical Committees consisting of experts selected by interested national members 2
through call for nominations Decision-making on Standards / Codes
Technical Advisory Committee consisting of 9 members (3 Full or Associate members, 2 external standards systems, 2 independent experts, 2 other stakeholders) approve by consensus
National member bodies approve by majority member vote
Policy on Standards Availability
Freely available
Available for a fee
Basis for Membership for accreditation bodies
ISO/IEC 17011 plus relevant clauses of ISEAL Assurance Code
ISO/IEC 17011
Oversight of Accreditation bodies
Independent expert review, supplemented by peer review
Peer review
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