World Accreditation Day is celebrated annually on June 9th by IAF, ILAC, their members and partners, and stakeholders in the conformity assessment community in acknowledgement of the benefits and value of accreditation.
Previous themes for the day have included such diverse topics as food safety, adding value to the supply chain and delivering a safer world. World Accreditation Day 2021 will highlight how accreditation and accredited conformity assessment activities can support the implementation of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs (https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda)); a series of 17 objectives that have been developed and adopted by United Nations member states as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda)
The SDG agenda is a plan of action for people, the planet and prosperity; it seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. The plan recognises that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. The aim is for all countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, to implement this plan with the stated objective of freeing the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want, and to heal and secure our planet.
The SDGs seek to build on the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and complete what these did not achieve, to realise the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental. This sets the scene for action over the next 15 years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet:
The UN has highlighted the following:
People
We are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.
Planet
We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.
Prosperity
We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.
Peace
We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.
Partnership
We are determined to mobilise the means required to implement this Agenda through a revitalised Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focused in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.
The interlinkages and integrated nature of the Sustainable Development Goals are of crucial importance in ensuring that the purpose of the new Agenda is realised. If we realise our ambitions across the full extent of the Agenda, the lives of all will be profoundly improved and our world will be transformed for the better.
- Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
- Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
- Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
- Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
- Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
- Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
- Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
- Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
- Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
- Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
- Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
- Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
- Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
- Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
- Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
- Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
- Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Keep an eye on the UKAS website at www.ukas.com and that of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) at www.iaf.nu leading up to June 9th to learn how accredited conformity assessment can play its part in the successful implementation of these goals.