FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2002-09-09

IQSR Accredited as an Environmental Management Systems Registration Body

OTTAWA - The Standards Council of Canada has granted accreditation to International Quality System Registrars (IQSR) as an Environmental Management System (EMS) registration body, effective 2002-08-26. This accreditation is granted in accordance with the provisions of:

• CAN-P-14B (ISO/IEC Guide 66: 1999): Criteria for the Accreditation of Organizations Registering Environmental Management Systems; and
• CAN-P-1518: Conditions and Procedures for the Accreditation of Organizations Registering Environmental Management Systems.

The SCC is the Canadian member body of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and has internationally recognized credentials. The SCC's accreditation program for EMS ensures registrars have demonstrated their competence to evaluate environmental management systems, and that they have the capabilities, resources and organizational structure required to offer high-quality service to their clients.

"When an organization is registered by an SCC-accredited registrar, the registration provides its suppliers and customers with the assurance that they are committed to improving their environmental performance and profile through better management, ongoing evaluation and product-oriented enhancements," said Pat Paladino, director of conformity assessment for the Standards Council. "A properly functioning EMS ensures that an organization is aware of the environmental impact of its activities, is taking steps to manage that impact, is able to determine the effectiveness of those steps, and can continuously review and improve its procedures, products and services."

The Standards Council of Canada is a Crown corporation with the mandate to promote efficient and effective voluntary standardization, and is Canada's representative at ISO. For more information on the Standards Council's accreditation programs visit www.scc.ca, or contact the Standards Council's Conformity Assessment Branch via e mail at [email protected].

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