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Each year on 4th March, World Engineering Day highlights the essential role of engineering in shaping a better future. The 2025 theme, ‘Engineering for a Sustainable World’, underscores how engineering solutions can address global challenges, from climate change mitigation to resource efficiency.
Sustainability is at the heart of modern engineering, driving innovation in the energy sector, construction, manufacturing, and infrastructure development. However, ensuring engineering solutions are reliable, safe, and effective requires a robust framework. This is where accreditation plays a crucial role—providing confidence that engineering practices, testing, and certification meet the highest standards for environmental responsibility and long-term sustainability.
How accreditation supports sustainable engineering
ISO/IEC 17025: supporting environmental testing
Accredited laboratories play a pivotal role in sustainability by testing materials, emissions, and environmental impact. Accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 ensures that these laboratories provide accurate, reliable results, helping industries make informed decisions about:
- Low-carbon and recycled materials
- Energy efficiency in buildings
- Pollution control and waste management
ISO/IEC 17020 and ISO 17065: ensuring energy-efficient infrastructure
Infrastructure projects must meet stringent environmental and safety regulations. Accredited inspection bodies (ISO/IEC 17020) verify compliance in key areas such as:
- Renewable energy installations (wind farms, solar panels, hydrogen infrastructure)
- Sustainable urban development
- Retrofitting buildings to improve energy performance
ISO 14001: driving environmental management
Accreditation of certification bodies for ISO 14001 ensures organisations implement and maintain effective environmental management systems. This standard helps businesses:
- Consider and manage their climate and broader environmental impacts, improve resource efficiency
- Achieve sustainability goals in line with organisational, national and global commitments
Engineering accreditation & the future of sustainability
Supporting emerging technologies
While accreditation is well-established in resource management and in support of specific aspects of the circular economy, it is still evolving in green hydrogen production, carbon capture and storage, and advanced materials engineering. Ongoing developments aim to create robust accreditation frameworks to support innovation and sustainability across these emerging sectors.
Accreditation supports the verification of recycled and repurposed materials in construction testing. This includes testing elements such as recycling of asphalt where the bitumen can be reclaimed, use of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag as a substitute for cement and the use of recycled material for aggregates. This testing ensures the recycled materials meet environmental and quality standards for reuse in various industries.
Accreditation will be a key factor in ensuring the reliability and scalability of hydrogen technologies and the development of credible green hydrogen supply chains, as captured in the International Renewable Energy Agency’s Green Hydrogen Quality Infrastructure Roadmap. The report, the development of which was supported by UKAS, was launched at COP29 in November 2024.
International standards continue to evolve to address climate goals. While ISO 50001 for energy management, ISO 14090 for climate change adaptation, and ISO 21930 for sustainability in building construction are not new, they have been updated or amended to align with contemporary sustainability objectives. Accreditation ensures that engineering firms remain compliant with these evolving standards, integrating best practices for climate resilience and sustainability while maintaining public trust in their innovations.
Accreditation: a key pillar in sustainable engineering
Accreditation is a vital enabler of sustainable engineering, ensuring that materials, infrastructure, and environmental practices meet global best practices. As the world looks to engineering for solutions to climate challenges, accredited services provide the assurance needed to drive responsible innovation.
By choosing accredited laboratories, inspection bodies, and certification services, businesses and engineers can contribute to a more sustainable future—building a world where engineering excellence and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.