Accreditation: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)
Accreditation (French: accréditation) is the formal recognition, by a national accreditation body, that a conformity assessment body such as a certification body is competent and impartial. For management system certification, including ISO 53001, it rests on ISO/IEC 17021-1; in France, the national accreditation body is COFRAC.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
Accreditation concerns the certification body, never the audited organisation. The accreditation body witnesses audits in the field, reviews certification files, assesses auditor competence and examines the safeguards that protect impartiality. An organisation being audited against ISO/UNDP 53001 is not asked to show anything about accreditation itself.
Each accreditation covers a defined scope, standard by standard. A certification body can hold it for one management system standard and not for another, so the relevant question when choosing a body is whether ISO 53001 sits inside that scope. The accreditation page explains where Gardiant stands, and the page on ISO 53001 certification places the notion within the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
Accreditation and the certification cycle
Accreditation does not change the stages of the certification cycle: stage 1, stage 2, decision, surveillance and recertification run in the same way. What it adds is an outside check on the certifier itself. Gardiant Certification is preparing its application for COFRAC accreditation and is not yet accredited.
See also
- Certification body: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A certification body (French: *organisme certificateur*) is an independent entity that audits an organisation's management system and decides, on the basis of the results, whether to grant, maintain or withdraw a certificate.
- Third-party certification: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)Third-party certification (French: *certification par tierce partie*) is an attestation, by a body independent of both the audited organisation and its customers, that a management system meets the requirements of a standard.
- Impartiality: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)Impartiality (French: *impartialité*) means that a certification body assesses and decides objectively, without its judgements being swayed by commercial, financial or personal interests.
- ISO 53001 certification: what it proves and how it is issued (ISO/UNDP 53001)ISO 53001 certification confirms, after an audit by an independent body, that an organisation's management system meets the standard's requirements for managing its contribution to the SDGs.