WORLD ACCREDITATION DAY: COMPETENCE AND QUALITY FOR GROWTH
On June 9, 2025, World Accreditation Day is celebrated, promoted by IAF and ILAC to highlight the global importance of conformity assessment activities. This annual event draws attention to the strategic role of accreditation in ensuring quality, safety, and trust in markets, supporting the ecological and digital transition, and strengthening the competitiveness of Italy’s economic fabric.
This year’s edition focuses on the theme “Accreditation: Empowering Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).”
SMEs are fundamental to the global economy but often struggle to access markets and earn consumer trust. Accreditation helps overcome these challenges by guaranteeing the quality, safety, and sustainability of products, services, and processes.
According to Accredia’s 2024 Report, the national system has shown steady growth:
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2,302 accredited organizations, up from 2,196 in 2023,
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Over 241,000 system and product certifications issued by accredited bodies,
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More than 310,000 personnel certifications granted by entities accredited according to ISO/IEC 17024.
These figures portray a dynamic and growing system, where the certification of professional skills takes on a central role. In an increasingly competitive labor market focused on qualification, accredited certification represents an objective, third-party, and reliable tool to enhance knowledge and expertise.
Particularly significant in the context of sustainability are the accredited certifications of key professional figures, such as Auditors and Lead Auditors for Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001) and Energy Management Experts (EGE), according to the UNI CEI 11339 standard. The EGE, in particular, is a strategic figure supporting companies and public entities toward more efficient energy use, significantly contributing to decarbonization goals and the effective implementation of investments planned by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
The accredited certification of these professional skills makes the abilities of professionals transparent, comparable, and measurable, increasing the trust of companies, institutions, and citizens in those working along the entire ecological and energy transition supply chain.
In this scenario, RICEC, a Personnel Certification Body accredited by Accredia according to ISO/IEC 17024, continues to be a point of reference for professionals who choose to distinguish themselves through the certified quality of their competencies. Especially in the environmental and sustainability sectors, the value of certified skills becomes a concrete lever for the country’s development.
Because the future also depends on this: trust born from competence, transparency, and the rigor of an accredited system that works every day to build a more sustainable, fairer, and better-prepared economy.
RICEC: the value of competence.
