UNIDO Marks World Accreditation Day and Launches the New LabNet Tool
Vienna, 9 June 2025 — The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) commemorates World Accreditation Day under this year’s theme: Innovation, Trust and Sustainability: The Power of Accreditation, reaffirming its commitment to building robust quality infrastructure systems that underpin trade competitiveness, market access, and sustainable industrial development across the globe.
Accreditation is the backbone of credible conformity assessment, the formal recognition that laboratories, inspection bodies, and certification organizations operate according to internationally agreed standards. For developing and emerging economies, a functioning accreditation ecosystem is a gateway to global markets, a driver of consumer protection, and a pillar of industrial competitiveness.
UNIDO’s work on quality infrastructure development has demonstrated that accredited testing and certification capabilities reduce technical barriers to trade, shorten time-to-market for export-ready products, and build investor confidence. From product safety to pharmaceutical manufacturing, from sustainable manufactured goods to agro-industrial value chains, accreditation delivers measurable economic returns for countries, enterprises, and communities.
Launch of the new LabNet
On the occasion of World Accreditation Day 2026 UNIDO launches the new Laboratory network (LabNet), a free, searchable global directory of accredited Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs). LabNet addresses a critical gap: information about CABs is often fragmented across multiple sources, creating barriers for producers seeking trusted testing and certification services, and limiting the visibility of CABs beyond their immediate geographic areas. LabNet closes these gaps by making conformity assessment information transparent, accessible, and actionable for all stakeholders.
LabNet serves a diverse range of users. For producers and SMEs, it reduces search time and compliance uncertainty by providing clear, comparable information about trusted laboratories, inspection bodies, and certification services. For CABs, particularly smaller and less visible ones, it offers a global visibility platform to reach new clients and strengthen international credibility. For governments and development partners, it provides a comprehensive overview of existing conformity assessment capacity, supporting evidence-based policymaking and targeted capacity-building investments. Populated through automated data collection from National Accreditation Body websites, LabNet ensures information is reliable and up to date. It is part of UNIDO’s suite of quality infrastructure knowledge tools, alongside the QI4SD Index and the Standards Compliance Analytics (SCA), all aiming to enable evidence-based quality infrastructure development to unlock industrial and trade potentials.
The platform can be accessed here: UNIDO LabNet
UNIDO establishes collaboration with the Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated
UNIDO has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the newly established Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI), the single international body on accreditation that merged the former International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC),
The value of this partnership is already evident in UNIDO’s country-level work. In Indonesia, through the Global Quality and Standards Programme (GQSP) implemented by UNIDO and funded by Switzerland through SECO, three laboratories have been accredited by the National Accreditation Committee (KAN) as Reference Material Producers under ISO/IEC 17034, with international recognition through Global ACI. Since 2023, one of these laboratories has produced over 426 reference materials distributed to fish quarantine and quality control laboratories across the country. Three further conformity assessment bodies were accredited under ISO/IEC 17065 for the Indonesian Good Aquaculture Practices (IndoGAP) certification scheme. These results demonstrate how accreditation, underpinned by international cooperation, translates directly into safer products, more trusted supply chains, and improved market access.
World Accreditation Day 2026 is a celebration of progress and a renewed call to action. Through partnerships, tools, and commitment, every country can build the accreditation systems that open markets, protect consumers, and attract investment. UNIDO is proud to stand at the forefront of this work with the conviction that a world where every country enhances quality is a more prosperous and equitable world for all.
