Today, there are more products and services available than ever before. This means the need for consumer protection has never been greater. Consumers can be protected by certification, inspection and testing of products and by manufacturing under certified quality systems. 

Consumers need confidence in the certification, inspection and testing work carried out on their behalf, but which they cannot check for themselves. This checking is the job of accreditation bodies. Accreditation delivers confidence in certificates and reports by implementing widely accepted criteria set by the European (CEN) or international (ISO) standardization bodies. The standards address issues such as impartiality, competence and reliability; leading to confidence in the comparability of certificates and reports across national borders.