The Second Regional Workshop on Achieving Internationally Recognized ISO 14000 Accreditation Systems was implemented in Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. March 1-4, 1999. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership�s Clean Technology and Environmental Management Program (US-AEP/CTEM) and the Chinese National Accreditation Board (CNAB). It was attended by representatives of accreditation bodies from nine US-AEP partner economies: India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan R.O.C., Thailand, and Vietnam.

The workshop is the second in a series of events focused on assisting accreditation bodies to achieve internationally recognized national accreditation systems for environmental management systems (ISO 14001). The ISO 14001 EMS standard provides a common platform for industries throughout the world to engage in sound and sustainable environmental management practices. The establishment of internationally recognized accreditation systems will provide an institutional framework for EMS certifications to be recognized across national boundaries, contributing to the maintenance of high environmental management standards and facilitating trade.

An initial workshop was held in June 1998 in San Francisco, which established a common understanding of issues and requirements for international recognition; provided a forum for the review and discussion of issues and problems facing accreditation bodies in achieving international recognition; and formulated a joint Action Plan that will chart a course to achieve international recognition, with US-AEP support. The Action Plan identified a six-stage process for achieving international recognition of national ISO 14001 accreditation systems.

The Second Workshop in Taipei was held to: (i) clarify and discuss the status of international recognition process as it has evolved since the June 1998 workshop; (ii) present, discuss and refine individual action plans to achieve international recognition; and (iii) develop an agreed plan of activities for mutual assistance and support by US-AEP/CTEM. Prior to the Second Workshop, delegates were provided with a Preparatory Document, designed to assist in the drafting of the individual action plans.

The workshop included presentations and in-depth discussions with international guest speakers, including Mr. John Donaldson, Vice President for Conformity Assessment, American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and Chairman, Conformity Assessment Committee (CASCO) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO); Mr. Michael Ross, President, EMS, U.S. Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB); Dr. Young Ku, Professor of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology; and Mr. Klaus Ziegler, SGS International Certification Services, Taiwan, R.O.C.

The Workshop�s review of the current status of the international recognition process for EMS through the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) determined that the system for achieving IAF Multilateral Agreements (MLA) for EMS would likely not be in place until November 2000. In the meantime, accreditation bodies can proceed to achieve recognition of their systems for Quality Management Systems (QMS) under the ISO 9001 process, upon with the EMS system will be based.

Presentation of the individual action plans revealed the various stages of development in IAF membership and achieving international recognition for QMS accreditation schemes, as well as progress related to laying the groundwork for eventually achieving the MLA for EMS. The partner economies were divided into three major categories of development: (i) members of IAF who have achieved a QMS/MLA (Malaysia and Singapore); (ii) members of IAF who have not yet achieved an MLA (Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan R.O.C., Thailand); and (iii) not-yet members of IAF (India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam). Within these major groupings, individual stages of advancement determined the projected milestones and schedules of activities for each individual action plan.

During the presentations, a number of issues were raised and possible solutions discussed. These issues can be summarized as: verification of documentation for IAF membership; developing an organizational structure that meets requirements of ISO�s Conformity Assessment Committee (ISO/CASCO), with particular emphasis on independence and impartiality; training and maintaining experience of accreditation assessors; interpretation and translation of ISO/IEC Guides and IAF guidance documents; identification of competent internal auditors; the need to maintain continuity in representation at IAF meetings; and timing, personnel and organizational constraints to achieving the UNIDO model for Pre-Peer Evaluations. It was agreed that accreditation bodies should not play an active role in the promotion of demand for ISO 14001 certifications, in view of the potential conflicts of interest that may arise.

In response to the issues raised, a number of planned and recommended activities were identified: (i) establishment of a regionally based electronics communications forum, to facilitate mutual assistance and information exchange; (ii) carry out limited pre-peer assessments in three economies: Korea, Taiwan, R.O.C. and India, in January 2000. These would involve a rapid review of the accreditation system and recommended measures to rectify deficiencies prior to the application for a full peer review and signing of an MLA. The pre-peer assessments would be undertaken by Mr. Michael Ross of ANSI/RAB and Mr. Chin Miew Lim of DSM/Malaysia, with observers from the partner economies, so as to expand the benefit of the assessments and as a mentoring exercise; (iii) plan an accreditation assessor training course; (iv) pursue various intra-regional programs and initiatives, which include such recommended activities, as: design and implementation of joint training programs, sharing representation at international meetings through "pairing" arrangements, and use of electronic fora for information exchange; and (v) explore the possibility of a third workshop, following the pre-peer assessments in the first quarter 2000.

US-AEP/CTEM conducted an ISO 14001 workshop in San Francisco, California, from June 14-21, designed to help US-AEP�s cooperating countries and territories establish internationally recognized accreditation systems for ISO 14001.

In addition to attending the workshop, representatives from accreditation bodies in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand participated in meetings of the International Standards Organization�s (ISO) Technical Committee 207, which was created to establish standards for environmental management tools and systems.

Workshop sessions were conducted by ISO 14000 experts from the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to TC 207, Global Environment & Technology Fund (GETF), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Registrar Accreditation Board, and ISO Task Force for Developing Countries (DEVCO).

Based on the needs expressed by the Asian participants, an Action Plan was developed that leads the accreditation bodies through a time-phased process and culminates with international recognition of their accreditation system. This plan designates a six-stage path for each accreditation body, beginning with efforts to establish conformity with ISO/IEC Guide 61 (the current guide for conformity assessment for quality management); assessment of local conditions and demand for certification and accreditation; and development of preliminary timetables for self-assessment and "friendly" audits with regional colleagues and international experts to address nonconformity.

Progress will be reviewed at a second, regionally based workshop supported by US-AEP in late 1998-early 1999. Through these activities, US-AEP�s cooperating countries and territories will move toward accreditation for their environmental management systems in tandem with the industrialized countries.

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