June 9th is celebrated as World Accreditation Day (WAD 2026), an international initiative aimed at highlighting accreditation’s role as a trust-building tool in markets and society. Under the theme 'Innovation, trust, and sustainability: the power of accreditation,' the 2026 edition focuses on accreditation ‘s value in addressing the challenges of an ever-changing environment.

This edition also has a special meaning for Spain, as in 2026, it will mark 40 years since accreditation started in our country - four decades in which accreditation has contributed to developing safer, more competitive, and reliable markets.

The power of accreditation

On this special day, the international organization of accreditors Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI) highlights how, in an environment marked by rapid technological change, complex global supply chains, and growing environmental and social challenges, trust in products and services is essential for markets to function properly and to boost the competitiveness of organizations.

Accreditation provides that trust through independently assessing laboratories, certification bodies, inspection bodies, and validation and inspection organizations against internationally recognized standards. This way, governments, regulators, companies, and consumers can trust the certificates, reports, and statements issued by accredited bodes.

In this context, Global ACI points out that accreditation contributes to:

Strengthening trust in products, systems, and services through an independent mechanism that shows the competence and reliability of conformity assessment activities.

Driving innovation by providing a reliable framework that makes it easier to safely bring in new technologies and encourages best practices.

Sustainability through rigorous and consistent processes that meet environmental and social demands.

A new international framework for accreditation

This year's edition also coincides with the launch of Global ACI, the new international organization that brings together under a single international structure the activities previously carried out by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). It started operating on January 1, 2026, keeping the agreements, procedures, and international recognition mechanisms that supported global trust in accreditation for decades.

Through international agreements, the signatory accreditation bodies recognize each other's assessments as equivalent, thereby promoting the international acceptance of accredited conformity assessment results. This helps reduce technical barriers to trade, avoids duplicate assessments in destination countries, and makes it easier for products and services to access international markets.

With all this, World Accreditation Day 2026 highlights not only accreditation’s value as a tool for trust, competitiveness, and sustainability, but also a new stage in international cooperation in accreditation.

For the occasion of this edition, Global ACI has also prepared an information brochure and several videos to convey WAD2026’s international message and delve into accreditation’s role in driving innovation, strengthening trust, and contributing to sustainability. The document can be viewed in full through the following link.

 

For further information about WAD 2026 on the Global ACI page

 

40 years serving Spanish society

Also, since this year marks the 40th anniversary of accreditation in Spain and of ENAC, a journey that has helped strengthen quality infrastructure and build trust in many activity areas, ENAC will carry out various actions and initiatives throughout the year to highlight the evolving accreditation system in Spain, its main milestones, and its contribution to economic and social development.