The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated the International Accreditation Service (IAS) as an approved accreditation body for the EPA WaterSense Program. IAS already has accredited two certifying bodies that have met the EPA WaterSense requirements.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated the International Accreditation Service (IAS) as an approved accreditation body for the EPA WaterSense Program, which promotes the development and use of water-efficient products such as faucets and high-efficiency toilets. Under the WaterSense Program, qualifying products in general must perform 20% more efficiently than traditional counterparts.

IAS already has accredited two certifying bodies that have met the EPA WaterSense requirements and is currently accepting applications from organizations that want to participate in the WaterSense Program.

Besides being an accreditation body in the United States since 1975, IAS is a signatory to several international mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) worldwide. As an EPA partner in the WaterSense Program, IAS will assess the competence of certification bodies to certify WaterSense labeled products against the requirements set forth in:

* International Standard ISO/IEC Guide 65, General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems,

* International Accreditation Forum – Guidance on application of ISO/IEC Guide 65,

* U.S. EPA’s own requirements as defined in the WaterSense Product Certification System.

For more information about how product certification agencies can become IAS accredited to certify and label products that meet WaterSense requirements, visitwww.iasonline.org.