DAkkS and ASI agree on partnership

The German National Accreditation Body (Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle, DAkkS) and Assurance Services International (ASI), formerly Accreditation Services International, have signed an agreement to ensure future cooperation in Germany.

ASI has been a global player with leading environmental and sustainability standards since 2006, including the well-known Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

The agreement paves the way towards direct information exchange and collaboration between ASI and DAkkS, as well as a two-tier accreditation and integrity system for voluntary sustainability standards.

"The partnership is a great opportunity for both sides. For DAkkS, it forms the basis for further establishing accreditation as a central component of the German quality infrastructure, including the increasingly important field of sustainability. The cooperation with ASI is ideal because their team has a high level of competence and experience in this area," says Dr.-Ing. Stephan Finke, Managing Director of DAkkS.

ASI Managing Director Guntars Lagūns emphasizes: "A new chapter is beginning for ASI. We want to avoid confusion with the statutory accreditation functions of DAkkS. For this reason, among others, we have introduced our new name, Assurance Services International, highlighting our role in sustainability worldwide. However, our services remain essentially the same: independent verification, forensics, global supply chain traceability audits, stakeholder engagement, and investigation of reported incidents."