Boulder, Colorado – SERI (Sustainable Electronics Recycling International) is pleased to announce that as of September 1, 2015 its R2 standards development process has been accredited by ANSI, the American National Standards Institute. The accreditation is an affirmation that SERI's process is consistent with ANSI's Essential Requirements for Due Process, which constitutes the recognized benchmark for voluntary consensus standards bodies.
"SERI has always been committed to an open, transparent, consensus-based standards development process for the R2 Standard," said John Lingelbach, executive director of SERI. "Now the process has ANSI's formal stamp of approval."
The accreditation earned by SERI is especially significant because the United States government places a premium on the use of voluntary consensus standards in its procurement and regulatory activities. U.S. federal policy on the use of voluntary consensus standards is grounded on Section 12(d) of P.L. 104-113, the "National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995." The NTTAA states that (with minimal exceptions), "all Federal agencies and departments shall use technical standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies, using such technical standards as a means to carry out policy objectives or activities determined by the agencies and departments."
This policy is further codified in Circular A-119 from the White House Office of Management and Budget, which states: "All federal agencies must use voluntary consensus standards in lieu of government-unique standards in their procurement and regulatory activities, except where inconsistent with law or otherwise impractical."
More recently, Presidential Executive Order 13693 – Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade – reinforced the government's commitment in this area by emphasizing the use of "environmental performance criteria developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies."
"SERI and other voluntary consensus standards bodies are distinguished by their commitment to openness; balance of interests; due process; an appeals process; and, consensus," added Lingelbach. "ANSI accreditation confirms SERI's commitment to these principles and will clearly differentiate the R2 Standard in the marketplace."
