The BMTA welcomes EUROLAB Technical Report ”Guidelines for managing sustainability in Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs)”, as a timely and practical contribution for testing and calibration laboratories and wider testing/inspection/certification (TIC) organisations navigating sustainability expectations.
The report clearly articulates that sustainability for CABs must be viewed through the lens of long-term continuity: that is to say, the ability to remain economically viable while operating ethically, protecting the environment, and supporting workers and communities, rather than treating Environmental, Social responsibility and Governance (ESG) issues as a purely administrative exercise.
BMTA supports the report’s emphasis on proportionality and sector realism, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Sustainability actions should be scalable, shaped by each organisation’s individual requirements, and aligned with technical competence and business resilience. BMTA recognises the growing complexity of European sustainability reporting and the way client-driven requirements can cascade through supply chains; the Eurolab report usefully highlights the need to avoid burdens that undermine innovation, investment, and the viability of specialist CABs.
For BMTA members, the report’s achievable, methodology and very practical approach is valuable: providing guidance on environmental actions (energy, waste, travel reduction), indicative KPIs and optional use of recognised methodologies such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions scoping where possible. The report also reinforces that social sustainability (skills, safety, retention) and governance (role clarity, impartiality safeguards, risk awareness) are core to credibility and trust in conformity assessment activities.
BMTA will reflect this review within its policy framework, under sustainability and ethics, and will use it to inform member guidance and external engagement. In doing so, our position remains consistent: sustainability should strengthen quality, integrity and confidence in testing and measurement, without becoming a box-ticking substitute for real performance, competence and accountability.
