ISO/IEC 17025 with other accreditation standards of the ISO 17000 series (and unlike most ISO standards for management systems), third party auditing ("assessment") of the laboratory is normally carried out by the national organization responsible for accreditation. Laboratories are therefore "accredited" under ISO/IEC 17025, rather than "certified" or "registered" (c.f. ISO 9000 series). In short, "accreditation" differs from "certification" by adding the concept of a third party (Accreditation Body (AB)) attesting to technical competence within a laboratory in addition to its adherence and operation under a documented quality system, specific to a Scope of Accreditation. In order for accreditation bodies to recognize
ISO 14000 processes, and resources for developing, implementing, achieving, and maintaining the environmental policy." The ISO 14000 family includes most notably the ISO 14001 standard, which represents the core set of standards used by organizations for designing and implementing an effective environmental management system (EMS). Other standards in this series include ISO 14004, which gives additional guidelines for a good EMS, and more specialized standards dealing with specific aspects of environmental management. The major objective of the ISO 14000 series of norms is to provide "practical tools for companies and organizations of all kinds looking to manage their environmental responsibilities." The ISO