Many Vietnamese businesses have obtained “ISO certification”, yet when working with foreign partners their dossiers are still not recognised.
The reason: the certificate does not carry the global accreditation mark (IAF).
What is IAF?IAF – the International Accreditation Forum is the global forum of accreditation bodies for conformity assessment (ISO certification).
An ISO certificate only has international value when:
It is issued by a Certification Body (CB),
And that body’s competence is accredited by an Accreditation Body (AB) that is a member of IAF.
In other words:
ISO with the IAF mark = recognised globally in more than 100 countries, ISO without the IAF mark = valid only internally, not recognised in international cooperation.
Benefits of IAF-marked ISO certification for businesses:
Accepted globally – No need for re-assessment when working with international customers, especially in exports, EPC tenders and FDI supply chains. Greater credibility & ESG score – Demonstrates transparent governance and compliance with international standards. Cost optimisation – shorter appraisal processes – Partners and banks can accept IAF certification directly without requiring a re-audit. Listed on the international lookup system (IAF CertSearch) – transparent and verifiable.
Case study: Sông Đà 5 and its journey to 3 globally recognised ISO certificatesRecently, VietESG supported Sông Đà 5 Joint Stock Company in successfully implementing 3 ISO systems:
ISO 9001:2015 (Quality),
ISO 14001:2015 (Environment),
ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational health & safety).
All were certified by an international certification body bearing the IAF accreditation mark — recognised globally.
This is an important step that helps Sông Đà 5 raise its governance standards – affirm its capabilities to international partners – and increase its ESG score in green supply chains.
VietESG – Bringing Vietnamese businesses up to global standardsVietESG is a pioneer in supporting Vietnamese businesses with:
Consulting, training and implementation of IAF-accredited international ISO systems.
Integrating ISO – ESG – Net Zero – Sustainability reporting.
Support in connecting directly with globally accredited certification bodies (IAF/UKAS/IAS/DAkkS).
“International certification – Global accreditation mark – Elevating Vietnamese businesses.”
Contact: hotline: 0977064965quynhhoa@vietesg.com | www.vietesg.vn
www.vietesg.vn
