Environmental • 6 mins read
Celebrating Earth Day 2025: Our Action, Our Planet
As we celebrate Earth Day 2025, this year’s theme – “Our Action, Our Planet” – calls on us to accelerate the safe and efficient transition to renewable energy. Ensuring the quality, safety and reliability of clean energy technologies is crucial in achieving this goal. Accreditation plays a key role by providing confidence in the testing, certification and inspection of renewable energy systems, ensuring they meet the necessary standards for efficiency, reliability and environmental sustainability.
Renewable energy performance testing, verification and installation inspection
UKAS accredits testing of environmental performance and environmental efficiency, which is essential for evaluating renewable energy technologies. This testing, examples of which include wave and tidal machines and wind turbines, helps determine the performance of devices used in the harnessing and monitoring of both traditional and renewable energies. It is particularly important in ensuring that new technologies, such as tidal, wind, and solar energy, meet industry standards and operate effectively in real-world conditions.
Testing and inspection of renewable energy installations
Maintaining efficiency and safety in renewable energy installations requires rigorous testing and inspection. UKAS accredits testing and inspection bodies that evaluate the performance and durability of renewable energy technologies, ensuring they meet strict regulatory and industry standards.
A key example is the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, which has been UKAS-accredited since 2005. EMEC conducts open-sea testing for wave and tidal energy converters, providing independently verified performance assessments that help bring reliable marine energy solutions to market.
UKAS also accredits inspection bodies that provide services to wind turbine installations, which play a crucial role in ensuring the safety, reliability, and operational efficiency of wind energy infrastructure. Accredited inspections cover:
- Structural integrity assessments to verify turbine stability and resistance to environmental conditions.
- Blade and component testing to detect wear, cracks, and defects that could compromise performance.
- Electrical and mechanical inspections to ensure turbines are functioning safely and efficiently.
- Environmental impact assessments to ensure compliance with sustainability regulations and best practices.
By providing confidence in the quality and performance of renewable energy installations, accredited testing and inspection services help accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies and support the transition to a Clean Power future.
UKAS also assesses quality assurance schemes that certify small-scale renewable energy technologies, such as solar panels and wind turbines. UKAS accredits certification bodies under this type of scheme, ensuring that both installers and products meet high industry standards. This accreditation enhances consumer confidence, promotes best practice, and supports the widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies—contributing to the Earth Day goal of increasing reliance on clean energy sources.
Accredited certification supporting renewable energy
Accredited certification plays a critical role in supporting the renewable energy sector by ensuring that organisations implement and maintain robust management systems that drive sustainability, efficiency, and environmental responsibility. UKAS accredits certification bodies to assess compliance with internationally recognised standards, providing confidence that businesses operate to the highest quality benchmarks. This ensures that organisations engaged in renewable energy and environmental sustainability can demonstrate their commitment to responsible energy use, emissions reduction, and long-term environmental stewardship.
Key examples include:
Energy Management Systems (ISO 50001)
UKAS accredits conformity assessment bodies that certify against ISO 50001, the international standard for energy management systems. Accredited certification provides a structured framework for organisations to monitor, control, and continuously improve their energy usage. By achieving ISO 50001 certification, businesses can enhance energy efficiency, lower operational costs, and reduce their carbon footprint—supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Accredited certification ensures that energy management systems are rigorously evaluated by competent and impartial bodies, increasing trust in their effectiveness. Unlike non-accredited certification, which may lack oversight and consistency, accreditation guarantees compliance with internationally recognised standards, reinforcing accountability and delivering tangible energy savings.
Beyond individual business benefits, ISO 50001 certification encourages widespread energy-efficient practices, helping industries, governments, and communities collectively reduce reliance on fossil fuels. This aligns with Earth Day’s mission to take meaningful action for the planet by prioritising responsible energy use and supporting the integration of renewable energy sources.
Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001)
Effective environmental management is crucial in the renewable energy sector. UKAS provides accreditation for certification bodies assessing organisations against ISO 14001, the standard for environmental management systems. [5] Accredited certification ensures that organisations systematically manage their environmental responsibilities, reducing waste, minimising pollution, and improving overall environmental performance.
Accredited ISO 14001 certification helps organisations build trust with stakeholders, investors, and the public by demonstrating their commitment to environmentally-sound operations. By embedding environmentally conscious practices into their business models, certified organisations contribute to a cleaner and greener planet. The standard also supports companies working in renewable energy by ensuring they operate responsibly, comply with regulatory requirements, and continuously improve their environmental impact.
UKAS’s role in shaping the future of clean energy
UKAS is actively engaged in a wide range of projects – supporting future policy development, as well as industry-driven action on clean, renewable energy. Examples include UKAS’s collaboration with UK government on the design and roll out of the UK’s low-carbon hydrogen (H2) approach; work on heat networks and energy smart appliances; and more broadly, involvement in the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the proposed scope extensions to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which accreditation has supported since its inception.
To inform such effort, UKAS representatives sit on key task forces, including the H2 Delivery Council’s Certification Working Group and the Net Zero Government Regulators Forum. Participation in such direction-setting groups ensures that accreditation is recognised as a critical governance tool and a credibility mechanism within policy frameworks and initiatives that enable the shift to a sustainable economy powered by clean energy.
These strategic engagements position UKAS at the heart of renewable energy innovation, ensuring that future energy solutions are underpinned by rigorous standards and accredited assurance approaches that deliver confidence, reliability, and sustainability.
Our commitment to a sustainable future
UKAS is committed to supporting the renewable energy sector through robust accreditation. By creating confidence in the quality, safety, and environmental credentials of products, services, actions and claims, accreditation enables the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable world.