Non-commercial organisation · since 2022

Eurasian Association for Sustainability and Security

A platform for professional dialogue between industry communities, expert bodies and certification organisations across the Eurasian region.

Purpose

One framework of requirements instead of fragmented practice

Dozens of certification and expert organisations operate across the Eurasian region, each with its own assessment criteria. A result obtained in one country is often not accepted in another, and the organisation goes through the same audit again.

The Association was created to address this at the level of rules. The decision was not taken on impulse: the idea of an industry body for the Eurasian region had been discussed for years — at professional forums, within industry unions, among certification bodies and expert organisations. By 2022 it was clear that the discussion had to take institutional form.

Requirements are developed collegially, accreditation is carried out by an independent body, and decisions taken are published openly. The Association provides no certification or consultancy services — it rests on the trust of its participants, not on the volume of documents issued.

Areas of activity

Five objectives, bound into one cycle

The objectives of the Association form a single cycle: requirements → independent assessment of conformity with them → competence of assessors → recognition of the result → the expert base that feeds the next turn.

01
Development of requirements
Industry standards and assessment schemes are developed by the Technical Committee and adopted by a vote of its members. The Association takes part in the review of draft international documents on management systems.
02
Independent accreditation
Certification bodies are accredited against ISO/IEC 17021-1 by the Eurasian Accreditation Committee — a separate legal entity to which the Association has delegated these powers.
03
Competence of specialists
The Attestation Committee sets the training criteria for auditors, experts and industry specialists, recognises training organisations and monitors attestation outcomes.
04
Mutual recognition
Agreements with industry unions and associations establish the acceptance of assessment results beyond a single jurisdiction. Accredited and attested entities are published in the EAACR register.
05
Expert and research base
Expert councils on logistics security, food safety and information security provide industry depth. The research and practice centre carries out applied work at the intersection of security disciplines.
Leadership

Who answers for the work of the Association

The Chairman of the Association is responsible for the substance of its work; the Council of the Association for governance and statutory decisions. The development of requirements and assessment remain with the specialist bodies.

Chairman of the Association
Alexander Nikitich
Никитич Александр Леонидович

Management systems auditor with twenty years of practice. Head of DQS Belarus. Scientific supervisor of the Research and Practice Centre for Corporate Security Studies.

Management systems auditing 20 years
Principal position DQS Belarus
Scientific supervision Centre for Corporate
Security Studies
Chair of the Council
Marina Kondral
Кондраль Марина Васильевна

Chairs the Council of the Association — the collegial body that takes statutory decisions, approves the rules of procedure of the committees and the composition of the expert councils.

Body Council of the Association
Area of responsibility Statutory decisions,
rules of procedure
Decision-making Collegial
100+
specialists take part in the work of the standing committees and expert councils — auditors, industry experts, representatives of certification organisations and industry unions. Decisions on requirements are taken by their vote, not by the administration of the Association.
History

From an idea to a working system

Before 2022
Years of discussion
The idea of an industry body for the Eurasian region was discussed at various levels — at professional forums, within industry unions, between certification bodies and expert organisations. One point recurred throughout: without a common framework of requirements, assessment results remain incomparable.
2022
Establishment of the Association
The Association was established as a non-commercial organisation by two legal entities, its permanent members. The statutes and the regulation on structure and types of membership were adopted.
20••
Standing committees formed
The Technical Committee for standardization and the Attestation Committee began work. Their rules of procedure and the voting arrangements for decisions were approved.
20••
First assessment schemes adopted
Four certification schemes in food safety and logistics security were approved — the first documents developed by the Association in its own right.
20••
Accreditation powers delegated to EAAC
The Eurasian Accreditation Committee was established as a separate legal entity, taking over the accreditation of certification bodies and the maintenance of the public register.
20••
EAACR public register launched
Records of accredited bodies, certified organisations, attested personnel and recognised training organisations became openly available.
20••
One hundred signatories to the Initiative
The number of organisations that had joined the Sustainability and Security Assessment Initiative passed one hundred. More than ten agreements with industry unions and associations were concluded.
Recognition

Recognition rests on agreements, not declarations

The Association does not declare its documents recognised — recognition arises where an industry body formally accepts the results of assessment obtained under the Association's schemes.

Each such agreement records something specific: which schemes are accepted, in what field and on what terms. A company joining the Initiative is the reciprocal step: the organisation publicly accepts the principles of sound assessment practice.

10+
Agreements with industry
unions and associations
100+
Companies have signed
the EAASS Initiative
Industry unions and associations
Acceptance of assessment results in their field
Agreements
Certification bodies
Accreditation and surveillance through EAAC
Accreditation
Training organisations
Recognition of specialist training programmes
Recognition
Signatory companies
Acceptance of the principles of the Initiative
Initiative
How the Association is organised
Structure
Three standing committees, three expert councils and a research and practice centre. Each body has its own rules of procedure, membership and area of responsibility within a single framework of requirements.
Structure
Who belongs to the Association
Membership
Permanent members are the founders of the Association. Associate members are industry associations, expert bodies and certification organisations that have accepted the statutes and the membership regulation.
Membership terms