TAPPI has received accreditation as a developer of American national standards through the Executive Standards Council of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Accreditation by ANSI means that the procedures used by a standards body (TAPPI) in connection with the development of American National Standards meet the Institute's essential requirements. ANSI is the U.S. representative in the international standards organization known as ISO.
TAPPI President and CEO Larry N. Montague provided context for the significance of the certification. "As part of TAPPI's turnaround efforts, TAPPI sought outside validation of its long standing Standards Program... [and now] TAPPI has achieved certification of its standards program by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). This prestigious honor indicates that TAPPI's standards program meets all of the criteria established by ANSI as a developer of industry standards. The certification will allow TAPPI to submit selected standards to ANSI to become American national standards. The process which ANSI requires is guided by the Institute's cardinal principles of consensus, due process and openness and depends heavily upon data gathering and compromises among a diverse range of stakeholders. As the administrator of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to Technical Committee 6 of the International Standards Organization (ISO), TAPPI can now take better advantage of its certified standards program in its participation in developing international standards. This new certification will also help TAPPI as it continues to expand its standards development program to new markets and in areas beyond TAPPI's core of testing methods based on the needs of TAPPI's membership."