Established in 1926, AFNOR is an association governed by the law of 1901, consisting of nearly 2500 member companies. Its aim is to lead and coordinate the standards development process and to promote the application of those standards.
AFNOR is an international services delivery network that revolves around 4 core competency areas:
The AFNOR has the unique stance of carrying out its standardization mission as a public-benefit organization while conducting some of its business in the competitive arena.
The AFNOR's core strengths — know-how and expertise — forge a skillset exploited by over 50,000 customers in 100 countries worldwide.
Recognized by the public authorities (who entrusted the Ministry in charge of industry with the task of ensuring interministerial coordination and control functions), AFNOR is at the hub of the French standardization system. Bringing together all the major socio-economic players, AFNOR is alert to their needs and cooperates closely with the 25 standards bureaus and the other professional bodies in developing a set of standards that meet their strategic objectives.
As a service provider, AFNOR has developed a variety of deliverables - for companies in particular - which, ranging from the distribution of standards to certification, including training, helps in a practical way to integrate standards into the company's development.
AFNOR has concentrated its commercial and competitive activities within specialised subsidiaries by creating AFNOR Certification and AFNOR Compétences in the training area. The figures herewith refer to the group as a whole, which maintains strong synergy between its different activities.
International Cooperation
So as to develop and roll out its services in terms of technical assistance and development, AFNOR collaborates with ADETEF, the French cross-ministry economy, finance and sustainable development agency for international technical cooperation. Together, they largely contribute to widen the scope of international projects in the fields of metrology, standardization, accreditation and compliance assessment.