In RP1 the collection of infectious material increased by 10% with 66% of strains at high quality grades. 11 EVA-G partners added 36 SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the original strains isolated in Europe. These were distributed >500 times to end-users from academia and industry, making EVA-G the central hub for the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 reference material for the international research community to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic. The consortium’s derived product production platforms responded to the demand for development of non-infectious material, enriching the EVA-G catalogue and strengthening the response to SARS-CoV-2 emergence. The collection of derived material is made of 1 107 items, including 104 derived products added in RP1. Overall, EVA-G partners added diagnostic material to the online catalogue within 15 days after the announcement of the discovery of the new SARS-CoV-2 virus. Within the first 3 months of the pandemic, EVA-G distributed more than 2 600 products in 114 countries. 4 385 accesses were sponsored by the EC in 18 months, 4 190 of which were related to SARS-CoV-2. The consortium was able to develop and distribute within weeks more than 200 000 SARS-CoV-2 detection assays, serving as reference for health agencies, and surrogate detection kits for countries lacking access to commercial tests. Throughout RP2, new SARS-CoV2 variants were added, now constituting one of the largest collections in the world. The number and quality of available strains further increased. Partners established and provided state-of-the-art reverse genetics systems to study RG4 virus replication and gene expression. Non-infectious life cycle modelling systems, not requiring BSL-4 conditions, meet the needs of researchers who do not have access to such facilities. Partners also contributed to enhanced preparedness and response to Covid-19, Ebola and Marburg virus disease outbreaks by developing and deploying field applicable sequencing units to Sub-Saharan Africa. Partners involved in uncultivable viruses worked on the identification, sequencing, and isolation of viruses to make them available for research. A broad spectrum of validated reference material covering many other virus families was added to the catalogue. In July 2022, a Monkeypox virus outbreak was declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, by WHO, and EVA-G partners distributed 233 products to 47 countries worldwide. Plant viruses were added to the catalogue, with the first 50 Trans-National Accesses milestone achieved in RP2. New end-users from the industrial field now represent more than 35% of our orders and 13 companies are members of our Industrial Platform. EVA-G established a set of quality guidelines and offered support through workshops, the development of a self-assessment tool for the EVA-G partners’ Quality Systems (for ISO17034:2016 compliance and the ISO20387:2018 biobanking Standard) and proficiency testing in individual laboratories. The implementation of the Nagoya Protocol compliance strategy exceeded the initial goals with 93% of the items in the EVA-G catalogue now having information on country of origin and date of collection. EVA-G members have been engaging with several key science-policy fora to give advice on issues such as the importance of biobanking during public health emergencies or the use and policy implications of digital sequence information in the Convention on BioDiversity/Nagoya Protocol negotiations. Finally, informative material (such as an introductory video) and a ‘help desk’ to foster compliance, has been made available to EVA-G partners to facilitate this task. In conclusion, EVA-G has proven to be a main actor for the distribution of reference material in response to pandemics. Despite unforeseen circumstances, the consortium initiated tasks with major achievements contributing to the improvement of the collection and its distribution worldwide.