ISO has just published a new edition of ISO in brief, a four-page flyer for busy people providing a concise introduction to ISO International Standards and the benefits they provide for business, government and society.
“ISO standards make a positive contribution to the world we live in,” the flyer states. “They ensure vital features such as quality, ecology, safety, economy, reliability, compatibility, interoperability, efficiency and effectiveness. They facilitate trade, spread knowledge, and share technological advances and good management practices.”
ISO has a current portfolio of over 18 600 standards that provide practical solutions and achieve benefits for almost every sector of business, industry and technology including agriculture, construction, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, distribution, transport, healthcare, information and communication technologies, food, water, the environment, energy, quality management, conformity assessment and services. They make up a complete offering for all three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, environmental and societal.
The flyer presents the ISO standardization system comprising the national standards institutes of some 160 countries, nearly 3 280 technical groups, 50 000 experts who participate directly in developing standards, with input from another 300 000.
The system also benefits from partnerships with over 700 international and regional organizations, including the International Electrotechnical Commission, the International Telecommunication Union, the World Trade Organization, and the United Nations system and its specialized agencies and commissions, particularly those involved in the harmonization of regulations and public policies.
New ISO standards published in recent years or under development address challenges as varied as social responsibility, information and societal security, response to climate change, energy efficiency and renewable resources, sustainable building design and operation, fair and transparent contract procurement, water services, nanotechnologies, intelligent transport systems, food safety management, and health informatics.
In the next few years, ISO will be able to offer new standards addressing a wide range of issues such as the carbon footprint of products, asset management, energy savings, human resource management, natural gas fuelling stations for vehicles, outsourcing, the safety of amusement park attractions, and biogas.
ISO in brief, published in English and French, is available free of charge from the ISO Central Secretariat through the ISO Store or by contacting the Marketing, Communication & Information department. It can also be obtained from ISO national member institutes (see the complete list with contact details). The brochure can also be – downloaded as a PDF file free of charge from the ISO Website.
A four-page introduction to the ISO standardization system, the ISO system's output, ISO's partners and ISO's path forward.
