ISO Standards: Agreed by Experts

ISO Standards can be thought of as formulas that describe the best way of doing something, like making a product, managing a process, delivering a service or supplying materials. Standards are written by subject matter experts representing manufacturers, sellers, buyers, customers, trade associations, users or regulators, all of whom contribute their knowledge and experience.

Some of the best-known and most widely-used International Standards include:

Quality Management Standards
These are designed to help organizations work more efficiently and reduce product failures.

Environmental Management Standards
These standards help organizations reduce environmental impacts, reduce waste and become more sustainable.

Health and Safety Standards
The standards are designed to help organizations reduce accidents in the workplace.

Food Safety Standards
These standards are designed to ensure that food products comply with applicable statutory and regulatory food safety requirements.

Energy Management Standards
Energy Management Standards focus on helping organizations to reduce energy consumption.

IT Security Standards
These standards enable organizations of any kind to manage the security of assets such as financial information, intellectual property, employee details or information entrusted to third parties.

ISO 50001

Standards are developed with the idea of answering a fundamental question: "what's the best way of doing this?" The first International Standards focused on issues like weights and measures, but now cover everything from the shoes we stand in to the Wi-Fi networks that connect us.

Addressing all these and more, International Standards mean that consumers can have confidence that their products are safe, reliable and of good quality. Standards devoted to road safety, toy safety and secure medical packaging are just a few that help make the world a safer place.

Regulators and governments count on International Standards to help develop better regulation, knowing they have a sound basis thanks to the involvement of globally-established experts. For more information, take a look at ISO's Case Studies that show the benefits that International Standards can bring.

Consumers
International Standards touch everyone. From enabling you to use your bank card overseas to ensuring your child's toys don't have sharp edges, they are used everywhere. What's more, they help to improve customer satisfaction.

Small & Medium Enterprises (SME)
International Standards help businesses of any size and sector reduce costs, increase productivity and access new markets. For small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), standards can help to build customer confidence that your products are safe and reliable, to meet regulation requirements, to reduce costs across all departments, and to gain international market access.

Policy Makers
International Standards have a lot in common with the principles of better regulation. Developed through the consensus of globally established experts, standards provide a strong basis that can be applied in the development of national and international regulation.