Standards
What is a standard?
A standard is a document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics
that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for
their purpose. We published over 19 500 International Standards that can be purchased from the
ISO store or from our members.
What are the benefits of ISO International Standards?
ISO International Standards ensure that products and services are safe, reliable and of good
quality. For business, they are strategic tools that reduce costs by minimizing waste and errors,
and increasing productivity. They help companies to access new markets, level the playing field
for developing countries and facilitate free and fair global trade.
Benefits of International Standards
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International Standards bring technological, economic and societal benefits. They help to
harmonize technical specifications of products and services making industry more efficient and
breaking down barriers to international trade. Conformity to International Standards helps
reassure consumers that products are safe, efficient and good for the environment.
Benefits of standards: the ISO Materials
ISO has developed materials describing the economic and social benefits of standards, the ISO
Materials. They are intended to be shared with decision makers and stakeholders as concrete
examples of the value of standards.
Facts and figures about the benefits of standards
The repository of studies on economic and social benefits of standards provides an insight of the
approaches and results of the studies untertaken by different authors, such as national and
international standards bodies, research institutes, universities and other international agencies.
For business
International Standards are strategic tools and guidelines to help companies tackle some of the
most demanding challenges of modern business. They ensure that business operations are as
efficient as possible, increase productivity and help companies access new markets.
Benefits include:
Cost savings - International Standards help optimise operations and therefore improve
the bottom line
Enhanced customer satisfaction - International Standards help improve quality,
enhance customer satisfaction and increase sales
Access to new markets - International Standards help prevent trade barriers and open up
global markets
Increased market share - International Standards help increase productivity and
competitive advantage
Environmental benefits - International Standards help reduce negative impacts on the
environment
For Society
ISO has over 19 500 standards touching almost all aspects of daily life.
When products and services conform to International Standards consumers can have
confidence that they are safe, reliable and of good quality. For example, ISO's standards
on road safety, toy safety and secure medical packaging are just a selection of those that
help make the world a safer place.
To make sure that the benefits of ISO International Standards are as broad as possible,
ISO supports the involvement of consumers in standard development work with its
Committee on consumer policy (COPOLCO).
International Standards on air, water and soil quality, on emissions of gases and radiation
and environmental aspects of products contribute to efforts to preserve the environment
and the health of citizens.
For Government
ISO standards draw on international expertise and experience and are therefore a vital resource
for governments when developing public policy.
National governments can use ISO standards to support public policy, for example, by referncing
ISO standards in regulations. This has a number of benefits, including:
Expert opinion - ISO standards are developed by experts. By integrating an ISO
standard into national regulation, governments can benefit from the opinion of experts
without having to call on their services directly.
Opening up world trade - ISO standards are international and adopted by many
governments. By integrating ISO standards into national regulation, governments help to
ensure that requirements for imports and exports are the same the world over, therefore
facilitating the movement of goods, services and technologies from country to country.
For more information on the advantages and benefits of using ISO standards to support public
policy initiatives, see www.iso.org/policy, or download our brochure Using ISO and IEC
standards to support public policy. (An PUB100359.pdfexecutive summary is also available).
ISO also has an online platform for policy makers related to how to use conformity assessment
standards in regulations. Combining theory and practice, it also offers concrete examples of
referencing such standards in regulation. See www.iso.org/cascoregulators.
Certification...
Certification can be a useful tool to add credibility, by demonstrating that your product or service
meets the expectations of your customers. For some industries, certification is a legal or
contractual requirement.
ISO does not perform certification.
At ISO, we develop International Standards, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, but we are not
involved in their certification, and do not issue certificates. This is performed by external
certification bodies, thus a company or organization cannot be certified by ISO.
However ISO's Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) has produced a number of
standards related to the certification process, which are used by certification bodies. Read more
about CASCO Standards.
Choosing a certification body
When choosing a certification body, you should:
Evaluate several certification bodies.
Check if the certification body uses the relevant CASCO standard
Check if it is accredited. Accreditation is not compulsory, and non-accreditation does not
necessarily mean it is not reputable, but it does provide independent confirmation of
competence. To find an accredited certification body, contact the national accreditation body in
your country or visit the International Accreditation Forum.
Displaying your certificate
Remember, when labelling a product or system as certified to an ISO standard:
Don't say: "ISO certified" or "ISO certification"
DO say: "ISO 9001:2008 certified" or "ISO 9001:2008 certification" (for example).
Can I use the ISO logo?
The ISO logo is a registered trademark and cannot be used by anyone outside of ISO, unless
authorised.
If you wish to use a logo to demonstrate certification, contact the certification body that issued
the certificate.
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Management system standards
ISO management system standards provide a model to follow when setting up and operating a
management system. Like all our standards, they are the result of international, expert consensus
and therefore offer the benefit of global management experience and good practice.
These standards can be applied to any organisation, large or small, whatever the product or
service and regardless of the sector of activity.
The benefits of an effective management system include:
more efficient use of resources
improved risk management, and
increased customer satisfaction as services and products consistently deliver what they promise.
Audits
Audits are a vital part of the management system approach as they enable the company or
organization to check how far their achievements meet their objectives and show conformity to
the standard.
In order to help the auditing related to these standards, ISO has released ISO 19011:2011
providing specific guidance on internal and external management system audits.
How does ISO develop standards?
An ISO standard is developed by a panel of experts, within a technical committee. Once the
need for a standard has been established, these experts meet to discuss and negotiate a draft
standard. As soon as a draft has been developed it is shared with ISO’s members who are asked
to comment and vote on it. If a consensus is reached the draft becomes an ISO standard, if not it
goes back to the technical committee for further edits. Click on the diagram below for further
details.
Key principles in standard development
1. ISO standards respond to a need in the market
ISO does not decide when to develop a new standard. Instead, ISO responds to a request from
industry or other stakeholders such as consumer groups. Typically, an industry sector or group
communicates the need for a standard to its national member who then contacts ISO. Contact
details for national members can be found in the list of members.
ISO members
We are a network of national standards bodies. Our members are the foremost standards
organizations in their countries and there is only one member per country. Each member
represents ISO in its country. Individuals or companies cannot become ISO members. Please
see the list below for information about the ISO member in your country.
There are three member categories. Each enjoys a different level of access and influence over the
ISO system. This helps us to be inclusive while also recognizing the different needs and capacity
of each national standards body.
Full members (or member bodies) influence ISO standards development and strategy by
participating and voting in ISO technical and policy meetings. Full members sell and
adopt ISO International Standards nationally.
Correspondent members observe the development of ISO standards and strategy by
attending ISO technical and policy meetings as observers. Correspondent members can
sell and adopt ISO International Standards nationally.
Subscriber members keep up to date on ISO’s work but cannot participate in it. They do
not sell or adopt ISO International Standards nationally.
2. ISO standards are based on global expert opinion
ISO standards are developed by groups of experts from all over the world, that are part of larger
groups called technical committees. These experts negotiate all aspects of the standard, including
its scope, key definitions and content. Details can be found in the list of technical committees.
3. ISO standards are developed through a multi-stakeholder process
The technical committees are made up of experts from the relevant industry, but also from
consumer associations, academia, NGOs and government. Read more about who develops ISO
standards.
Who develops ISO standards?
ISO standards are developed by groups of experts, within technical committees (TCs). TCs are
made up of representatives of industry, NGOs, governments and other stakeholders, who are put
forward by ISO’s members. Each TC deals with a different subject, for example there are TCs
focusing on screw threads, shipping technology, food products and many, many more.
ISO has over 250 technical committees. Details of the technical committees and links to the
secretariat and chairman contact details can be found in the list of technical committees.
Searching the list of technical committees is one way to find out which subjects or sectors are the
focus of ISO’s technical work.
ISO’s full members (member bodies) can decide if they would like to be a participating member
(P-member) of a particular TC or an observing member (O-member). P-members participate
actively in the work and have an obligation to vote on all questions submitted to vote within the
technical committee. O-members follow the work as an observer but cannot make any comments
about the development process or vote. Correspondent members can become O-members of a
particular technical committee.
It is possible to see a member’s participation in technical committees by clicking on the relevant
entry in the member list.
4. ISO standards are based on a consensus
Developing ISO standards is a consensus-based approach and comments from stakeholders are
taken into account.
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