What is the International Organization for Standardization?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international body that develops corporate standards to facilitate international trade. Industries around the world follow ISO standards in order to ensure that their products are compatible and interchangeable. These standards ensure that Italian and Canadian nuts and bolts match one another, and that a computer maker can buy compatible chips from Taiwan, New Zealand or Malaysia. ISO standards govern virtually every product you buy – from computers, to cars, to building materials and tools. ISO membership consists of 143 national standards bodies, such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Norwegian General Standardizing Body (NAS). These bodies sound like government agencies, but many are not. Many ISO member bodies – especially from developed countries — are industry associations that largely act independently of their national governments. What does standardization have to do with climate change?
