Standardization assures the global interchangeability of products such as light bulbs.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an organization that works globally to establish standards by consensus of the membership. These standards are not government standards and are not legally binding. The ISO partners with the American National Standards Institution (ANSI) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to accredit standards developers who access expert opinion from around the world to establish standards in business, technical products, and management. According to the ISO, "Standards ensure desirable characteristics of products and services such as quality, environmental friendliness, safety, reliability, efficiency and interchangeability at an economical cost."
Conformity Assessment
Conformity assessment is a process used by ISO to assure that products, materials, and services measure up to relevant standards or specifications. New products are introduced to the market every day. All these products must conform with usability, safety compliance standards and other established regulations before they can be put on the market. Conformity assessment represents international consensus on best practices established by ISO. Use of conformity assessment standards assures consistency and facilitates global trade.
Scope
ISO has an intensive work program that reviews and updates standards for traditional activities like agriculture and construction, mechanical engineering, distribution, and manufacturing. ISO also creates standards for the current business environment like transport, medical devices, information and communication technologies, and good management practices and services. ISO currently has 18,000 international standards and other types of normative documents available. Periodic standardization updates assure that ISO regulations retain state of the art relevance for global standardization of products, services, management, and industry.
Copyright
ISO maintains strict copyright control of all product standards. Certain product standards are offered online free of charge for download. These standards are only to be used by the entity or individual who downloads the PDF for business purposes. Only one copy of the PDF file may be printed and retained. The PDF file may not be shared or sold to anyone else. You may not copy or resell the copy. ISO product standards are offered for sale and download on the ISO web site.
Product Standard: ISO 14001
ISO product standards are grouped together according to topics called families. The ISO 14000 family is made up of many guideline standards. While there are many guideline standards in ISO 14000, you will find only one compliance standard. ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) structures the way an organization controls the environmental impact of its operations. The EMS establishes elements such as environmental vision, strategies, approaches and structure desired by the organization to help meet their environmental commitment. An EMS may act as a guide for organizations seeking to improve their environmental performance and discharge their obligation to obey environmental laws. Environmentally conscious customers are attracted to green organizations who operate with concern for the environment by using EMS. The ISO 14000 family of guidelines was established by the Strategic Advisory Group on Environment (SAGE) in 1991. Today there are 69 member countries contributing to ISO 14000 guidelines.
