World Standards Day 2020: Where standards protect us

In the press release for World Standards Day 2020, there is a key sentence: "To reduce the human impact on our planet, we need political will, concrete action and the right instruments. International standards are one such instrument." But can our world be protected with standards? Can it? The slogan, however, comes from the Geneva-based ISO.

Standards are important for the national economy

We are occasionally surprised or annoyed by the many standards we are expected to observe. Most of the time, however, we are glad that things are standardized. For example, that we have uniform telephone and Internet standards, that we have uniform dimensions, that cables and plugs match, that nuts and bolts fit together, pipes and pipe connectors are tight, and that bricks are the same size when building a house.

Standards are not simply regulations, even if we sometimes perceive them that way. Standardized specifications or practices are economically significant and useful. Wherever people work together, it makes sense for products to have uniform dimensions and interfaces and to fit together. National and international standards are, to a certain extent, the language of world trade.

World Standards Day for Environmental Protection

Every year on October 14, the founding of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is commemorated. And every year, the commemoration day has a specific motto. This year, it is the protection of planet Earth.

The Earth, says ISO, is like a ship full of life in the vastness of our solar system. Life on Earth depends on the energy that comes from the sun. In the last century, however, human and large-scale industrial activities of our modern civilization have produced greenhouse gases, wastes, and chemicals that did not exist before in this kind and quantity and now threaten the existence of planet Earth. But not only the chemicals, also our handling of animal food and the Corona pandemic point us this year unmistakably and painfully to the threat.

What to do about climate change?

Everywhere on earth we feel the negative effects on our climate and thus on all forms of life. Even if there are people, even nations, who still do not want to admit it: The earth is heating up, we have extreme weather, more drought and dryness, more floods, more hurricanes and more heavy rain. At the same time, global population growth and increasing urbanization require responsible use of limited resources. Eating wild animals from jungle areas - as we are seeing with the emergence of more and more new viruses - is not the solution. Save yourself who can! But where to?

Standards for the protection of the environment, air, water

To reduce the negative impact of humans on our planet, we need political will, concrete measures and the right tools. This includes international standards, says ISO. The international standards of IEC, ISO and ITU, the European standards and many national standards and other quality marks deal with technical challenges and appropriate solutions. The international standards help to share expertise and knowledge in developed and developing countries alike.

Standards also cover the many aspects of energy conservation, water and air quality. Standards exist for almost all industries, for products and services. The construction sector, for example, has many interfaces and opportunities for protecting the environment, water and air. For global efforts to protect the planet, we need not only but also standards. They define standardized protocols and measurement methods - even across political and linguistic boundaries.

ISO believes that the widespread use of internationally recognized standards helps to reduce the environmental impact of industrial production and processes, facilitate the reuse of limited resources, and improve energy efficiency.

To learn more about ISO and International Standards Day, visit the ISO website at https://www.iso.org/world-standards-day.html