ISO was founded with the idea of answering a fundamental question: “what's the best way of doing this?”

It started with the obvious things like weights and measures, and over the last 50 years has developed into a family of standards that cover everything from the shoes we stand in, to the Wi-Fi networks that connect us invisibly to each other.

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

Regulators and governments count on ISO standards to help develop better regulation, knowing they have a sound basis thanks to the involvement of globally-established experts.

To find out more about how ISO's 25697 standards touch almost all aspects of daily life, and work for businesses large and small, you can see standards in action. With International Standards on air, water and soil quality, on emissions of gases and radiation, and environmental aspects of products, they protect the health of the planet and people, beyond bringing economic benefits.

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The ISO materials
Hear from businesses and browse ISO case studies that clearly show the benefits that standards can bring
International Standards & trade agreements
Download this concise booklet explaining how standards developed by IEC, ISO and ITU are a useful tool in meeting obligations to remove technical barriers to trade.
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How standards help small- and medium-sized businesses
ISO Standards help businesses of any size and sector reduce costs, increase productivity and access new markets.
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Standards as a road-map to better regulation
Consistent, transparent and targeted, ISO standards provide a strong basis for the development of national and international regulation, helping to save time and reduce barriers to international trade.
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Safety, quality and value for money for consumers
Find out how we spread the benefits of ISO Standards as broadly as possible, by involving consumers in standards development work through our committee on consumer policy.
Publications

This ground-breaking book presents "The ISO Methodology to assess the economic benefits of standards" in action.

Publications

This ground-breaking book presents "The ISO Methodology to assess the economic benefits of standards" in action. It provides case studies from a variety of organizations of different sizes and from different sectors from the following countries: Cameroon, China, Egypt, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritius, …

Publications

This book explains how to use the ISO Methodology - a step-by-step way to quantitatively measure the economic benefits of standards. The ISO Methodology is applied at the company level. It involves identifying the activities for which standards are used, and then investigating how these activities, supported …