Rio

+20

Forging action from agreement

Second edition

How ISO standards translate good intentions about sustainability into concrete results

International Organization for Standardization

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ISO business, government and society on the same team
S i n c e t h e E a r t h S u m m i t i n 19 9 2 , v o l u n t a r y ISO International Standards, developed through the strength of consensus among stakeholders from business, government and society, have provided tools for translating the global desire for a sustainable world into practical actions that achieve positive results. ISOs current portfolio of more than 19100 standards provides solutions in all three dimensions of sustainable development environmental, economic and societal. What makes ISO the International Organization for Standardization so effective is that it provides a nonpolitical, non-partisan platform where standards are developed through open, transparent processes by representatives of the people who need them, implement them, are affected by them and who can review and continually improve the results of their implementation. Agreements reached at events like the Earth Summit and the forthcoming Rio+20 at the intergovernmental level, between public and private sectors, and with civil

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Talk is good. Talk followed by action is better. Action followed by positive results is best. ISO enables positive results.

society, still need to be translated into practical actions that can be implemented worldwide. ISO is where expert representatives from these stakeholder categories work together to develop globally relevant standards that provide concrete responses for tackling the challenges facing the international community. ISO is where people from around the world who want to make a positive difference put on the same team colours and strive to forge tools for transforming global agreement and willpower into global action.

ISO and UNs Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

ISO has developed a large set of standards in the

environmental field which are quite complementary and thereby also contribute to the achievement of

with the UN/ECE norms and conventions in this area

the MDG7 on environmental sustainability. And there are many other examples on how ISO standards help organizations meet the MDGs.

For instance, ISO 26000 helps organizations achieve ner and is directly linked to MDG3, Gender equality.

the benefits of operating in a socially responsible man-

Thus, the core subjects and issues of social responsibility defined by ISO 26000 include human rights, labour practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues and community involvement which encompass, among other things, the principles of equal opportunities and non-discrimination. ISO 9000 has an important impact on education and many educational institutions have been called upon to use these standards. It contributes to MDG2, Universal primary education. The role of International Standards in economic

ISO standards in action

Before a concise description of ISO and how it works, here are some examples of achievements by the international community, represented at Rio+20, working within the ISO system. The examples illustrate how ISO standards serve as tools in the three dimensions of sustainable development. Further examples, including the experience of users of ISO standards, can be accessed on the ISO Website www.iso.org particularly in the magazines

development has been emphasized on many occasions, more particularly with the reference to the standards World Trade Organization (TBT WTO).
2011), United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland.

in the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement of the

ISO Focus+, ISO Focus and ISO Management Systems .

Sergei A . Ordzhonikidze , Director-General (2002-

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Social Responsi
1 November 2010 saw the publication of ISO 26000 which gives organizations guidance on social responsibility, with the objective of sustainability. The standard was eagerly awaited, as shown by the fact that a mere four months after its publication, a Google search resulted in nearly five million references to the standard. This indicated a global expectation for organizations in both public and private sectors to be responsible for their actions, to be transparent, and behave in an ethical manner. ISO 26000, developed with the engagement of experts from 99 countries, the majority from developing economies, and more than 40 international organizations is helping to move from good intentions about social responsibility to good action. ISO 26000 represents an over-arching approach to sustainability since it enables organizations of all types to progress in all three dimensions of sustainable development environmental, economic and societal.

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ibility

Danper Trujillo, a joint venture involving Peruvian and Danish investors founded in 19 9 4, has grown to become a South American leader in agro-industrial production of preserved goods including asparagus, peppers and other vegetables. Danpers owners and management cite a commitment to economic, social and environmental balance as a key element of corporate success. This is why the ISO 26000 standard is of such great interest to the company.
Carlos L ayz a Silva is Quality Assurance Manager and Quality Management Systems Manager at Danper Corporation.

Sodimac is a leading company in the market of home improvement goods and construction materials, market leader in Colombia and Peru. At Sodimac, we understand that the creation of economic value cannot be separated from an organizations obligations toward its human capital, society and the environment

Social responsibility is a strategic tool that opens the door to responsible grow th, which is the reason we made an early decision to support the development of ISO 26000 incorporating its recommendations
P ablo Urbina is Corporate Social Responsibility
Coordinator at Sodimac.

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Environment
Environmental management
One of the concrete results following on from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992, was the development by ISO of the ISO 14000 family of standards for environmental management which translates into action ISOs commitment to support the objective of sustainable development discussed at the first Earth Summit. In essence, the ISO 14000 family provides a framework for organizations large and small, in manufacturing and services, in public and private sectors, in industrialized, developing and transition economies, to: Minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by their activities Meet regulatory requirements Achieve continual improvement of their environmental performance Improve business performance through more efficient use of resources.

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Has the ISO 14000 family actually made a difference? The increasing number of users is an important element in the answer. At end of December 2010, 14 years after publication of the first edition of ISO 14001, which gives the requirements for environmental management systems (EMS), the standard was being implemented by at least a quarter of a million users in 155 countries and economies. These include both public and private sector organizations, large and small, in manufacturing and services, in developed and developing economies. Case studies on how ISO 14001 has been implemented around the world, in the users own words, are available free of charge on the ISO Website in ISO Focus+, and

ISO Management Systems magazines.

In addition to ISO 14001, the ISO 14000 family includes 27 other standards addressing specific challenges such as life cycle analysis, environmental labelling and greenhouse gases (see next section).

A cross-border project between local authorities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland helped several hundred local small and mediumsized enterprises to implement an environmental management system (EMS), with significant benefits in legal compliance, waste and energy savings, reduced environmental risk and increased competitiveness. In a survey, some 80 % reported that their EMS had made them more competitive, with 35 % able to access new markets for their products or services.
Wesley Bes t , Senior Project Officer
for STEM sustainable environmental management project.

ISO has played a huge role in Sonys effort to not only become more efficient and quality oriented in our manufacturing processes through ISO 9001 (quality management systems), but also to reduce our environmental impact and save costs across the company through ISO 14001 (environmental management systems).

All of Sonys sites with 100 employees or more are certified to ISO 14001, globally.
Ken Wheatley, Senior Vice President
and Chief Security Officer, Sony Electronics Inc., USA.

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Climate change
The ISO 14064:2006 and ISO 14065:2007 standards provide an internationally agreed framework for measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and verifying claims made about them so that a tonne of carbon is always a tonne of carbon. They support programmes to reduce GHG emissions and also emissions trading programmes. Beyond their welcome by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, they are now being implemented on a day-to-day basis by organizations as varied as a Norwegian shipping company and an Indian construction company. Example: Spains Ferrovial, one of the worlds largest transportation infrastructure companies, calculated its worldwide carbon footprint, confirming that it generated nearly two million tonnes of CO 2 equivalent in 2009. To do so, Ferrovial created a methodology for calculating and validating its emissions, encompassing 94% of total revenues, which fulfils the requirements of ISO 14064.

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ISO and the environment

The ISO 14000 family is the most visible part of ISO's work for the environment. In addition, however, ISO offers a wide-ranging portfolio of standardized sampling, testing and analytical methods to deal with specific environmental challenges. It has developed more than 650 International Standards for the monitoring of aspects such as the quality of air, water, soil and nuclear radiation. These standards are tools for providing business and government with scientifically valid data on the environmental effects of economic activity. They may also be used as the technical basis for environmental regulations. Other environmentrelated work includes standards for designing buildings, or retrofitting existing ones, for improved energy efficiency.

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Economy
ISO standards provide solutions and achieve benefits for almost all sectors of activity, including agriculture, construction, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, distribution, transport, health care, information and communication technologies, food, water, the environment, energy, quality management, conformity assessment and services.

Efficiency, effectiveness, innovation

These standards contribute to sustainable economic development by increasing efficiency, effectiveness and, therefore, conserving resources. They keep the wheels of industry turning by providing specifications, dimensions, requirements and testing and maintenance regimes for engineering, construction, production and distribution. They ensure compatibility and interoperability of the information and communications technologies that have become the backbone of almost every sector. They speed up the time to market and diffusion of products and services derived from innovation, such as nanotechnologies and vehicles powered by electrical batteries or hydrogen. They facilitate trade, providing a basis for agreement between business partners and the technical support for regulation.

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Economic benefits
Macro level
Example: A German study found that the economic benefits of standardization represented about 1% of gross domestic product. Example: A study in the United Kingdom found that standards made an annual contribution of GBP 2.5 billion to the economy, and attributed 13% of growth in labour productivity to standards. Example: A Canadian study found that growth in the number of standards accounted for 17% of the labour productivity growth rate and about 9% of the growth rate in economic output (real GDP) over the 1981 to 2004 period. Example: Estimates by the Organisation for Economic Co - operation and Development (OECD) and the US Department of Commerce have both shown that standards and related conformity assessment (checking that products and services measure up to standards) have an impact on 80% of the worlds trade in commodities. It is therefore not surprising that the World Trade Organization (WTO) requires its members to use international standards of the type developed by ISO in order to avoid the technical barriers to trade that can be caused by differing national or regional standards.

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 Micro level
Example: PTT Chemical Public Company in Thailand saved USD 9.4 million in 2010 from increased plant reliability, reduced off-specification product, lower energy and ethylene consumption by applying standards. Example: NTUC Fairprice, Singapore, a supermarket chain, estimated at SGD 13.6 million the total benefits over 10 years from implementing standards in its procurement, warehousing /distribution and retail functions. Example: Nanotron Technologies, a German information and communications technology company, achieved 14% cost savings and 19% increase in sales revenue by using standards, equivalent to almost 33% of overall annual sales revenue.

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Without standards I would have had to close down Not taking part (in standardization) would have cost me my company and my livelihood

What does it cost me if I do not get involved and others define rules that are out of line with my needs, interests and experiences, but which I have to comply with because they are laid down in a standard? Hence, it is best to join in right at the start.

Martin Denison, Managing Director, Scuba Schools GmbH, Austria.

Taking part in standardization work on nanotechnologies allows our company to have access to standardization developments. Furthermore, this gives us the opportunity to join in and defend the current and future interests of Spanish industry.

Participating in both national and international standardization committees is a key matter for our company. We are in a time of strong international grow th and this participation will allow us to adapt our products to future international regulations.

Julio Gmez, CEO, Avanzare, Spain.

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Management standards
ISO 14001 (see page 6) is a management system standard like the pioneer in this field, ISO 9001 for quality management. These are among ISOs best-known standards and are thoroughly integrated with the global economy. At the end of 2010, there were more than a million users of ISO 9001 alone in 178 countries. Beyond their immediate objectives of helping organizations large and small to improve, respectively, environmental and quality management performance, they are widely used to establish confidence between business partners, as a condition to participate in global supply chains, and to qualify to tender for procurement contracts. T he m an ag em en t s y s tem ap p ro ach pion eered by ISO 9 0 01 and fur ther developed by ISO 14 0 01 has since been followed by other standards for the needs of specific sectors, or to address specific issues. They include: information security (ISO/IEC 27001), food safety (ISO 22000), supply chain security (ISO 28000), energy management (ISO 50001) and road traffic safety management (ISO 39001 under development). Although the ISO 31000 standard for risk management is not a management system standard, it shares with this

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category the attribute of being generic, providing benefits for any organization in the public or private sector. These making it an important tool for sustainability. benefits may be economic, environmental or societal,

ISO 9001 (quality management) certification proves to our customers that we are working to approved standards and gives them confidence when they are reviewing their preferred supplier lists.
Peter Hartshorn, General Manager, AC Labels, United Kingdom.

What are the key advantages of implementing and being certified to ISO 22000 (food safety management)? The confidence of our clients and customers in our products and processes, as well as that of the local regulatory agencies and trade partners. Also as a marketing tool.
Prudencio S. Garcia, President, Mekeni Food Corporation (MFC) of Pampanga, Philippines.

Implementing ISO/ IEC 27001 (information security management) has led to enhanced information security awareness among employees, improved security operation efficiency, and has helped increase understanding of the need for continual improvement.

With the implementation of the ISO 50001 energy management system in the Dongguan region, and production capacity at an even level from January to May of this year, we have already reduced power consumption by 10.51 million kWh as compared to the same period in 2010. This is equivalent to a reduction of 10.2 thousand tons of carbon emissions and a saving of CNY 8 million.
Daryl Liao, Executive Vice-President of Delta Groups China region.

Adel Salem Alkaff, IT Division Manager, GASCO Abu Dhabi Gas Industries.

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Society
ISO standards help governments, civil society and the business world to translate societal aspirations, such as for social responsibility, health, and safe food and water, into concrete realizations. In so doing, they support the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Health
ISO offers more than 1200 standards for facilitating and improving health care. These are developed within 19 ISO technical committees addressing specific aspects of health care that bring together health practitioners and experts from government, industry and other stakeholder categories. Some of the topics addressed include health informatics, laboratory equipment and testing, medical devices and their evaluation, dentistry, sterilization of health-care products, implants for surgery, biological evaluation, mechanical contraceptives, prosthetics and orthotics, quality management and protecting patient data. They provide benefits for researchers, manufacturers, regulators, health-care professionals, and, most important of all, for patients. The World Health Organization is a major stakeholder in this work, holding liaison status with 60 of ISOs health-related technical committees (TC) or subcommittees (SCs).

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Food
There are some 1000 ISO food-related standards benefitting producers and manufacturers, regulators and testing laboratories, packaging and transport companies, merchants and retailers, and the final consumer. In recent years, there has been strong emphasis on standards to ensure safe food supply chains. At the end of 2010, five years after the publication of ISO 22000, for food safety management systems, the standard was being implemented by users in 138 countries. At least 18630 certificates of conformity, attesting that food safety management systems were being implemented according to the requirements of the standard, had been issued, an increase of more than 34% over the previous year. The level of inter-governmental interest in ISOs food standards is shown by the fact that the Codex Alimentarius Commission of the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization has liaison status with 25 ISO TCs or SCs.

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Water
The goals of safe water and improved sanitation are ingrained in the UN Millennium Development Goals. ISO is contributing through the development of standards for both drinking water and waste-water services and for water quality. Related areas addressed by ISO include irrigation systems and plastic piping through which water flows. In all, ISO has developed more than 550 waterrelated standards. A major partner in standards for water quality is the United Nations Environment Programme.

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Transversal benefits
While the principle objective of an ISO technical committee may be to develop standards for the economic dimension, many of these standards have transversal benefits for the environmental dimension (through the efficient use of resources) and for the social dimension. Example: Mo r e t h a n 110 s t a n d a r d s d evelo p e d by ISO/ TC 159, Ergonomics , promote the efficient use of devices, particularly in the field of information technology, while at the same time promoting health factors, including the use of computers and consumer goods by the elderly and disabled. The TCs standards cover hardware and equipment, software and services, user capabilities, environment and communication. Example: M o r e t h a n 4 0 s t a n d a r d s d ev el o p e d b y ISO/ TC 199, Safety of machinery, help to reduce the social costs of work-related injuries while supporting the economic dimensions through savings in medical costs.

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ISOinbrief
ISO the standards
ISOs voluntary standards ensure desirable characteristics such as quality, environmental friendliness, safety, reliability, efficiency, effectiveness, interchangeability and interoperability and at an economical cost. Standards can be applied to products, services, materials and processes, as well as to personnel. These strategic tools are based on consensus on definitions, measurements, metrics for testing and other parameters. ISO International Standards distil international expertise and best practice and are regularly reviewed to ensure they are at the state of the art.

ISO the organization

ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 163 countries in all regions of the world, a majority of which are developing or transitional economies. Although ISO is nongovernmental, many of its members are either part of the governmental structure in their countries, or have a mandate from their governments to engage in standardization. Still others are completely private sector bodies originating from industrial associations.

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As a result, ISO has a unique position as a bridge between public and private sectors enabling it to channel input from a broad range of stakeholder groups into standards, and to ensure that these benefit business, government and society at large.

ISO the system

ISO launches the development of new standards in response to sectors and stakeholders that express a clearly established need for them. ISO standards are developed by technical committees, (subcommittees or project committees) comprising experts from the industrial, technical and business sectors which have asked for the standards and which subsequently put them to use. These experts may be joined by representatives of government agencies, testing laboratories, consumer associations, nongovernmental organizations, academia and other stakeholders. Experts participate as national delegations, chosen by the ISO national member body for the country concerned. National delegations are required to represent not just the views of the organizations in which their participating experts work, but those of other stakeholders too.

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Most ISO members have some form of public review procedures for making proposed work items and draft standards known and available for comment to interested parties. A wide cross-section of stakeholders including industry, regulators and consumer representatives participate in the process of developing ISO International Standards which distil international expertise and best practice. ISO standards are based on consensus, which is defined as the absence of sustained opposition. Sometimes perceived as technocratic, standardization as practised by ISO is, in fact, based on one of the oldest of human activities: people communicating with people until they agree, This is the right thing to do!

ISOs public and private sector team-mates

ISO collaborates with its partners in international standardization, the International Electrotechnical Commission and the International Telecommunication Union. ISO has a close relationship with the World Trade Organization (WTO) which particularly appreciates the contribution of ISOs standards to reducing technical

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barriers to trade (TBT). ISO standards are developed in conformity with the WTO TBT principles of transparency, openness, impartiality and consensus, effectiveness and relevance, and coherence, addressing the concerns of developing countries. ISO collaborates with the United Nations (UN) system and its specialized agencies and commissions, particularly those involved in the harmonization of regulations and public policies, such as: CODEX Alimentarius Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Europe, the World Health Organization, and the International Maritime Organization. In addition, ISO cooperates with UN organizations that provide assistance and support to developing countries, such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the International Trade Centre. ISOs technical committees have formal liaison relations with over 700 international and regional organizations. ISO has reinforced its links, too, with international organizations representing different groups of stakeholders, including: the World Economic Forum, Consumers International, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and the International Federation of Standards Users.

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Whats new, whats coming next

Since the original Earth Summit, many more peo ple are now in agreement that achieving sustainability requires global, holistic and practical solutions. This is why ISO International Standards are proving increasingly attractive. In addition, in response to demand from the international community, the scope of ISOs standards is continually increasing. New standards published in recent years or under development address challenges as varied as social responsibility, information and societ al security, response to climate change, energy efficiency and renewable resources, sustainable building design and operation, fair and transparent contract procurement, water services, nanotechnologies, intelligent transport systems, food safety management and health informatics. In the next few years, ISO will be able to offer standards including topics such as the carbon footprint of products, asset management, energy savings, human resource management, natural gas fuelling stations for vehicles, outsourcing, the safety of amusement park attractions, and biogas.

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From good intentions to concrete results

Taking stock 20 years after the Earth Summit, ISO can point to having developed many practical tools to help the international community tackle the challenges of sustainability. At the same time, the organization is not resting on its laurels, as the list of new projects (see page 24), which is constantly being updated and added to, demonstrates. But the purpose of this brochure is not to brag about ISO. The organization has no claim to superiority over other organizations that are concerned about sustainability. The purpose is to suggest modestly what makes ISO different. ISO is where people from business, government and civil society work together on the same team and get down to developing practical, global solutions to the global challenge of sustainability facing our planet.

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How to keep up to speed

ISOs portfolio of standards is in constant evolution with around 1000 new or revised standards published each year. To keep up to date with developments, visit the ISO Website www.iso.org regularly and consider subscribing to RSS feeds on the areas you are interested in. When significant new standards are published, ISO usually dedicates a press release to them and may, in addition, publish brochures and/or Website sections giving more information.

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Resources
ISOs Website w w w.iso.org (in English and French, with top levels in Russian and individual publications in other languages) ISO Focus+ maga zine w w w.iso.org / iso/ iso-focus-plus (10 editions annually in English and French)
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International Organization for Standardization

ISO Central Secret ariat

1, ch. de la Voie-Creuse Case postale 56 CH-1211 Genve 20 Switzerland Tel.+41 22 749 01 11 Fax +41 22 733 34 30 E-mail central@iso.org Web www.iso.org ISO 2012- 04/2000 All rights reserved Second edition ISBN 978 -92- 67-10567-3