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Why ISO?

The International Organization for Standardization - also known as "ISO" - begancreating technical standards for things like hardware and photo film in the late 1940s. Inrecent years, however, ISO has been expanding into matters relating to social and

environmental policy.

Yet ISO's transformation from creating technical engineering standards to developingstandards related to environmental and social policy has gone largely unnoticed by publicinterest groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Like the World TradeOrganization (WTO), the rules established by ISO will have a major impact on nationaland local environmental issues - from the environmental management standards deployedby major multinational corporations to eco-labeling, water management, global warmingand corporate social responsibility.

It is our view that ISO's move into these new areas of standardization can only be

addressed by a more informed and coordinated response from members of theenvironmental community and other affected stakeholder groups.

The goal of the International NGO Network on ISO (INNI) is to ensure that any ISO-created environmental standards serve the public interest and protect our environment.We aim to do this by providing timely information on the activities of ISO to network organizations so that they can activate their members, provide guidance to decision-makers, and shape public opinion.

To download our INNI fact sheet (480 KB Adobe PDF), click here . To learn more aboutISO activities in specific topic areas, use the links at the top of this page.

To join INNI, please send an email with your name, title, organization name and adescription of your areas of interest to inni @ pacinst.org.

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ISO Already Affects Environment

Already, ISO standards such as ISO 14000, which govern organizations' environmentalmanagement practices, are being widely used by governments around the world. InEurope, for example, the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard has

become the centerpiece of the newest version of the voluntary Eco-Management andAudit Scheme (EMAS2).

Other ISO standards have already caused controversy in countries where they areinconsistent with existing consumer protection laws and/or weaken initiatives led byNGOs. The ISO eco-labeling standard, ISO 14021, has clashed with certain aspects of national consumer protection laws, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's GreenGuidelines.

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Another example: the Technical Committee 207 report on forestry management can beused by companies in conjunction with ISO 14001 in lieu of the more rigorous - andcredible from an NGO perspective - Forest Stewardship Council certification. (ISO'stechnical committees (TCs) do the actual work of creating new standards and TC 207 isthe body responsible for the ISO 14000 environmental management standards.)

Not only can ISO's standards be weaker than competing standards created by NGOs, theyare potentially far more influential: The World Trade Organization specificallyrecognizes ISO standards as the world's "trade-legal" standards, thus any new standardsor norms created within its technical committees have the potential to impact domesticpolicies and regulation.

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ISO Moving Rapidly Into New Areas

ISO's move into important areas of environmental public policy has been as rapid as ithas been diverse. In June 2002, TC 207 approved a proposal to begin new work in thearea of greenhouse gas emissions accounting and reporting. Many believe that ISO's newstandards on greenhouse gas measurement will directly advance implementation of theKyoto Agreement on Climate Change. But these standards could also conflict withguidance created by environmental NGOs, like the World Resources Institute/WorldBusiness Council on Sustainable Development greenhouse gas protocol.

Also in June 2002, ISO's committee on consumer policy (COPOLCO) passed a resolutionrecommending that ISO consider new standards work in the area of corporate socialresponsibility. These standards might include guidance on the creation of corporate

responsibility policies, processes for stakeholder engagement, and measurement andreporting of corporate responsibility practices.

In late 2001, ISO made a foray into the critical area of water resource management withthe creation of a new Technical Committee, TC 224. The new committee was proposedby the French standards body, AFNOR, and has been tasked with the "standardization of service activities relating to drinking water supply and sewerage." This is significantbecause two French corporations - Vivendi and Suez - dominate the international watermanagement services sector, with water projects in 120 countries and with each companyproviding water to an estimated 100 million people. According to local U.S. wateragencies, which voted against French proposal, standardization in this area will acceleratea push toward global water privatization. The NGO community in America is alsoconcerned about the impact of these standards on trade and democracy.

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Why ISO Needs Broader Stakeholder Input

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It is uncertain how far ISO will go in expanding the scope of its work, but its ambitionsare high. In describing its strategic direction for 2005-2010, ISO states that its standardscan serve "products and services that enter into world trade and that impact on the health,safety, environment and social progress of mankind." It is certain that the organization isexpanding its scope far beyond its traditional focus on manufacturing and technical

standards.

ISO's move into the policy realm, however, has not been accompanied by a parallel shiftin the representation of important stakeholders within ISO. Because its initial role was todevelop technical standards to benefit industry, ISO today still is an institution that isdisproportionately represented by business. At the same time, due to the technicalcomplexity and historically low public profile of ISO, many groups that have a directstake in ISO's new work are unaware of the organization and its increasing impact onenvironmental and social policy. The combination of the shifting content of standards andthe lack of balanced representation is cause for action.