International Organization for Standardization

In an era of rapid globalization, technological innovation, population boom, and environmental change, the need for international collaboration and standardization exists across disciplines in order to decrease duplication and the reinvention of competing standardizing platforms and processes for business, government, and society. Accordingly, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was founded in 1947 to address these needs and to facilitate knowledge transfer for the sake of collaborative standardization within a global civil society. Today, the ISO is a network, composed of the national standards institutes of 162 countries, and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It runs under the auspices of the United Nations. It is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) intended to form a bridge between the public and private sectors, and which strives to find solutions that meet the needs of both business and the general public. Each country has one representative, and some are part of their country's government, while others have their roots in business and industry.

The mission of the ISO is to partner with a global network of standardizing bodies and stakeholders in order to identify, synthesize, arbitrate, and bring forth consensus on voluntary standards for operational platforms and practices in areas such as business, technology, environmental management, government, and public policy. Many of these standards, particularly the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 family, are relevant to sustainability and other environmental concerns, and are therefore of interest to companies and organizations who want to “go green,” and use that choice as part of their public image. The ISO certification process provides an important means for businesses to organize and implement their environmental concerns while also assuring stakeholders that the business is adhering to sustainable management practices.

Although the ISO standards are voluntary, they have become increasingly relevant for business and governmental bodies, as consumers demand that organizational processes, policies, and products meet a globally held standard as a threshold of competence and quality. In line with these global market trends, consumers and governments are demanding the private sector, as responsible community actors, meet a level of transparency and [Page 337]organizational competence. As such, ISO standards have greatly influenced the field and the practices of corporate social responsibility (CSR), global organizational development, and environmental management.

ISO 9000 is a family of quality-management standards intended to provide a framework for companies and organizations to ensure customer satisfaction and a best-practice level of organizational competence and is intended to be both applicable and achievable by all organizations, regardless of size, location, or industry. For instance, ISO 9001:2008 (meaning that it was passed in 2008) includes requirements that the company regularly monitor processes for effectiveness, keep adequate records, check output for defects and make corrections as necessary, monitor the overall quality system for effectiveness, and facilitate continuous improvement. If an independent auditor certifies an organization to be in conformance with the requirements of ISO 9001, the company can advertise that it is “ISO 9001 certified,” a distinction that can increase its competitiveness in the global marketplace. Companies often prefer to do business with other companies who take operational excellence seriously, and ISO 9001 certification can be an important credential in establishing credibility in this field. The certificate must be renewed regularly so that it provides an ongoing indication that quality assurance procedures are being used within a company. It should be noted, however, that ISO 9001 applies to business processes and does not directly certify the quality of the product or services produced by a firm, only that they are following a set of procedures that are associated with quality.

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