What are the most important tasks and challenges facing international standardization and you as ISO President?
Our world faces a number of complex global challenges. ISO, through the standards we develop, has a pivotal role to play in steering humanity towards a brighter future.
As ISO President, I wish to focus on five key pillars of action. The first is building ISO governance to continue to respond to rapidly evolving global challenges, from the destructive effects of climate change to the rapid growth of innovative technologies, such as AI and quantum technologies.
Secondly, it is crucial that ISO empowers developing countries to participate more effectively and equitably in the development and dissemination of International Standards. We need to increase participation in this work to guarantee the global relevance of ISO standards and achieve a more balanced, inclusive and sustainable standardization landscape.
Thirdly, building stronger bridges between ISO and both business and consumers is imperative. To accomplish this, we will further develop our communication efforts, expand our presence and enhance the global recognition of ISO in new and dynamic ways. We are committed to fostering strategic partnerships and engaging with other international organizations, policymakers, standards bodies and end users.
Fourthly, I am convinced that by establishing a comprehensive standards education system, based on our capacity building skills, we can raise awareness of ISO and the prominence of International Standards for people of all ages and backgrounds. Providing an early understanding of the everyday benefits of standards can only improve ISO’s reach and effectiveness.
Finally, the ISO Strategy 2030 is of central importance to achieving all these aims. Our vision is to make lives easier, safer and better, in a sustainable and responsive manner, through close collaboration between myself, the ISO Secretary-General Sergio Mujica, my special advisor and former ISO President Ulrika Francke, and all ISO national members.
We are living through a time of unprecedented change, and we must reflect this in all we do. Timeliness in delivering new standards is vital. ISO must maintain our culture of openness, inclusivity and consensus, making the best use of digital tools to enable greater agility and develop standards that are adaptable and reflect the state of the art.
Which areas of standardization would you highlight as currently being of particular global importance, and how does ISO identify these?
ISO takes two approaches to new areas of standardization. On the one hand, a bottom-up approach allows our members to drive the agenda, identifying areas in need of standardization and proposing them to ISO’s technical management board, the TMB. This helps ensure that ISO is responding to global needs.
Alongside this sits the top-down coordination of the TMB, which reviews the member suggestions and takes the final decisions on which new technical committees to establish. It also creates strategic advisory groups (SAGs), such as the one on smart farming, and coordinating groups, such as the Environment Social and Governance Coordination Committee (ESG CC), to look in detail at certain specific topics.
The most recent additions to ISO’s roster of subject fields reflect the need for a more sustainable approach to global production and extraction, and include sustainable raw materials, data-driven agrifood systems and specialty metals and minerals. In addition, some of the global challenges mentioned in my first answer are addressed in a range of ISO standards. To give a couple of examples, ISO/IEC 42001 is the world’s first AI management system standard, setting out a structured way for organizations to manage risks and opportunities associated with AI, helping them balance innovation with governance. Meanwhile, ISO 14068-1 is an essential standard for entities committed to carbon neutrality, supporting sustainable development and the transition to low greenhouse gas emission activities in support of ISO's Net Zero Guidelines (IWA 42).
But we are also looking outwards, collaborating with other standards organizations to explore new horizons, as demonstrated by the recently established joint technical committee with IEC on quantum technologies.
How is ISO responding to the rapid technological advances in today’s interconnected world?
Technology is changing the way the world does business, collaborates and consumes information. ISO needs to ensure that it understands what this means for both users of the ISO system, who participate in standards development, and users of ISO standards, our customers. By monitoring technological innovation and analysing and anticipating users’ needs, ISO is transforming how we create, format and deliver content to ensure our products and services are the most attractive and relevant on the market.
Today’s ISO standards are focused on humans as primary users. While these standards can be read by computers, they cannot be interpreted and therefore comprehensively processed by machines. The next generation of standards will provide tailored and up-to-date content at the right time to the relevant users, whether humans, computers, complex machines or small intelligent devices. ISO standards will be embedded into product development supply chains and become much more integrated into people’s daily lives.
ISO’s Online Standards Development (OSD) platform helps lay the foundation for new value-added products and services by providing the technical community with a unique and harmonized space for drafting, commenting on and editing standards online. This is complemented by the SMART programme, which will unleash the digital power of International Standards by facilitating the transition from content to actionable data, and from documents to SaaS (software as a service) solutions. By making it easier for users to interact with standards, SMART will bring the content of ISO standards to life.
ISO standards are also the key to unlocking the full potential of AI, ensuring its ethical and responsible development and helping to balance risk and opportunity. As the pace of technological advancement in the field quickens and regulation struggles to keep up, ISO standards that prioritize societal needs, ethics and sustainability can act as a framework upon which AI systems are developed, used and regulated.
Our recent flagship publication, ISO/IEC 42001, is the world’s first AI management system standard, providing organizations with a systematic approach to addressing the challenges associated with AI implementation in a recognized framework.
It is thanks to the transparency and openness of the consensus-based ISO standards development process that our standards reflect the needs of a diverse range of global stakeholders, including businesses, industry and regulators, addressing the multiple ways in which AI can be used. The ISO system provides a neutral platform and is open to everyone by means of engagement with our member bodies. By working together we can help bring about positive societal change in order to share the benefits of this transformational technology.
What are some of the benefits of engaging with ISO and contributing to the standards development process?
ISO has always taken an inclusive approach to developing and drafting standards. We engage with a diverse range of international stakeholders from business, industry, government, NGOs, consumer groups, academia and research to share knowledge and develop standards that are consensus-based and global in their reach. This approach transcends national borders while providing economic, environmental and social benefits.
Active involvement in this process helps organizations of all sizes shape the rules that define their sector. Leaving this up to others is not only inefficient but means that your needs are potentially not being met. The best way to control the narrative is to get involved in the standards development process from the start.
In the ISO system, all organizations, from multinational energy companies to one-person startups, have a voice and are represented equally in national mirror committees (NMCs).
The implementation of ISO standards helps businesses of all sizes and from all sectors reduce costs, increase productivity and access new markets. International Standards can facilitate the flow of international trade, ensuring products are readily accepted in global markets. Furthermore, ISO standards promote environmental sustainability by helping businesses and countries manage their environmental impact, a crucial step in meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) constitute the backbone of our societies, making up 90 % of businesses and 70 % of employment. We recognize that these businesses have specific needs, and for this reason we have developed a variety of publications just for them, including a handbook on the implementation of ISO 9001 for small enterprises.
How important is the involvement of young people in standardization? What is ISO doing to increase the involvement of young people in standardization?
International Standards are a crucial component in making things safer and better in the world around us. Yet research suggests that many young people know little about standards and standardization. This lack of awareness could potentially affect the future use of standards and raises questions about how the next generation of technical experts will engage with the standards development process.
Going back to my five pillars of action, I strongly believe that we need to focus on reaching out to young people in education to teach them of the benefits and opportunities afforded by International Standards.
Furthermore, the engagement of young professionals in the dynamic landscape of the international standards system is paramount to ensuring its continued relevance and effectiveness. We are witnessing rapid changes in the world around us, and young professionals bring invaluable contributions to the standards-setting process through their fresh perspectives and digital fluency.
Involving young people in standards development can bring three types of benefits. Firstly, young people can offer new perspectives, ideas and skillsets to the technical community. This tech-savvy generation brings creativity and innovation to the standards development process, pushing ISO to evolve its way of working.
Secondly, it helps ensure a continual supply of younger experts in technical committees to replace older experts as they retire.
Thirdly, it increases diversity within the ISO technical community, giving young people a presence in a field traditionally dominated by the older generation.
Recognizing the importance of integrating the next generation into the fold, ISO and its members are leading concerted efforts to actively involve and empower young professionals. We are collecting age data to determine the proportion of young people within the ISO technical community in order to better understand the issue. Our intention is to foster an environment where they can thrive, driving the standards system towards a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future.
To give some concrete examples of programmes targeted at young people, the ISO Young Professionals Project (YPP) helps support ISO members to attract, engage and retain young professionals in the standards development process.
The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) and the Korean Standards Association (KSA) have been running the International Standards Olympiad for middle- and high-school students in South Korea since 2006, helping to instill the importance of standards in the next generation.
Finally, ISO’s Next Generation Award celebrates and encourages the development of promising young professionals who promote sustainable development through their enthusiasm, creativity and contribution to the standardization industry.
Last year’s ISO Annual Meeting in Brisbane included a fascinating session titled ‘Clash of the Generations’, which looked at how best to attract young people to the world of standardization. One of the panel speakers was Neema Msemwa, the winner of our 2023 Next Generation Award. The session is now available as a podcast.
All of these endeavours align with the ISO Strategy 2030, specifically goal 3, all voices heard; education itself sits with goal 1, ISO standards used everywhere.
The ISO Strategy 2030 was adopted two years ago. What results have been achieved so far?
As we are only 2 years into the 2030 Strategy, it is too early to talk about results. We need time to analyse and reflect on the impact that each of the programmes has made. The timeframe for results can vary. For now our primary focus is on delivering and producing tangible outcomes.
Nevertheless, certain benefits are beginning to manifest and meet their expected targets. One example is the completion of the initial ISO Digital Learning Programme, which has already reached the anticipated number of participants and countries, successfully implementing e-learning modules.
Indeed, we have reached a number of significant milestones since the strategy was adopted. In 2022 we published the ISO Foresight Trend Report, identifying global trends and broad topic areas with future potential relevance for standardization. We have added a QR code to the front cover of all ISO standards with a link to a customer feedback form to better understand how people use our standards. And at the end of 2023 we unveiled the ISO demonstration platform 'powered by SMART', giving members a first glimpse of our game-changing SMART programme.
At ISO we are firm believers in continual improvement and therefore our strategy is reviewed regularly and adjusted when necessary. We recently added a new priority to advance environmental sustainability through ISO standards, recognizing that this is vital for people, planet and prosperity.
Prepared by: Jovana Korićanac
