THE ISO FUTURE

Since its founding in 1947, the ISO has published more than 13,700 international standards, covering everything from dimensions of freight containers to symbols that provide danger warnings. ISO has addressed the standardization of protocols to allow different types of computers to communicate with one another, as well as the standardization of interfaces and connections to ensure the interoperability of various technologies. Although the majority of ISO standards are specific to individual products, materials, or processes, the ISO 9000 and 14000 series provide generic management system standards that can be applied to any product or service, by any type of organization.

ISO standards are not without their critics in the business world. Critics claim that the standards can be costly and time-consuming to implement, for example. But proponents point out that ISO certification enables businesses to increase knowledge of their capabilities, improve their processes and performance, ensure consumer and stockholder confidence, and gain a source of competitive advantage. As a result, the ISO seems likely to play an increasingly important role in international trade in the future. The general lowering of tariff barriers worldwide in recent years has led to a contradictory rise in the use of standards to exclude products of certain countries or regions, a practice which global adoption of ISO standards would eradicate. Furthermore, in the case of the ISO 14000 series, increased public environmental consciousness will provide a powerful incentive for corporate compliance and in the long run will also result in the passage of public policies mandating environmental sustainability such as the EMAS.