International NGO Network on ISO


Welcome to the International NGO Network on ISO !

 

Introduction
The International Organization for Standardization - also known as "ISO" - began creating technical standards for things like hardware and photo film in the late 1940s. In recent years, however, this little-known organization has been expanding into matters relating to social and environmental policy.

Yet ISO's quiet transformation from creating technical engineering standards to developing standards related to environmental and social policy has gone virtually unnoticed and unchecked by environmental and social justice organizations. Like the World Trade Organization (WTO), the rules established by ISO will have a major impact on national and local environmental issues - from the environmental management standards deployed by major multinational corporations to eco-labeling, water privatization, global warming and corporate social responsibility.

Environmentalists and social justice advocates cannot continue to ignore ISO; we must get involved in shaping these standards and guiding the direction of their implementation.

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 learn more about INNI, click here, or download our INNI fact sheet (480 KB Adobe PDF).

To learn more about ISO 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 a description of your areas of interest to inni@pacinst.org.

ISO Already Effects Environment
Already, ISO standards such as ISO 14000, which govern organizations' environmental management practices, are being widely used by governments around the world. In Europe, for example, the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard has become the centerpiece of the newest version of the voluntary Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS2).

Other ISO standards have already caused controversy in countries where they are inconsistent with existing consumer protection laws and weaken initiatives led by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 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 Green Guidelines.

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

Not only are ISO's standards often weaker than competing standards created by NGOs, they are potentially far more influential: The World Trade Organization specifically recognizes ISO standards as the world's "trade-legal" standards, thus any new standards or norms created within its technical committees have the potential to impact domestic policies and regulation.

ISO Moving Rapidly Into New Areas
ISO's move into important areas of environmental public policy has been as rapid as it has been diverse. In June 2002, TC 207 approved a proposal to begin new work in the area of greenhouse gas emissions accounting and reporting.

Many believe that ISO's new standards on greenhouse gas measurements will directly advance implementation of the Kyoto Agreement on Climate Change. But these standards could also conflict with more rigorous standards created by environmental NGOs, like the World Resources Institute/World Business Council on Sustainable Development greenhouse gas protocols.

Also in June 2002, ISO's committee on consumer policy (COPOLCO) passed a resolution recommending that ISO consider new standards work in the area of corporate social responsibility. These standards might include guidance on the creation of corporate responsibility policies, processes for stakeholder engagement, and measurement and reporting of corporate responsibility practices.

In late 2001, ISO made a foray into the critical area of water resource management with the creation of a new Technical Committee, TC 224. The new committee was proposed by the French standards body, AFNOR, and has been tasked with the "standardization of service activities relating to drinking water supply and sewerage".

This is significant because two French corporations - Vivendi and Suez - dominate the international water management services sector, with water projects in 120 countries and with each company providing water to an estimated 100 million people. According to local U.S. water agencies, which voted against French proposal, standardization in this area will accelerate an unacceptable push toward global water privatization. The NGO community in America is also extremely concerned about the impact of these standards on trade and democracy.

Where it Stops Only ISO Knows
It is uncertain how far ISO will go in expanding the scope of its work, but the ambitions of some within ISO are high. One proposed long-term vision for TC 207 is to be "the leading world-forum for the development of standards that contribute to sustainable development, world trade and improvement of environmental performance of organizations and their products and services." While unlikely that this draft vision will be accepted, ISO is clearly moving into new areas of standards creation.

Environmental and social justice groups should be concerned by these moves because, historically, ISO has developed standards that primarily benefit industry. Today, not surprisingly, ISO is an institution that is disproportionately represented by business, and, unless things change dramatically, it will continue to produce standards that have favor industry.

ISO's move into the policy realm has not been accompanied by a parallel shift in the representation of important stakeholders within ISO. Because of the technical complexity and low public profile of ISO, many groups that have a direct stake in ISO's new work are unaware of the organization and its impact on environmental and social policy. The combination of the shifting content of standards and the lack of balanced representation is cause for action.