International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO /aɪɛsoʊ/ ) is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.
Founded on 23 February 1947, the organization develops and publishes worldwide technical, industrial and commercial standards. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland[3] and works in 165 countries.
The International Organization for Standardization is an independent, non-governmental organization, the members of which are the standards organizations of the 165 member countries.[4] It is the world's largest developer of voluntary international standards, and it facilitates world trade by providing common standards among nations. More than twenty thousand standards have been set, covering everything from manufactured products and technology to food safety, agriculture, and healthcare.[3]
Use of the standards aids in the creation of products and services that are safe, reliable, and of good quality. The standards help businesses increase productivity while minimizing errors and waste. By enabling products from different markets to be directly compared, they facilitate companies in entering new markets and assist in the development of global trade on a fair basis. The standards also serve to safeguard consumers and the end-users of products and services, ensuring that certified products conform to the minimum standards set internationally.[3]
The organization began in the 1920s as the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA). It was suspended in 1942 during World War II,[5] but after the war ISA was approached by the recently formed United Nations Standards Coordinating Committee (UNSCC) with a proposal to form a new global standards body. In October 1946, ISA and UNSCC delegates from 25 countries met in London and agreed to join forces to create the new International Organization for Standardization. The new organization officially began operations in February 1947.[6][7]
The name of the organization in French is Organisation internationale de normalisation and in Russian, Международная организация по стандартизации (Mezhdunarodnaya organizatsiya po standartizatsii). ISO is not an acronym or initialism. ISO gives this explanation of the name: "Because 'International Organization for Standardization' would have different acronyms in different languages (IOS in English, OIN in French), our founders decided to give it the short form ISO. ISO is derived from the Greek word isos (ίσος, meaning "equal"). Whatever the country, whatever the language, the short form of our name is always ISO."[8] During the founding meetings of the new organization, the Greek word explanation was not invoked, so this meaning may have been coined later as a backronym.[9]
