Each year on 14 October, the
members of the IEC, ISO and ITU celebrate World Standards Day, which is a means
of paying tribute to the collaborative efforts of thousands of experts
worldwide who develop the voluntary technical agreements that are published as
International Standards.
One of the recent World Standards
Day is themed “Protecting the planet with standards”.
Negative Impacts
Earth, a finite vessel of life is in
the vastness of our solar system. Life on earth depends on energy coming from
the sun. However, over the last century human and large-scale industrial
activities of our modern civilization have added to earth’s natural greenhouse
gases. They negatively impact our climate and with it all forms of life. At the
same time rapid population growth and broad urbanization call for the
responsible use of limited resources.
The Right Tool
To reduce human impact on our
planet, we need the political will, concrete action and the right tools.
International standards are one such tool. The international standards prepared
by IEC, ISO and ITU take into account tried and true solutions to technical
challenges.
They help share expertise and expert know-how broadly within developed and developing countries alike. Standards cover all aspects of energy savings, water and air quality. They lay down standardized protocols and methods of measurement. Their broad use helps reduce the environmental impact of industrial production and processes, facilitates the reuse of limited resources and improves energy efficiency.