G/TBT/GEN/376  
 
17 May  2024 
(24-3857) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 
ISO UPDATE TO THE TBT COMMITTEE  
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION (ISO)  
This document contains information provided by ISO at the TBT Committee meeting of 
13-15 March  2024 under Agenda Item 6 (Update by Observers).1 
 
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1.1.   ISO would like to thank the WTO TBT for the opportunity to provide an update on ISO activities.  
1.2.  The COP28 Climate Conference saw the active participation of over 60 representatives from 
the ISO community, of which 13 ISO members from developing countries sponsored by ISO to join 
their national delegations. ISO 's presence aimed to emphasize the crucial role of International 
Standards in addressing climate change through an engaging programme o f sessions held at the 
Standards Pavilion by ISO . International Standards also featured in the official UNFCCC 
programme.  
1.3.  Two new ISO deliverables were unveiled at COP 28: The new Climate change management 
standard, ISO 14068 -1, outlines a standardized approach for achieving and demonstrating carbon 
neutrality in the transition to net zero. ISO/TS 19870  on Hydrogen technologies  was launched 
during a COP28 Presidency ministerial roundtable . The new technical specification provides a trusted 
international methodology for assessing the greenhouse gas emissions of hydrogen pathways on a 
life-cycle analysis basis.  
1.4.  Furthermore, ISO endorsed the Steel Standards Principles , aimed at aligning how greenhouse 
gas emissions are measured in the steel sector. Further details on ISO 's participation in COP 28 are 
available at ISO - COP28  
1.5.  In line with the ISO London Declaration  on Climate Change, on 23 February 2024, ISO 
published the amendment of several management systems standards  consisting of two new clauses 
to emphasize the importance of considering climate change impacts on achieving management 
system goals. The intent is to ensure that Climate Change issues are considered by the organization 
in the context of the effectiveness of the managem ent system, in addition to all other issues. These 
additional statements in each management system standard are ensuring that this important topic 
is not overlooked but considered by all organizations in the design and implementation of the 
management syst em.  
1.6.  In December 2023, ISO announced a key partnership  with the IFRS Foundation , committing 
to future cooperation towards effective communication about sustainabil ity-related risks and 
opportunities, marking a significant step towards aligning international financial reporting and 
sustainability standards.  
1.7.  ISO recently published the ISO policy brief: A pri mer on public policy – maximizing your 
National Standards Bodies ' (NSBs) engagement with policymakers . This brief provides guidance to 
ISO members on how public policies are developed and implemented and outlines how mem bers 
can play a pivotal role in supporting public policy across various stages of the public policy life cycle  
 
1 In original language only.  G/TBT/GEN/376  
 
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  in line with the WTO TBT Agreement. It is intended to serve as a complement to the ISO Standards 
and public policy: a toolkit for national standards bodies  (now available  French and Spanish 
too). Additionally, it will serve as an "umbrella" document to a series of thematic policy briefs that 
are being developed for ISO members to use, together with this document, to strengthen their 
engagement with policymakers on key issues including environ ment and trade, and digital economy 
and trade.  
1.8.  The ISO Standards4Sustainability (S4S) Programme aims to support NSBs and their 
stakeholders to increase the uptake of selected ISO standards, through a Training -of-Trainer (ToT) 
approach. This programme is b eing implemented in pilot organizations, with a focus on SMEs and 
awareness raising. It encourages participation in ISO standards -setting activities in support of the 
UN SDGs and 3P framework Planet -People -Prosperity. With the support of the Government of 
Sweden 20 trainees from ISO members and their stakeholders in Eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, 
Somalia, Uganda and Tanzania) will benefit from a ToT course on ISO 22000 Food Safety 
Management . Building on the activities of 2023, 6 ISO members (Bolivia, Aze rbaijan, Kazakhstan, 
Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of North Macedonia and Uzbekistan) will continue to benefit from the ToT 
on ISO 50001 – Energy Management . 
1.9.  Within the framework of the ISO Standards and Public Policy Programme,  ISO will deliver 
a series of wor kshops in 2024 to increase the awareness of stakeholders on the role of international 
standards in support of trade policy objectives and to enable greater regulatory collaboration, 
focusing on the environment or digital transformation . The workshops will convene NSBs, Ministry 
of Trade, and Ministry of Environment representatives from up to 10 countries to help forge and 
strengthen their engagement on using standards as a tool to achieve public policy objectives. The 
first regional workshop will be held in  South Africa in June, with a trade and climate lens. ISO will 
invite the WTO to contribute.  
1.10.  ISO's committee on conformity assessment (CASCO) continues to work with different partners 
to demonstrate the applicability of the CASCO Toolbox  to the area of su stainability as a recognized 
mean to support trust in claims related to climate action. CASCO, jointly with ISO/TC 207 
Environmental management, is developing a suite of standards for validation and verification of 
sustainability information (ISO 14019 ser ies), to be published in 2025. These standards are intended 
to complement existing frameworks for sustainability reporting and disclosure.  
1.11.  In addition, several standards are being revised or newly developed with the view of providing 
enhanced and coherent  tools for the development of conformity assessment schemes, including: 
ISO/IEC 17067  Conformity assessment, Fundamentals of product certification and guidelines for 
product certification schemes, ISO/IEC 17007  Conformity assessment, Guidance for drafting 
normative documents suitable for use for conformity assessment, and ISO/IEC TS 17035  Conformity 
assessment – Guidelines for validation/verification programmes   
1.12.  ISO CASCO will hold its plenary in Kampala, Uganda, in the period 23 -26 April 2024. Among 
other technical and future looking sessions, the plenary features a workshop on the role of  conformity 
assessment in facilitating trade within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area 
(AfCFTA).   
1.13.  Since 2022, ISO has had a dedicated programme aimed at 10 Least Developing Country 
(LDC) members . It aims to maximize the benefits of int ernational standardization to address LDCs ' 
economic and social development needs through high quality tailored support. The programme 
covers Chad, Ethiopia, Laos, Lesotho, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, and Uganda, of 
which two are non -WTO me mbers. Six of the ten countries selected "WTO TBT Agreement, ePing, 
and standards and public policies" as a key priority for their respective national programmes.  
1.14.  In May 2024, ISO will organize a training for the Ethiopian Standards Institute (IES) on the  
TBT Agreement and ePing to support their accession process and will invite the WTO to deliver the 
training.  
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