G/TBT/GEN/372  
 
11 January 2024  
(24-0239) 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 
8-10 November  2023 under Agenda Item 4 (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 ISO Annual Meeting 2023 was held in Brisbane, Australia in September, which brought 
over 7000 participants gathe red online and 500 more attended in person from over 170 countries. 
The five -day event served as a platform to unite efforts to meet global needs, strengthen 
collaboration, leverage technology and prioritize sustainability. The week highlighted the pivotal  role 
that International Standards play in building trust, facilitating trade, and accelerating progress 
towards an inclusive, sustainable and digital future for all. There were dedicated sessions on trade 
and standards, including "Global trade: the import ance of accountability claims" and "Hydrogen: The 
Fuel of the future?".  
1.3.  The 57th ISO Committee on Developing Country Matters (DEVCO) meeting was held on the first 
day of the Annual Meeting. Mr. Erik Wijkström, Head of WTO TBT section, delivered a keynote speech 
focusing on realizing opportunities to increase participation of developing countries in international 
standards -setting and the wider Quality Infrastructure system, to facilitate inclusive and sustainable 
trade and to improve international regulato ry cooperation through international standards. He 
welcomed ISO's new publication (item 3 below) designed to help ISO developing country members 
engage more effectively with policymakers by outlining how standards can support public policy 
objectives.  
1.4.  At the ISO Annual Meeting, ISO launched a new publication titled Standards and public policy: 
a toolkit for national standards bodies , developed under the ISO Standards and Public Policy 
Programme. The purpose of the toolkit is to help our members engage more effectively and establish 
strong partnerships with policymakers and regulators to put standards on the policy agenda. The 
document provides a framework on how International Standards (including conformity assessment 
standards) can support policymakers and regulators in preparing, adopting, and applying policy, and 
in particular, technical regulations, in line with the WTO TBT Agreement.   
1.5.  Within the framework of the ISO Standards and Po licy Programme, ISO is working closely with 
the WTO TBT Division to provide capacity -building support to National Standards Bodies (NSBs) / 
WTO TBT national enquiry points. For example, ISO participated in the national WTO TBT workshop 
in Mombasa, Kenya in  September 2023, organized by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) in 
collaboration with the Ministry of Trade. The event convened senior Kenyan Government officials 
and regulators which was a great opportunity to help foster a fruitful partnership between  
policymakers and the NSB, underpinned by international standards.  
 
1 In original language only.  G/TBT/GEN/372  
 
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  1.6.  ISO continues to participate in the ongoing discussions to develop an international legally 
binding instrument on plastic pollution and in the WTO Dialogue on Plastic  Pollution. A policy paper  
to inform the discussions on the role that international coo peration on standards can play in 
supporting global efforts to end plastic pollution was published in September in collaboration with 
the Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS).  
1.7.  ISO's committee on conformity assessment (CASCO) continues to work (w ithin a dedicated 
task force and involving our stakeholders and partners) on investigating and exemplifying the 
applicability of the CASCO Toolbox to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG)  space, in 
relation to the frameworks necessary for disclos ure and reporting, especially in the view of 
supporting the trust in claims related to action to address the climate crisis.  
1.8.  ISO in collaboration with its members, has created a Competency Framework for standards 
development professionals . This first -of-its-kind initiative aims to support, current and aspiring, 
standards professionals worldwide to develop national standards that are aligned  with the ISO Good 
Standardization Practices (GSP) including Annex 3 of the WTO TBT Agreement. It offers a structured 
process designed to develop skills, outlines how to be effective in a given role, and underscores 
important processes that help build a sk illed, engaged and adaptable workforce that drives success 
and growth.  
1.9.  ISO has launched a research project " Standards and regulations " that aims to provide 
guidance to policymakers how to reference international standards in national laws. Incorporating 
ISO standards into national regulations – either wholesale or by way of reference – can save 
policymakers time and money drafting technical guidelines from scratch and ensure consistency 
across industries in different countries. This project entails collect ing data on references to 
international standards in regulations of selected countries, interviewing policymakers, and 
producing guiding documents on the topic.  
1.10.  Over the next year, ISO will pilot a research project to look at the societal impacts of 
standa rds in developing countries. The project will analyze the impacts of three suites of standards, 
which will give ISO evidence of a range of societal impacts of specific standards in select countries, 
in the form of quantitative and qualitative data. The res earch will be based on the 3P framework 
(people, planet, prosperity) and aims to advance ISO's strategic priority to demonstrate the benefits 
of standards.  
1.11.  The ISO Standards4Sustainability (S4S) Programme aims to support NSBs and their 
stakeholders to incr ease the uptake of selected ISO standards, through a Training -of-Trainer (ToT) 
approach, implementation in pilot organizations with a focus on SMEs and awareness raising. It also 
encourages participation in ISO standards -setting activities in support of th e UN SDGs and 3P 
framework Planet -People -Prosperity. With the support of the Governments of Sweden and Germany, 
over 40 trainees from ISO members and their stakeholders completed related International 
Standards ToT courses. Also, through a series of joint ISO/UNIDO webinars, our members and their 
government representatives were informed and encouraged to participate in our standards setting 
activities in the hydrogen sector.  
1.12.  ISO and UNDP have announced  a collaboration on initiatives geared towards enhancing 
international standards that advance sustainability actions by both the public and private sectors, 
includin g the prospective development of the first international standard for the United Nations' 
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) based on UNDP's SDG Impact Standards and relevant ISO 
standards.  
1.13.  ISO will be present at COP 28 in Dubai showcasing the role of in ternational standards to 
accelerate effective and credible climate action and in supporting climate policy implementation. 
Delegates and interested parties are invited to visit and connect with ISO at the Standards Pavilion. 
Updates on ISO's participation are available at https://www.iso.org/events/cop28.html .  
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