G/TBT/GEN/376  
17 mai 2024 
(24-3857) Page: 1/2 
Comité des obstacles techniques au commerce  Original:  anglais  
 
  
RENSEIGNEMENTS ACTUALISÉS PRÉSENTÉS PAR L'ISO AU COMITÉ OTC  
RENSEIGNEMENTS COMMUNIQUÉS PAR L'ORGANISATION  
INTERNATIONALE DE NORMALISATION (ISO)  
Les renseignements ci -après ont été communiqués par l'ISO à la réunion du Comité OTC des 13 et 
15 mars 2024 au titre du point 6 de l'ordre du jour (Renseignements actualisés présentés par les 
observateurs) .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 of 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 z ero. 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 importa nce 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 management system, in addition to all other iss ues. 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 system.  
1.6.  In December 2023, ISO announced a key partnership  with the IFRS Foundation , committing 
to future cooperation towards effective communication about sustainability -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 primer 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 members 
 
1 Dans la langue originale seulement.  G/TBT/GEN/376  
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  can pla y a pivotal role in supporting public policy across various stages of the public policy life cycle  
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 environment and trade, and digital economy 
and trade.  
1.8.  The ISO Standards4Sustainability (S4S) Programme aims to support N SBs and their 
stakeholders to increase the uptake of selected ISO standards, through a Training -of-Trainer (ToT) 
approach . This programme is being implemented in pilot organizations, with a focus on SMEs and 
awareness raising . It encourages participation i n 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, Azerbaijan, 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 workshops in 2024 to increase the awareness of stakeholders on the role of international 
standards in support of trad e 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 sustainability 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  series), 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 international 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 members . 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 Institut e (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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