ISO standards are internationally agreed by experts
Think of them as a formula that describes the best way of doing something.
It could be about making a product, managing a process, delivering a service or supplying materials – standards cover a huge range of activities.
Standards are the distilled wisdom of people with expertise in their subject matter and who know the needs of the organizations they represent – people such as manufacturers, sellers, buyers, customers, trade associations, users or regulators.
For instance,
- Quality management standards to help work more efficiently and reduce product failures.
- Environmental management standards to help reduce environmental impacts, reduce waste and be more sustainable.
- Health and safety standards to help reduce accidents in the workplace.
- Energy management standards to help cut energy consumption.
- Food safety standards to help prevent food from being contaminated.
- IT security standards to help keep sensitive information secure.
Discover some of the best-known and most widely-used standards, as well as those that address recently emerged challenges affecting us all.
Looking to get certified?
ISO doesn’t provide certification or conformity assessment.
You’ll need to contact an external certification body for that. Read more about certification and how to find a certification body.
backgrounds for virtual meetings
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218120439im_/https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/news/media_kit/img/Food-Safety-virtbg.jpg/thumbnails/300)
ISO standards are working in the background of our daily lives to make things easier, safer and better.
With this in mind, we've created a selection of dazzling standards-themed backgrounds to liven up your next video call!
When things don't work as they should, it often means that standards are absent.
ISO 9001:2015Quality management systems
ISO/IEC 27001:2013Information technology
ISO 14001:2015Environmental management systems
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218120439im_/https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/standards/benefits_of_international_standards/img/benefits-materials.jpg/thumbnails/300x150)
Online Browsing Platform
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218120439im_/https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/developing_standards/img/developing-standards.jpg/thumbnails/300x150)