ISO UPDATE TO THE TBT COMMITTEE
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY the International STANDARDS
ORGANIZATION (ISO)
This document contains information provided by
ISO for consideration at the TBT Committee meeting of 12-14 November 2025 under
Agenda Item 6.a on Updates by Observers.
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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1. ISO would like to thank the WTO TBT
for the opportunity to provide an update on ISO activities.
1.2. As the world's leading developer of
voluntary, consensus-based, market-relevant International Standards, ISO has
published over 25,000 standards covering technology, manufacturing, and
societal needs. We are a global network of 174 National Standards Bodies, NSBs,
with one member per country. Our standards are co-developed and adopted by up
to 174 NSBs, ensuring that ISO standards are used everywhere to make lives,
easier, safer and better. By using ISO standards, WTO members can align
national regulations with international norms, lower trade barriers, facilitate
trade, and promoting regulatory cooperation. ISO Members represent ISO at the
national level. ISO members are often the WTO TBT National Enquiry Points. We
encourage WTO TBT Delegates to connect with ISO
Members in
their respective countries for issues related to technical barriers to trade.
1.3. To meet the evolving demands of the
global marketplace, ISO has established rapid response mechanisms to address
emerging issues, including digital transformation, sustainability, and supply
chain resilience. This adaptability helps to ensure that ISO standards continue
to address modern challenges, thus supporting WTO members in achieving their
trade objectives while ensuring compliance with international best practices.
1.4. At the ISO Annual Meeting in
October, ISO and the African
Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) signed the historic Kigali Agreement,
establishing a framework to strengthen technical cooperation and accelerate the
adoption and impact of international standards across Africa. Under the Kigali
Agreement, ISO and ARSO will coordinate standards development, encourage work
programme alignment, and promote the alignment of national and regional
standards to strengthen harmonization and reduce technical barriers to trade
across the continent.
2 Sustainability
2.1. ISO, in
partnership with IEC and UL SE, will convene the Standards Pavilion at COP30,
taking place in Belém, Brazil from 10 to 21 November 2025. The Pavilion has
grown significantly this year, featuring 21 partner organizations, up from 11
at COP29, reflecting increased engagement across the standards community.
Throughout the two-week event, the Pavilion will host over 50 sessions
including workshops, networking events, fireside chats and panel discussions.
ISO's participation at COP30 is driven around the objective that
"standards are recognized by policymakers and private sector as tools to
support effective and accountable climate action."
2.2. ISO and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) announced the landmark
partnership to harmonize their existing portfolios of greenhouse gas (GHG)
standards and to co-develop new standards for GHG emissions accounting and
reporting.
2.3. Under the
agreement, ISO and GHG Protocol will combine their leading GHG standards into
harmonized co-branded international standards. This includes standards from the
ISO 1406X
family of standards, alongside the GHG Protocol Corporate
Accounting and Reporting, Scope 2 and Scope 3 standards.
The harmonized portfolio will represent a major step towards a more common
global language for emissions accounting – simplifying processes for companies,
increasing consistency for policymakers, and reducing measurement and reporting
burdens for all users.
2.4. ISO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with Social Value International (SVI) announced the ImpactWorks Alliance at the
Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) held in
Sevilla, Spain. The ImpactWorks Alliance is a new global initiative that aims
to together businesses, policymakers, and standard-setters to accelerate the
uptake of internationally recognized sustainability standards, particularly the
forthcoming ISO/UNDP Management System Standards (MSS) for the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) (ISO 53001). The full operational launch is expected in
early 2026, aligned with the release of ISO 53001.
2.5. ISO has released its first
international standard on biodiversity for organizations: ISO 17298 Considering biodiversity in the
strategy and operations of organizations. This important international standard was
launched on 7th October at the ISO Annual Meeting 2025, during the
session "From Risk to Action: Why biodiversity matters to your business"
(replay). The standard was developed by ISO/TC 331 Biodiversity. It directly contributes to the
implementation of Target 15 of the Kunming‑Montreal
Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and aligns with the Taskforce on Nature‑related
Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
2.6. The Standards4Sustainabiltity
capacity building programme, implemented under the ISO Action Plan for
developing countries, supports ISO's developing country members and
stakeholders in their uptake of ISO standards to advance the UN SDGs. As part
of this programme, first result stories have been published presenting the real
benefits of implementing ISO standards, such as energy management or food
safety management, at selected SMEs in developing countries. Further result
stories are under development, including on topic such as circular economy.
These result stories are available at: Standards4Sustainability.
2.7. To support the consultations around
the UN's Global Environmental Data Strategy, ISO collaborated with Standards
Australia to conduct a mapping of how ISO's portfolio of standards supports
environmental data objectives. The research found 1122 ISO standards across the
entire data lifecycle and for a wide range of topics – from water quality to
AI. An interactive dashboard showing these standards can be explored at iso.org/environmental-data.
2.8. ISO will be participating as an
Observer in the Seventh United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) taking place from 8 to 12
December in Nairobi, Kenya, around the theme of "Advancing solutions for a
resilient planet".
2.9. ISO participated as an Observer in
the negotiations for the Global Plastic Pollution Treaty (INC─5.2) which took
place in Geneva from 5 to 15 August 2025. ISO has international standards that
address nearly every stage of the plastic life cycle. More information: iso.org/plasticpollution.
3 AI and Technology
3.1. As part of ISO's standards and
public policy programme, in September, ISO launched a new policy brief on AI: Harnessing international standards for responsible
AI development and governance. Written for policymakers and National
Standards Bodies - the brief links AI policy goals to specific international
standards, recognizing different policy approaches, capacities, and stages of
digital development. It demonstrates how consensus-based international
standards translate principles into practice across the AI lifecycle – building
trust, transparency, quality, risk management, data governance, sustainability,
and conformity assessment – while enabling technical and regulatory
interoperability, reducing fragmentation, and enabling market access. We would
like to thank the WTO Secretariat's TBT and Digital Trade and Frontier
Technology Sections for peer reviewing the document.
3.2. ISO and IEC, together with the ITU
and in partnership with UN ODET and UN OHCHR are jointly organizing the 2025
International AI Standards Summit, hosted by the Korean Agency for Technology
and Standards (KATS) from 2-3 December. The Summit marks the next phase in
international AI standards development, taking into account the socio-technical
and human rights dimensions for AI governance, which are key priorities for
trade. The Seoul Statement, which will be launched at the Summit, will
additionally capture the importance of multistakeholder collaboration and
capacity building in delivering this new direction.
3.3. We invite WTO TBT delegates
interested in how international standards can put AI to use –or wishing to
share their expertise– to participate. Please reach out to your National
Standards Body or Committee for more information or register here: link. ISO and the WTO Secretariat are working
closely to ensure digital trade and TBT perspectives are integrated into the
programme.
4 CAPACITY BUILDING
4.1. Implementing ACTReF through NaTReF
and International Standards: ISO launched its first Capacity Building Journey
(CBJ) on Implementing ACTReF (African Continental Technical Regulatory
Framework) through NaTReF (National Technical Regulatory Frameworks) and
International Standards. This CBJ is organized by ISO in collaboration with the
African Union Commission (AUC) and the AfCFTA Secretariat. This initiative is
supported by PTB with funding from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development, as well as the Swedish International Development Cooperation
Agency (SIDA).
4.2. This CBJ supports the
implementation of the African Continental Technical Regulatory Framework
(ACTReF) to promote regulatory alignment in the development, application and
enforcement of technical regulations. A key objective of this initiative is to
assist participating countries in developing their National Technical
Regulatory Frameworks (NATReFs), recognizing international standards as
powerful instruments for regulatory cooperation and facilitating trade, in line
with the WTO TBT Agreement and the AfCFTA Agreement Annex 6. The first in
person workshop will be hosted by the Namibian Standards Institute (NSI), the
ISO member in Namibia, and will take place in November 2025. 12 countries from
Africa will participate in this workshop, with each national delegation
comprising three representatives: ISO member (NSB), the Ministries of Trade and
a regulatory body. The WTO Secretariat will participate and present
perspectives on technical barriers to trade and regulatory cooperation.
4.3. Stakeholder engagement for ISO
members: An eLearning course on effective stakeholder engagement for National
Standards Bodies (NSBs) in developing countries has been launched. This
eLearning course provides NSBs with knowledge and tools to effectively identify
and engage with stakeholders and develop and implement stakeholder engagement
frameworks that enhance the quality and impact of standards. The course is
available to ISO members via the ISO Digital
Learning Platform.
5 CONCLUSION
5.1. We encourage WTO TBT Committee
delegates to consider ISO standards as trusted tools for regulatory
harmonization. By adopting ISO standards in national technical regulations,
member economies can enhance compatibility, improve market access, and support regulatory
coherence on an international scale.
5.2. ISO remains committed to
collaborating with the WTO TBT Committee and its delegates to promote fair,
open, and resilient trade. We are confident that by leveraging the ISO system
and its standards, WTO members can strengthen regulatory cooperation, reduce
technical barriers, and foster an inclusive and sustainable trade. ISO will
continue to organize regional workshops with a focus on the WTO TBT Agreement
and looks forward to collaborating with the WTO TBT Section to support
initiatives on TBT across sectors.
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