ISO was founded in 1947 with the idea of answering a fundamental question: “what's the best way of doing this?” It started with the obvious things like weights and measures, and over the last 70+ years has developed into a family of standards that cover everything from the shoes we stand in, to the Wi-Fi networks that connect us invisibly to each other. Addressing all these and more, International Standards mean that consumers can have confidence that their procedures and products are safe, reliable and of good quality. ISO's standards on road safety, toy safety and secure medical packaging are just a few of those that help make the world a safer place. Regulators and governments count on ISO standards to help develop better regulation, knowing they have a sound basis thanks to the involvement of globally established experts. With International Standards on air, water, and soil quality, on emissions of gases and radiation, and environmental aspects of products, they protect the health of the planet and people, beyond bringing economic benefits.

ISO International Standards help organizations of any size and sector reduce costs, increase productivity, and access new efficient possibilities.

ISO standards cover many areas such as: Quality Management Systems, Environmental management, Food safety, health, and safety standards and many more. Some examples are ISO 9000 Quality management, ISO 27000 Information security, 17025 Testing and calibration laboratories, ISO 13485 Medical devices, etc. Currently there are 24,826 ISO standards from 817 technical areas. 

ISO information brief can be found at: https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/store/en/PUB100007.pdf