Well, I was never a big fan of ISO 9001, but many ISO standards, and standards in general, I pretty much respect such as ANSI and SAE (to name a couple).
I have no idea what the future will be where standards are important as the world becomes more interconnected. Historically the need for standards largely goes back to the advent of
interchangable parts (a good read with pictures). Also see:
Obligatory Wikipedia Entry.
I'm almost 70 so to a large degree I don't have a significant interest in following what the ISO folks are currently dreaming up. This is not to say I do not see them as important, or potentially important. Then again, many, such as
sustainability, will be very important to future generations. The ones you cited I do believe are important to future generations. As world population increases and industrialization increasing expands, where countries which were once mostly rural more and more need to move people to cities to enter the age of industrialization, the need for international standards is necessary. As a side note, from what I read the world is entering the Information age so many of these countries are a bit late to the game. As an example, in the US industrial jobs have significantly declined, and has been for years (think "rust belt"). The US is more of a "services" country, increasingly so.
I guess what I am saying is that I born and grew up in post WWII when the US was an advanced industrial world. The 1950's and 1960's were exceptionally good times in the US. One thing I understood by the time I was in my late teens was that the population of the world was increasing exponentially. And I understood what, for example, ecology was about. I want to thank my older brother Chris for what I understood. He was in college and this stuff came up in many of our conversations. I'm sure everyone here knows I'm a "liberal". I also had the extreme advantage of living in England and France for a couple of years in the 1960's and my father was a globalist. By globalist I mean he would tell me that people around the world are the same - Humans. For example - The French are just like US citizens. My father was a doctor and he was one person I can say wasn't racist or prejudiced. He taught me that all people everywhere are people. I include this in my post as I want to explain why I believe most of the below are important to the future of humanity.
Can anyone guess what do these "things" have in common?
- Circular economy
- Sustainable finance
- Consumer protection: privacy by design for consumer goods and services
- Wheeled child conveyances
- Ageing societies
- Sustainable non-sewered sanitation systems
- Vulnerable consumers
- Bamboo and rattan
- Guidelines on consumer warranties and guarantees
The need for standards in many areas is essential for the future.
