The benefits of standards – and actively participating in their development – cannot be overstated. Yet companies, trade organizations, government agencies, and other stakeholders are often unfamiliar with the standardization system, and the tremendous value that involvement brings.
Initially developed by ANSI over 10 years ago and updated to meet the community’s needs amidst today’s standards landscape, Standards Boost Business communicates the importance of participating in standards to executives and decision-makers in private- and public-sector organizations across all industries.
Standards are essential to business in our global, interconnected world. In fact, 93% of global exports rely on conformance to standards.
While they’re often invisible to the public, standards make everyday life work. They assure that light bulbs fit sockets, that your ATM card works around the world, and that new technologies are interoperable.
Standards reduce barriers to trade; improve sustainability; reduce costs; assure safety and support well-being; promote innovation; and offer solutions to challenges in the public and private sectors.
Advantages of Participation in Standards Development
Adhering to standards boosts business, innovation, sustainability, and more—but being involved in their development offers far greater benefits. Learn how participating in standards development can offer unique advantages to companies, government agencies, trade associations, consumers, and emerging professionals, and download customizable elevator pitches to aid you in communicating the benefits of participation to your organization’s leaders.
Literally everywhere you turn in your daily life, thousands of standards are there, helping everything work. From tech devices, appliances, and energy infrastructure, to healthcare, machinery, and smart vehicles—and nearly everything in between—all innovation is shaped, propelled, and guided by standards.
Here, ANSI illustrates a small sample of the voluntary consensus standards developed by thousands of experts in diverse forums that are working to assure the products, processes, and systems we rely on every day are safe, reliable, and efficient, and work effectively together.
Drop us an email with a photo or description of instances in your work, home, or any aspect of daily life where you see or imagine standards enhancing the world. We may be inspired to create a new graphic like the one above, or post your photos of standards in action (with your permission).
The following case studies offer examples of the impact that standards have had on business outcomes, production efficiency, consumer benefits, and more.
According to the American Hiking Society, day hiking is projected to see the greatest rate of growth in adults of any outdoor recreational activity by 2060. So the recent publication of ISO 3021:2023, Adventure tourism — Hiking and trekking activities — Requirements and recommendations, will do a mountain of good for hikers everywhere. This international standard provides guidance for the safety of participants, leaders, and assistants in hiking and trekking tourism activities, and establishes criteria for characteristics and difficulty levels for route classification. Hitting the trail should be safer and more enjoyable than ever!
Are you keeping up on standardization news? Test your knowledge with our monthly crossword featuring clues and answers based on the latest information in ANSI News.
If you solved the crossword, we want to give you props! Please take a screenshot and e-mail it to [email protected]. The first several people to send us the screenshot of their fully solved crossword each month will receive a shoutout on this page and on ANSI’s social media channels.
