BSI is the UK’s national member of the international standards organizations International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and their European counterparts European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC). It is also a member of a third European Standardization Organization, European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), alongside industry bodies and companies. We lead the way in national and international standards with over 84,000 clients in 193 countries.
International standards from ISO and IEC are a vital element of the World Trade Organization rules-based trading system, and BSI participates on many of these committees to ensure that the British voice is heard in international standards-making.
BSI aims for every country to have the same standards; therefore, we’re committed to helping other countries develop theirs. International standards are adopted by BSI, to create a common language for trading partners and give access to the global market. Our international standards create a technical understanding of how to do better in business, and we provide the means for our UK expertise to be reflected in national, European, and international standards. After scrutinizing and influencing these standards, we then progress, co-write, and publish them. BSI has also provided practical training for over 150,000 people worldwide on how to implement and operate standards.
Additionally, we have a larger set of adopted ISO and CEN standards than other standards bodies. Of these, 70% are adopted within 1 week and 90% within 2 weeks, and in the case of a crucial adoption (like ISO 9001), just one day.