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Javier García has been reelected for two more years as Vice-President of ISO during the ISO General Assembly, held this week in Colombia. As a result, the UNE's Director General will serve a four-year term that began in 2023, making him the first Spaniard elected to hold this post.
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His appointment reflects the notable influence and reputation of Spanish standards around the world, and gives the Spanish business fabric the opportunity to continue leading the way with global standards that will help it successfully overcome its major challenges.
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The ISO has published the first global standard that will help organizations achieve the United Nations SDGs. Free to access as part of the partnership between the ISO and UN, it will be available in Spanish this week as UNE-ISO/UNDP PAS 53002. UNE spearheaded its official translation into Spanish.
Madrid, 16 September 2024 - Javier García, the Director General of the Spanish Association for Standardization, UNE, has been reelected for another two years as Vice-President of Technical Management of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). As a result, he will complete a four-year term. In 2021, Javier García became the first Spaniard to hold this position in ISO for the period 2023-2024; now, he has now been appointed for the period 2025-2026.
The appointment was ratified during the ISO General Assembly held last week in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, where Javier García was accompanied by the Director of Cooperation and International Relations at UNE, Mónica Sanzo. UNE is Spain's representative in ISO, which is responsible for creating global standards with best practices in business management. It is made up of 172 countries.
In the words of Javier García: “I am deeply honoured and grateful for the trust that the members of ISO have once again placed in me. Continuing my work at the head of the Technical Office is an opportunity for Spain's production sector to continue leading the way with the global standards that will help it successfully overcome its major challenges. He who writes the standard defines the market".
His appointment also represents a recognition of the extraordinary influence and reputation of Spanish standards worldwide, as well as of the work of UNE that allows Spain to have one of the most powerful standardization bodies in the world and to be an international benchmark in standardization; currently, experts from our country hold over 150 executive and secretarial positions in technical bodies within international and European standards bodies (ISO, IEC, CEN, CENELEC and ETSI), and Spanish standards are providing the basis for more and more global standards.
The UNE's Director General enjoys significant international recognition, as reflected in his various leadership roles within global and European standardization bodies. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), and throughout his career he has served as the Technical Vice President of the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), and he was also a member of the Standardization Technical Board of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
Javier García has been working in the Spanish standardization body for 25 years, of which he has been the Director General since 2017. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, a Master's Degree in Innovation Management, and a Postgraduate Degree in Business Administration and Marketing Management.
In his capacity at the ISO, Javier García is responsible for ensuring that the new international technical standards are consistent with the ISO's Strategy 2030, whose goals include promoting the ecological and energy transition, the digital transformation, ESG (environmental, social and governance) objectives and compliance with the sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
First global standard for the United Nations SDGs
This last point takes on special significance, since at the General Assembly, the ISO published the first global standard that will help organizations around the world to achieve the United Nations SDGs: the ISO/UNDP PAS 53002 “Guidelines for contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)". This standard is the result of the cooperation agreement signed between ISO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Sixty-six countries took part in its development, including Spain through UNE, which spearheaded its official translation into Spanish. This will hasten its introduction into a market of over 600 million Spanish speakers, ensuring its uniform application.
This document is free to access as part of the partnership agreement between the ISO and the United Nations. Next week, it will be available in Spanish on the UNE website as UNE-ISO/UNDP PAS 53002.
The ISO is also developing the future ISO/UNDP 53001 standard, which will lay out the requirements for developing a management system for the SDGs.
