The Director General of the Spanish Association for Standardization, UNE, Javier García, 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 he began in 2023, making him the first Spaniard to hold this post.
The appointment took place 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 the ISO. Over 130 countries gathered at the world's leading conference on international standards.
Javier García stated: “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 re-election also represents a recognition of the outstanding 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.
The UNE's Director General is widely renowned internationally, as evidenced by his various positions of responsibility in global and European standards bodies. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). During his career, he has been the Technical Vice-President of the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), and a member of the Technical Board of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
The Annual Assembly of the ISO provided a great opportunity to share best practices, establish international partnerships and discuss how global standards can help overcome the major challenges facing society involving issues such as ESG (environmental, social and governance) goals, climate adaptation, circular economy, digitization, artificial intelligence, innovation, diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
ISO/UNDP guidelines to contribute to the United Nations SDGs
The SDGs were front and centre at the General Assembly, since the ISO has 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)". These are the first international guidelines to empower companies and organizations and speed up their progress towards the success of the SDGs. Free to access as part of the partnership between the ISO and UN, this global standard will be available in Spanish this week as UNE-ISO/UNDP PAS 53002.
Sixty-six countries took part in its development, including Spain through UNE, which spearheaded its official translation into Spanish.
