When products, systems, machinery and devices work well and safely, it is often because they meet standards. And the organization responsible for many thousands of the standards which benefit the world is ISO. When products and services meet our expectations, we tend to take this for granted and be unaware of the role of standards. However, when standards are absent, we soon notice. We soon care when products turn out to be of poor quality, do not fit, are incompatible with equipment that we already have, are unreliable or dangerous. For businesses, the widespread adoption of International Standards means that suppliers can develop and offer products and services meeting specifications that have wide international acceptance in their sectors. Therefore, businesses using International Standards can compete on many more markets around the world.
Examples :
ISO 14000 Environmental management
ISO 14001:2004 The ISO standard for implementing environmental management systems, and environmental management tools. The ISO 14000 family of standards have evolved to provide comprehensive solutions to the range of environmental challenges facing business, government and society today. The ISO 14000 standards not only provide environmental benefits, but also significant tangible economic benefits.

ISO 9000 Quality management
ISO 9001:2008, the ISO standard that establishes the requirements for a quality management system and which can be used for certification by organizations that wish to have their conformity to the standard verified by an independent auditor.