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courses , joint publications and research on different related matters such as good standardisation practices , environmental and energy management , food safety , energy use and energy efficiency , social responsibility and conformity assessment .
STANDARDS AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION The world is in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution ( 4IR ) powered by digital technologies that are transforming society , economies and the environment . This process of digital transformation — the integration of digital technology into all organisational areas — is fundamentally changing how organisations operate and deliver value to customers and stakeholders .
Increasingly connecting objects , machines , people and the environment , the disruptive nature of technological innovations makes it difficult to plan for and anticipate the future . What is clear is that the seismic shift that this digital transformation brings has major implications for sustainable development and will significantly impact the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDGs .
As a development driven by humans , digital transformation has the potential to be shaped to promote sustainability for the benefit of all parts of society . In this respect , standardisation can offer a
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number of benefits and opportunities for digital technologies . Standards can facilitate the ongoing digitalisation of industry by enhancing productivity and efficiency , promoting compatibility and interoperability between standards and digital transformation products and processes through common language , while guaranteeing minimum levels of quality and safety .
For example , companies can monitor processes and collect data in real time and apply analytics to predict quality issues and maintenance needs . These outcomes may be especially beneficial in restoring international manufacturing and trade to their previous vitality , as both sectors slumped significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic , corresponding with the associated lockdowns and value chain breakdowns in many regions .
Furthermore , standards can serve as accelerators of change as they promote the uptake of new digital technologies and spread knowledge through codification . There is also a circular relationship between standards , regulations and policies , which feeds into an overall concept / public good of Good Governance . Standards are a voluntary complement to and inform effective regulation , which in turn can create an enabling environment for innovation and minimise risk for disruptors and investors .
Standards developed by international organisations can provide an effective
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response to market barriers and contribute to public policy objectives , as further elaborated in the UNIDO publication “ Standards and Digital Transformation - Good Governance in a Digital World ”.
LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE The well-established UNIDO – ISO partnership exemplifies the power of collaboration in the area of standardisation . Going forward , emphasis should be placed on further strengthening this partnership to facilitate the development and implementation of international standards , to the benefit of developing countries and countries in transition .
Following the initial restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic , and the consequential shift to new models of work , the demand for online training and virtual capacity building has increased . In view of this , UNIDO and ISO are highly keen to benefit from the advantages of digitalisation for learning and development , and to help their members and stakeholders optimise the use of digital learning solutions for knowledge transfer and application .
To this end , UNIDO and ISO have agreed to co-develop more e-learning courses in different subject areas . Moreover , the potential for standards to contribute to digital transformation governance is of pressing importance . In order to unlock this potential , a robust strategy is required to understand the implications of current and future technologies and to shape the digital transformation towards people , their needs and the planet .
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Building on the power of collaboration and technical cooperation is essential between standards developers of all types to ensure the most comprehensive , high-quality and up-to-date selection of standards for digital technologies and a high level of convergence is produced . This includes creating an inclusive environment and allowing equal and appropriate representation of all relevant stakeholders , which is paramount in standardisation .
Further exploration and advocacy of the role of standards for digital technologies can mitigate related challenges and ultimately help countries to realise the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDGs .
This is an extract of the complete document available for free download on the UNIDO website . CLA
The world is in the
midst of the Fourth
Industrial Revolution
( 4IR ) powered by digital
technologies that are
transforming society ,
economies and the
environment .
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