THE United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015 as a blueprint for reducing poverty, ensuring a healthy planet, and a prosperous and peaceful future for all. The agenda, based on 17 goals and 169 targets, presents a roadmap to achieve sustainable development.

The signatory states must meet the targets both individually and jointly. It even asks for help from all sectors of society, including local and national governments, business, industry and individuals.

Every year on Oct 14, World Standards Day is observed around the world as a day to raise awareness about the work of technical communities around the world which contribute to creating international standards.

These standards are not there just for the name. They are meticulously built, acclaimed through a scientific process of technical documentation-cum-agreement policies, and then launched into the world for public acknowledgement.

Considering the importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the theme for World Standards Day 2021 is ‘Standards for Sustainable Development Goals’, which emphasises the critical role that standardisation plays in promoting and achieving these goals.

In order to achieve SDGs, there is a need for consensus, collaboration and innovation. The most significant contribution and support for achieving the 2030 agenda is through standards. Standards and related documents represent globally-recognised guidelines and frameworks based on international collaboration.

Built around consensus, they provide a firm foundation on which innovation can thrive, and are crucial instruments to assist governments, industries and consumers to contribute to the attainment of all the SDGs.

Concomitantly, standards support a distributed governance model by enabling societal, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. This paradigm encourages people to act in their areas of influence and promotes everyone’s social, economic and environmental inclusion.

For instance, standards support social sustainability by assisting governments and communities in improving their residents’ health and wellbeing. Standards facilitate international trade, improve a country’s national quality infrastructure, and support sustainable corporate practices, all of which contribute to economic sustainability. Besides, standards assist enterprises and countries in controlling their environmental impact, which promotes environmental sustainability.

In this spirit, we stand united in our commitment to work together to advance the 2030 agenda through standards at both national and international levels.

Ainy Zehra
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2021