Environmental focus for World Standards Day

Technical experts in the UK are today joining with peers around the globe to celebrate World Standards Day and its 2020 theme of ‘Protecting the planet with standards’.

The event recognises the collaborative efforts of experts worldwide in developing voluntary technical agreements published by the Geneva-based International Organisation for Standards (ISO), of which the British Standards Institution (BSI) is one of its 165 national standard body members.

The British Board of Agrément works closely with BSI; BBA Principal Scientist Jon Denyer chairs key BSI committee B/540 which delivers the UK’s input into international standardisation of energy performance of construction materials, components and buildings.

“World Standards Day is a great opportunity to mark the tremendous collaborative work that thousands of experts worldwide achieve in developing voluntary technical agreements,” said Jon. “This year’s environmental theme is particularly relevant and underlines how important standards are in driving up the energy efficiency of buildings.

“For the BBA, standards form the bedrock of much of our work and increasingly we are testing and certificating more building solutions developed to deliver positive environment impacts, a recent example being a ground-breaking concrete product that has less than half the embodied carbon of a conventional mix. We regularly evaluate products which better insulate buildings, are designed in part to reduce road haulage needs and offer hi-tech installation methods that are quicker and less weather dependent. This demonstrates how innovative product manufacturers also have an important part to play in pushing technical boundaries and shaping standards. It’s great to mark this collaborative effort today,” added Jon.

World Standards Day is organised by ISO, the International Electrotechnical Commission and the International Telecommunications Union). A spokesman said: “Standards cover all aspects of energy savings, water and air quality. They lay down standardised protocols and methods of measurement. and their broad use helps reduce the environmental impact of industrial production and processes, facilitates the re-use of limited resources and improves energy efficiency.”