ANSI, NIST Prepare for World Standards Day 2009
This year's the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day will include an exhibition, reception, and dinner on Oct. 7, focusing on the theme "Standards for Environmental Stewardship." The event, which will kick off at 5:30 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., is co-chaired each year by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) will serve as this year's administrating organization in celebration of their 115th anniversary.
From reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving energy to supporting sustainable buildings and products, consumers worldwide are focused on protecting and preserving the environment. Technologies and strategies that support these initiatives often rely on coordination among manufacturers, standards development organizations, conformity assessment bodies, and consumers. This year's WSD will highlight the critical role of standards and conformity assessment programs in the development and implementation of these green initiatives.
Celebrated annually, World Standards Day serves to raise awareness of the importance of international standardization to the world economy and to promote its role in helping meet the needs of business, industry, government, and consumers worldwide. The global celebration is coordinated by the principal international standards organizations: the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
The evening's festivities include presentation of the 2009 Ronald H. Brown Standards Leadership Award to Jim Sanford, assistant U.S. trade representative for Market Access and Industrial Competitiveness, who is being honored for his contributions to the use of standardization to reduce trade barriers. The winners of the 2009 World Standards Day Paper Competition will also be announced and presented with awards. For more information or to register, please visit www.wsd-us.org. Advance registration is required.
WSD is part of the World Standards Week 2009 (WSW) series of events, which include committee meetings, forums, and an awards ceremony. Scheduled for Oct. 5-8, WSW will be held at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, Md. For more information, visit www.ansi.org/wsweek.
ANSI oversees the creation, promulgation and use of thousands of norms and guidelines that directly impact businesses in nearly every sector: from acoustical devices to construction equipment, from dairy and livestock production to energy distribution, and many more. ANSI is also actively engaged in accrediting programs that assess conformance to standards – including globally-recognized cross-sector programs such as the ISO 9000 (quality) and ISO 14000 (environmental) management systems.