Under the aegis of the G20 Italian Presidency, with the contribution of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the WSC had the pleasure to co-organize the 2021 International Standards Summit for People, Planet, and Prosperity alongside the Italian Standardization bodies UNI and CEI. This virtual event, held on 29 October 2021, brought together experts from governments, standardization bodies, industry, academia, think tanks and civil society, representing 106 countries around thew world, to exchange views on how the institutional frameworks of the Italian and international standards bodies can help governments and regulators turn policies into concrete actions towards a more sustainable future.
Speakers included: Giuseppe Rossi (President, UNI), Riccardo Lama (President, CEI), Eddy Njoroge (President, ISO), Yinbiao Shu (President, IEC), Houlin Zhao (Secretary General ITU), Gilberto Pichetto Fratin (Italian Vice Minister of Economic Development), Saad AlKasabi (Governor of SASO, Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization), Kukuh S. Achmad (Chairman of BSN, the National Standardisation Agency of Indonesia), Giovanni Farese (Professor of Economic History, European University of Rome, Expert of Task Force n. 8 of the T20), Erik N. Wijkström (Head of TBT Unit in Trade and Environment Division, WTO), Marianna Karttunen Saint Bris (Policy Analyst, OECD), Sophie Müller (Deputy Head of Unit, Standards Policy, DG GROW, H3, European Commission), Eva Spina (Director General of Communication Technologies and Cybersecurity at the Ministry of Economic Development), Jovan Kurbalija (Executive Director, DiploFoundation & Head, Geneva Internet Platform), Luca Lo Schiavo (Deputy Director, Directorate Energy Infrastructure and Unbundling Infrastructure, ARERA), Chaesub Lee (Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau), Philippe Metzger (IEC General Secretary and CEO), Sergio Mujica (Secretary-General, ISO), Emanuele Riva (Vice Chair IAF and incoming IAF Chair, International Accreditation Forum)
Call to action
The WSC issued a Call to Action, calling on all countries to recognize, support and adopt international standards in order to contribute directly to the three pillars of the Italian G20 presidency: People, Planet and Prosperity.
Outcomes of the G20 leader’s conference
Following the G20 leader’s conference that took place 29-30 October in Rome, leaders of the world’s richest economies have agreed to adopt “meaningful and effective actions” to limit global warming. Leaders said that standards are instrumental in areas including sustainable finance, transport and travel, and reporting on both financial and sustainability initiatives. They agreed on the role of technology and innovation as key enablers for the global recovery and sustainable development.
The G20 Rome Leaders’ Declaration notably underlined the importance of consensus-based international standards for ensuring the better inclusion of MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)
in the digital economy.