The Role of ISO Standards in Advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: A Quality Management and Sustainability Perspective

Sustainable development goals (SDGs) by the United Nations demand solving global issues such as climate change, poverty, inequality, and deteriorating social and environmental wellbeing within a short time period. The International Organization of Standardization (ISO) as a significant international entity can support the achievement of the SDGs by its internationally accepted standards. The paper discusses the alignment of the work of ISO with the SDGs. It also explains some of the ISO standards like ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety), ISO 50001 (Energy Management), and ISO 26000 (Social Responsibility). It also explains the benefits, challenges of implementation and the worth of making these standards be part of organizational strategy. Theory and practice carry each other through global standards of quantitative theory and case studies to demonstrate the practical applications. This connection between standards and SDGs explains the possible ways in which the organization structures may be employed to attain economic, social, and environmental objectives simultaneously. This is where transformational role of ISO can be applied in propagating sustainability.