ABSTRACT
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has produced standards of corporate business performance in the areas of quality management of the production process and environmental management standards. This chapter aims to analyze the impact of these standards on working conditions and on environmental protection measures taken by businesses and governments. Canada's member body at the ISO is the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), which governs the standard-making bodies in the country, or at least endorses the standards which they produce. The ISO 9000 Series comprises several areas, including auditing and certification of product quality assurance. Quality Management under ISO is well-established in industrialized countries and all the propaganda points to the aim of establishing Quality Management as a pervasive world-wide system. In the area of environmental protection and ecosystem integrity, the chosen vehicle for realizing and implementing international standards is the ISO.
