Mission

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. These serve as a basis for national standardization and as references when drafting international tenders and contracts.

Through its members , the IEC promotes international cooperation on all questions of electrotechnical standardization and related matters, such as the assessment of conformity to standards, in the fields of electricity, electronics and related technologies.

The IEC charter embraces all electrotechnologies including electronics, magnetics and electromagnetics, electroacoustics, multimedia, telecommunication, and energy production and distribution, as well as associated general disciplines such as terminology and symbols, electromagnetic compatibility, measurement and performance, dependability, design and development, safety and the environment.

Objectives

The Commission's objectives are to:

• meet the requirements of the global market efficiently
• ensure primacy and maximum world-wide use of its standards and conformity assessment schemes
• assess and improve the quality of products and services covered by its standards
• establish the conditions for the interoperability of complex systems
• increase the efficiency of industrial processes
• contribute to the improvement of human health and safety
• contribute to the protection of the environment.
  

Standards

IEC's international standards facilitate world trade by removing technical barriers to trade, leading to new markets and economic growth. Put simply, a component or system manufactured to IEC standards and manufactured in country A can be sold and used in countries B through to Z.

IEC's standards are vital since they also represent the core of the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), whose 100-plus central government members explicitly recognize that international standards play a critical role in improving industrial efficiency and developing world trade. The number of standardization bodies which have accepted the Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards presented in Annex 3 to the WTO's TBT Agreement underlines the global importance and reach of this accord.

IEC standards provide industry and users with the framework for economies of design, greater product and service quality, more inter-operability, and better production and delivery efficiency. At the same time, IEC's standards also encourage an improved quality of life by contributing to safety, human health and the protection of the environment.

Conformity assessment

The IEC's multilateral conformity assessment schemes, based on its international standards, are truly global in concept and practice, reducing trade barriers caused by different certification criteria in various countries and helping industry to open up new markets. Removing the significant delays and costs of multiple testing and approval allows industry to be faster and cheaper to market with its products.

As technology becomes more complex, users and consumers are becoming more aware of their dependence on products whose design and construction they may not understand. In this situation, reassurance is needed that the product is reliable and will meet expectations in terms of performance, safety, durability and other criteria.

How can the industrial user and the final consumer be sure that the product they buy conforms to the criteria of an IEC standard? The IEC's conformity assessment and product certification schemes exist to provide just this reassurance, and the regulatory nature of some products now also sees recognition of the CA schemes amongst some government regulators.