(ANSI: New York) -- More than 80 percent of global commodity trade is affected by standards and conformance, which translates to more than 13 trillion business dollars each year. Numbers like these clearly demonstrate the powerful advantage that companies gain in the global market by exerting their influence and actively participating in standardization.

(ANSI: New York) -- The U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day (WSD) Planning Committee would like to remind interested stakeholders to enter the 2011 WSD Paper Competition. Entries for the competition, sponsored by the Standards Engineering Society (SES), are due on Aug. 12, 2011.

(ISO: Geneva) -- In “10 Good Things for SMEs,” a new ISO brochure, managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 10 countries from around the world explain how ISO standards contribute to their success.

(ANSI: Washington) -- The British Standards Institution (BSI) has submitted a proposal to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for a new field of technical activity on facilities management. As the U.S.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the U.S. standardization system, has released a workshop report summarizing the range of perspectives voiced at the May 12, 2011, ANSI workshop Standards Wars: Myth or Reality? in Washington, D.C.

(Thomson Reuters: New York) -- Techstreet, a Thomson Reuters business, has signed agreements with a range of construction and safety standards publishers to distribute standards, manuals, and codes online.

(ANSI: Washington) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) has reopened a public comment period seeking input on regulatory cooperation activities between the United States and the European Union. The comment period is now open through Aug. 8, 2011.

(ISO: Geneva) -- ISO international standards offer benefits for just about everyone, and what the standards can achieve is becoming an increasingly useful component of general knowledge.

(A2LA: Frederick, MD) -- The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) has added the Sustainable Energy Testing Field to its range of accreditation activities. A2LA is currently accepting new applications for accreditation from laboratories that intend to test products designed for sustainable energy production and efficient energy use. In addition, A2LA is working with existing accredited laboratories that wish to modify their current scopes of accreditation to identify activities within this new and emerging field of testing.

Substantial improvements in energy efficiency with positive financial consequences have been experienced both by a major company and by a small business taking part in a pilot program to test the new ISO 50001 energy management standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).