In March 2005, EIA/ECCB-954, "Electrical and Electronic Components and Products Hazardous-Substance-Free Standard and Requirements" was developed and released as a U.S. national standard.
In April 2005, the IECQ management committee agreed at its annual meeting in the United Kingdom to allow the United States National Authorized Institute to begin an international IECQ HSPM pilot program using the EIA/ECCB-954 standard.

In October 2005, following the IEC Conformity Assessment Board meetings in South Africa, it was agreed that the IECQ would release EIA/ECCB-954 as an international specification with the international document title QC 080000 IECQ HSPM.

The foundation for the deployment of this specification was a hundred and one years of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) history:

On Sept. 15, 1904, delegates to the International Electrical Congress, held in St. Louis, adopted a report that included the following words:

"…steps should be taken to secure the cooperation of the technical societies of the world, by the appointment of a representative Commission to consider the question of the standardization of the nomenclature and ratings of electrical apparatus and machinery."

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