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Posts Tagged ‘international standards’

Mobile Money’s role in International Remittance

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

International remittance, the transfer of money home by a foreign worker, is a key area in which mobile money can potentially play a very valuable role in economic and social development (micro financing has proven in recent years to be of great importance in many countries).

The International Fund for Agricultural Development estimates that global remittance is in excess of $300 billion (USD) annually which is greater than the sum of all international aid. For instance the World Bank estimates that in 2008 (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/DT.ODA.ODAT.CD) India, China and Mexico received approximately $45 billion, $41 billion and $25 billion respectively. Furthermore, in nearly 40 countries, remittance represents a share of GDP greater than 10%, such as in Tajikistan (45%) and Moldova (38%).

However, despite the significant role of international remittance for developing nations, more than 90% of the world’s poorest have no access to basic banking services. Yet there is near universal saturation of mobile technology.

However there are still significant barriers, both technical and regulatory, to mobile money development. And although the key innovative players in the mobile money space are from the the developing world, they are in no position to influence the developed world to take the necessary steps needed.

Tags: ICT standards, international standards, Mobile Money for the Unbanked
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Interview with Edvard Kožušník, Rapporteur of the IMCO Committee

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

This exclusive interview with Mr Edvard Kožušník, Rapporteur of the EU Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee, was conducted for Talkstandards.com via email during July 2010 in relation to the Open Forum on Transparency in EU Standardization.

The IMCO recently hosted a public hearing on the Future of European Standardisation which Mr Kožušník co-chaired. The outline of the hearing, including the presentations made can be found here.

Join the Forum discussion here: www.talkstandards.com/questions-for-event-reforming-eu-standardization/

Upgrading China’s Standards system – the challenge of rising complexity

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

China has substantially improved its capacity to develop and implement a broad set of interoperability standards, security protocols, and product specifications as an enabling platform for the development of indigenous innovation. However, as rising complexity in technology, business organization, market structure and laws and regulations is reshaping the international standardization landscape, China’s government-centered standardization strategy is under pressure. While rising complexity creates new opportunities for learning and institutional innovations, it also increases the cost of standards development and its risks, especially for Chinese companies that seek to move beyond the status of fast-followers to become co-shapers of international standards.

China’s Integration into the System of International Standardisation: A Possible, but Not Guaranteed Win-Win Situation

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Standardisation has the potential to be an influential instrument in improving China’s economy, society and government in numerous dimensions, so long as standardisation policy is able to be effectively embedded in both other related policy areas at the national level and the international system of standardisation.

World Cup Standardization

Monday, June 14th, 2010

With the soccer World Cup kicking off last week in South Africa, it is interesting to consider the effects that standardization has played in spreading the popularity of the game internationally.

Modern soccer stems from mid 19^th century efforts to standardize the rules of various codes of football played throughout English public schools during the era.
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Tags: international standards, Soccer, standardization, standards winners, World Cup
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How to Turn Tigers Into Vegetarians?

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

As COP15 is rapidly approaching its climax, a number of conflicts between developed and developing countries have surfaced. These conflicts should not be surprising. First, the costs and benefits of actions taken to stop climate change vary across countries. Second, poorer nations argue that rich countries have caused the problems and should clean up their own mess. Third, individual countries have a unilateral incentive to free-ride on other countries actions.
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Tags: COP15, green technology, international standards, IPR, technology transfer
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Peer to Peer Production of Energy and the Role of Standards

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

G B Shaw said: The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

Much of the discussion around Smart Grids is ‘reasonable’. It is mostly oriented towards the existing infrastructure, with the assumption that the existing infrastructure will also have an important role to play in future.

This is a ‘reasonable’ perspective, but what if we were to be ‘unreasonable’? And therefore progressive and also disruptive in the words of GB Shaw?
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Tags: COP15, green ICT, international standards, smart grid, standardization
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Smart Grid 101

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Smart Grid technology is aimed at creating a more dynamic power grid where users can ‘interact’ with the system and actively control their energy consumption thus reducing costs. It can use digital technology in delivering energy which leads to an increase in reliability and transparency. Ambitions of what Smart Grids can accomplish are grand, but so are the possibilities.

For the home consumer, new technology might result in the ability of electronic equipment to shut off or hibernate automatically whenever it is not used. Or, since (near) real time data will be transported and displayed in homes, the consumer can choose to run machinery when overall demand is low. On a larger, regional scale, Smart technologies can make it possible for energy to be transferred to essential functions such as hospitals, fire department etc in case of emergency.

Real time data transfer could also enable systems to automatically respond to interruptions, outages, changes in weather etc. It can also work as an incentive for consumers to avoid heavy energy consumption during peak hours thus optimizing grid usage.

But not only consumers can decrease costs by using Smart technology; utilities will reduce costs from meter reading, turn on/turn offs and customer support, since inquires about billing specifications will decrease (http://www.oracle.com/industries/utilities/pdfs/oracle-utilities-smart-grid-basics-wp.pdf). Also, since the power grid will be used more optimally there will not be the same need to invest in expanded infrastructure.

All and all, a Smart Grid can significantly reduce energy consumption and consequently, greenhouse gas emissions.

At the center of Smart Grid development are interoperability standards since it is paramount that all the equipment can work together. Most common are wireless standards, e.g. IEEE 802, WiMAX and WiFi. Standards are necessary, it is argued (http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/grid_research/Smart_Grid_Standards_Done_Right.html), to implement at an early stage as not to end up in a situation where several, non-interoperable solutions exist.

In the US, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been appointed responsible for coordinating the framework for Smart Grid interoperability, and they recently published a draft publication of the framework and standards road map (http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/smartgrid_interoperability.pdf). The report presents 31 standards for which a strong stakeholder consensus is believed to be found and 46 additional standards which might be suitable for implementation.

In the EU, Smart Grid policies operates under the European Technology Platform (http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/) and aims toward creating a joint vision for an European Smart Grid by 2020 (http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/smartgrids_en.pdf). A key step in reaching this goal is said to be the implementation of shared technical standards that will ensure open access.

Since power grids are huge pieces of infrastructure, the digitalization process involves huge sums of money. In Europe alone the investment needed to upgrade the current grid is estimated to € 500 billion and the US build out is valued at $ 20 billion a year (http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10241102-54.html). Naturally this attracts market giants such as Cisco, IBM and Intel.

Hopefully however, the benefits of the Smart Grid will reach all. Consumers will be more in control of their energy consumption and costs; utilities will be able to increase reliability in deliverance and cut administrative costs; and the environment will benefit from the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Clearly, Smart Grids are an essential and beneficial part of the transition into the digital society.

Tags: energy, international standards, smart grid, standardization
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Recent Trends in Green ICT

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Building Automation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_automation)

Building automation is one of the latest trends in creating environmentally efficient ICT solutions. Put shortly, building automation is the process of creating an integrated, computerized and intelligent network of electronic devices within a building. As a result, the building can be monitored and controlled automatically, increasing efficiency in lighting, air conditioning, alarm systems etc.

The market for Building Automation System (BAS) is currently dominated by large actors such as, Honeywell, Siemens and Johnson Control; but these are increasingly pressured by upcoming smaller companies, e.g. Cimetrics and Adura Technologies, mainly due to their swift ability to adapt. http://www.greentechmedia.com/green-light/post/in-building-automation-a-quiet-giant-awakens/

More Building automation info: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/a-green-building-market-overview/

PAS 2060- The new British Green ICT standard

In October, it was announced (www.bsigroup.com/PAS2060) that the British Standards Institute (BSI) that a new standard was being developed. The new PAS 2060, built upon existing ISO 14000 and PAS 2050 standards, is aimed at providing a consistent approach to assess carbon-neutrality claims. Currently, companies can ‘greenwash’ themselves by making false carbon-neutrality claims since the definition is anything but clear: “Carbon neutral means that – through a transparent process of calculating emissions, reducing those emissions and offsetting residual emissions – net carbon emissions equal zero”. (http://www.thegreenitreview.com/2009/10/carbon-neutrality-standard.html)

The BIS not only believes that PAS 2060 will reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also to encourage broader actions toward climate control and carbon reduction management. The draft was up for public review in November and is now being processed for publication.

A Vertical Solution to World Hunger

Even restrictive projections calculate that the world´s population will have grown by about 3 billion people to 2050; this will obviously stress the already pressured food supply. One possible solution to the problem is thought to be Vertical farming (http://www.verticalfarm.com/); Skyscraper greenhouses designed to grow crops.

Not only would such indoor farming bring the food closer to the people who eat it, but farming efficiency could be increased. However, this will require new, intelligent technological solutions that can effectively emulate a natural environment.

Smart Grid Trials Underway

Two major Smart grid trial projects have been launched in the US; the first in July (http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10291215-54.html) and now a second in November.

The most recent project has a funding of $1.6 billion in total, of which $620 million is stimulus funds from the DOE (http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10404375-54.html). The launched project will aim at developing communications in the grid by installing in-home energy displays, two way meters and sensors.

Europe’s first large scale urban trial of a Smart grid system is currently underway in Stockholm, Sweden (http://www.m2mmag.com/news/articles/article.aspx?ID=8060). Taking place in the new Stockholm Royal Seaport area, the project is a collaboration between Fortum (Sweden www.fortum.com), Espoo (Finland http://english.espoo.fi//default.asp?path=32373) and ABB (Switzerland www.abb.com) and is set to test the concept of a low-emission power network. Stockholm Royal Seaport is designed to become an ecologically sustainable district, providing housing for 10,000 families and 30,000 office spaces and implements the latest technology in eco-friendly transport, waste management and energy use.

Developments in Green ICT are moving fast, with new innovations continuously springing to surface. Below are some of these recent trends and progresses listed.
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Tags: building automation, green ICT, international standards, smart grid, vertical farming
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ISO 14000- Green Standards

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families are among the best known standards and have the widest spread of use. All over the world, ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 have been implemented by over one million organizations, all willing to decrease their operation’s impact on the environment (http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/management_standards/iso_9000_iso_14000.htm). In structure the ISO 14000 standards are similar to the ISO 9000 quality management and they are most often implemented simultaneously. In order for a business or organization to be ISO 14000 accredited it need to be audited by an external auditor.

The ISO 14000 standards family helps organizations to minimize their environmental impact by the use of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs), Environmental Labeling, Auditing and Evaluation, and Life Cycle Assessments (http://www.ems-14000.com/). For instance, the two first published standards ISO 14001 and ISO 14004 provides requirements and guidelines for EMS respectively (http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_14000_essentials). With an EMS reaching the ISO 14001:2004 requirements, an organization has a tool which can identify the environmental impact of its activities, products and services, and then control them. It can also implement a systematic approach to setting the sought after environmental objectives and targets; how these can be reached and how the results should be demonstrated.

Striving towards ISO 14000 compliance can not only increase the reputation of an organization, which in itself could be very valuable in the current environment conscious society, but the systematic approach of e.g. the ISO 14001:2004 requires organizations to scrutinize its processes and result in the finding of new benefits. One result is lowered energy consumption, and therewith savings in cost.

ISO 14000 standards can contribute to internal efficiencies in an organization by increasing management control over the impact processes and activities have on the environment. Also, with an organization being ISO 14001:2004 certified, employees might find assurance in knowing that they are working for a company or an organization which takes a documented care of the environment.

Tags: green standards, international standards, ISO
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Posts Tagged ‘international standards’

Posts Tagged ‘international standards’

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