Speech of His Excellency the Governor of Saudi Standards (SASO) Dr. Saad Othman Al Kasabi On the occasion of the World Standards Day 14 October 2020

تاريخ 14 Oct 2020

​During the year 2020, the world is witnessing exceptional circumstances, which have never been experienced. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of life and has cast a shadow and negative effects on various activities. The standards have played a vital role in helping countries and organizations to reduce the effects of the pandemic by following the guidelines contained in these standards.

We celebrate World Standards Day, which falls on the 14th of October each year under the slogan “Protecting the planet with standards”, to emphasize the vital role of standards as one of the main pillars in developing lifestyles and improving safety rates when using products and services in various global markets.

The competent institutions involved in the development of the national quality infrastructure system in our country are clearly aware of our responsibilities in developing standards and technical regulations that contribute to reducing the negative effects of non-conforming products and providing all means of support in in order to use renewable and clean energy and to counter the negative effects of thermal emissions and natural phenomena which are harmful to the planet, resolutely and vigorously, in order ,for us, to contribute to the sustainability and preservation of natural resources for future generations.

SASO has successfully taken serious steps towards environmental protection through various technical regulations on solar energy systems, water consumption rationalization and electric vehicles, as well as supporting biodegradable plastics and other positive practices that have effects directly on the environment, health and safety of mankind in addition to issuing and updating standards related to waste recycling, environmental management systems, packaging requirements, etc.

On this day, we also allude to the great support provided to government, private and non-profit institutions in terms of tools and guides to counter the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic, which included standards for business continuity and risk management and standards for medical devices and other standards that have enabled institutions to play their important role in overcoming this global crisis.

Emphasizing the national role of Saudi standards, SASO has provided a number of Saudi standards free of charge, to help and empower various public and private sectors to counter effects of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure effective communication between organizations and to improve business processes remotely. These standards included both the Saudi Standard for Risk Management — the SASO-ISO-31000 Guidelines, and the Saudi Standard for Information Security Management Systems — the requirements SASO-GSO-ISO-IEC-27001, as well as the Saudi Standard: Management Systems Business Continuity - Requirements SASO-ISO-22301, and also, the Saudi Standard for Volunteering Management in Organizations SASO-2923.

On this special day also, I would like to commend the efforts of our partners from the public and private sectors and the national technical teams that participate in the development of Saudi standards projects, which reached more than 42 technical teams involving academic, government and private entities, to ensure that these standards meet the aspirations of all entities, which reflect positively on consumer safety and improving the quality of commodities and services in the Saudi market.

In conclusion, I reaffirm the commitment of the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) to continue to integrate with its international, regional and local partners to promote practices that can counter the negative effects on the environment and the planet in general.

Last modified 15 Oct 2020
Rate content