The International Organization for Standardization, a network of national standards institutes. ISO is the source of international quality standards, such as ISO 9000, ISO 9001, ISO 14000, etc. ISO 9000/9001 is a generic business processes (or management systems) quality standard, frequently specified in supplier contracts. ISO 14000 is an environmental quality and impact standard, which is from time to time specified in certain supplier agreements. Because ISO 9000 compliance may extend down through the supply chain from the original specifier, it is increasingly pervasive in inter-company contracts.