The recognised national or international platform-independent standards. They are developed collaboratively through due process, are vendor-neutral and do not rely on commercial intellectual property.

Standards developed by a partnership of conservation organizations that provide the steps and general guidance necessary for successful implementation of conservation projects based on common concepts, approaches, and terminology in conservation project design, management, and monitoring.

An "open standard" is one that: 1. Is created in an open, international, participatory industry process 2. Is freely distributed and openly accessible 3. Does not discriminate against person [..]

public standards, usually divided into de jure (those created formally by a standardization body such as ISO or BSI), and de facto (those gain 'critical mass' through near-universal adoption [..]