Purpose The perception of consumers towards the products or services that are provided by organisations that are certified to various international quality management and allied standards, such as the standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization, has not been extensively researched. Available research is limited to few standards. It is not comprehensively explored if consumers view certified products, services or organisations favourably in each case. This study aims to explore inclination of three consumer categories i.e. retail consumers, business consumers and subject expert consumers towards 11 international management system standards. Design/methodology/approach A survey is carried out among 229 consumers of different types in different countries. Total 11 quality management and allied standards are studied. Similarities and differences among different consumer groups towards these 11 standards are analysed using Chi-square test. Findings The study shows that although all consumer categories perceive products, services, and organisations certified to international management system standards favourably, the inclination towards certification is greater among developing economies than in developed economies. It is also proven that all standards are not equally popular among consumers. The brand name of a certification agency is found not influencing consumer’s preference towards certification. Originality/value The study is unique in three ways. First, it comprehensively analyses multiple quality management and allied standards from consumers’ point of view. Similarities and differences among retail consumers, business consumers and subject experts are researched, which was not attempted previously and thus it shows a novel approach. Second, no other study has analysed so many standards together. Third, differences in perception of consumers towards international standards between developing and developed nations are compared, which was not available earlier for all the 11 standards.

As an indicator of environmental quality, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission has gained much attention in the pre-existing pieces of literature. Because of their complex link with economic development, human activities, etc., it's always being an issue of discussion and is largely neglected in the country's political decision-making. The present study probes the association between economic growth and carbon dioxide emission in the context of developing nations in the Asian region, by incorporating urbanization, merchandise trade, Foreign Direct Investment and renewable energy consumption for the period of 10 years (i.e., 2009-2018). For the analysis, the Granger causality relationship is used with an appropriate panel data regression model. The results of the causality analysis indicate that there prevails a relationship running from economic growth, merchandise trade to CO 2 emissions, whereas renewable energy consumption has an inverse and significant impact on CO 2 emissions. Therefore, to enhance the environmental quality, more renewable energy sources should be used which helps in the betterment of human welfare. To overcome the problem of CO 2 emission and tackling climate change has become an essential part of the national as well as international climate policy agenda.