This presentation was part of the Goldschmidt 2022 workshop “Earth Science meets Data Science: what are our needs for geochemical data, services and analytical capabilities in the 21st century?. It covers uses for geochemical data; the need for FAIR standards for geochemical data; the history of developing geochemistry standards so far; equivalent initiatives in climate, seismology, crystallography and pure and applied chemistry; proposed methods to develop the required standards through 'expert' communities; and an introduction to the CODATA-led WorldFAIR project: Global cooperation on FAIR data policy and practice.