ISO, UNDP Launch New Standard to Embed SDGs into Corporate Strategy

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced today the launch of ISO/UNDP 53001, Management systems for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – Requirements, a new standard aimed at enabling organizations to integrate the UN SDGs into strategy, governance and operations.

The UN SDGs refer to the 17 categories of goals adopted in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with the aim to protect the planet and improve the quality of life globally.  SDG targets include ending poverty and hunger, improving education, and protecting the environment.

ISO Secretary-General Sergio Mujica said:

“The SDGs have provided a shared global vision for a decade. Today, organizations are looking for concrete ways to translate that vision into action. International Standards have long helped organizations address complex global challenges by providing a common language and a shared framework for action. We are delighted to launch ISO/UNDP 53001 today, extending this proven approach to the SDGs and helping organizations create positive impact for people and planet.”

According to ISO and the UNDP, the new standard provides tools to enable organizations to identify and assess their beneficial and adverse impacts, engage relevant interested parties, establish meaningful SDG objectives, collect data and evaluate progress.

The new standard specifies requirements for a management system to optimize an organization’s contribution to achieving the SDGs. The standard specifies requirements for analyzing organizational context and engaging with relevant parties to identify, assessing and prioritizing actual and potential impacts, setting organizational SDG objectives and targets, collecting data on impacts, making decisions taking into account the risks that those experiencing the organizations impacts can accept, and understanding and managing interdependencies, synergies and trade-offs to achieve positive results, avoid unintended adverse impacts, and help to achieve the SDGs.

Marcos Neto, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, said:

“The SDGs provide a shared blueprint for a more inclusive and prosperous future. Achieving that requires organizations everywhere to turn ambition into action. We are proud to launch ISO/UNDP 53001 alongside ISO as a crucial tool to help organizations embed the SDGs into the way they operate, lead and govern. By making sustainability part of everyday decision-making, the standard can help accelerate progress towards the 2030 Agenda.”