The BSI website uses cookies. By continuing to access the site you are agreeing to their use.

X
Find out what cookies we use and how to disable them >
Skip to main content
X
BSI Worldwide sites Close

Asia Pacific

  • Australia English  >
  • China 简体中文  >
  • Hong Kong (SAR China) English  >
  • India English  >
  • Indonesia English  >
  • Japan 日本語  >
  • Korea 한국어  >
  • Malaysia English  >
  • Mongolia Монгол хэл  >
  • New Zealand English  >
  • Philippines English  >
  • Singapore English  >
  • Taiwan 繁體中文  >
  • Thailand ไทย/English  >
  • Vietnam English  >
  • Vietnam Tiếng Việt  >
  • Europe

  • Austria Deutsch  >
  • Belgium Nederlands  >
  • Czech Republic čeština  >
  • France Français  >
  • Germany Deutsch  >
  • Ireland English  >
  • Italy Italiano  >
  • Netherlands Nederlands  >
  • Poland Polski  >
  • Russia/CIS Русский  >
  • Spain Español  >
  • Sweden English  >
  • Switzerland Deutsch  >
  • Turkey Türkçe  >
  • United Kingdom English  >
  • Americas

  • Brazil Português  >
  • Canada English  >
  • Canada Français  >
  • Chile Español  >
  • Colombia Español  >
  • Costa Rica Español  >
  • Mexico Español  >
  • Peru Español  >
  • United States English  >
  • Middle East and Africa

  • Israel English  >
  • South Africa English  >
  • MEA English  >
  • MEA عربي  >
  • Can't find an office location?

    View our directory of worldwide contacts listed by locations >

    • Media centre
    • Careers
    • Contact us
    Select country and language
    • United Kingdom
    Other useful links
    • Media centre
    • Careers
    • Contact us
    BSI

    Making excellence a habit

    Menu
    • Standards
      Standards
      ... X

      Popular

      • ISO 9001
        Quality management >
      • ISO 13485
        Quality management for medical devices >
      • ISO 14001
        Environmental management >
      • ISO 22301
        Business continuity >
      • ISO/IEC 27001
        Information security >
      • ISO 45001 (OHSAS 18001)
        Occupational health and safety >
      View all standards >

      Access and buy standards

      • How to access standards >
        Decide which option works best for your business
      • Buy standards >
      • Standards subscriptions >
      • BSOL >
        Full standards collections
      • Compliance Navigator >
        Medical device standards
      • Eurocodes PLUS >
        Structural design standards
      • BSI Membership >
        Services include knowledge centre, events and discounts

      About standards

      • What are standards? >
        Find out on how standards can help
      • The role of BSI >
        UK Standards Organization, ISO, IEC, CEN, CENELEC, ETSI
      • Get involved >
        Become a standards maker, join a committee
      • Have your say >
        Propose or comment on a standard
      • Consumer alerts >
        Know which products have been recalled

      Working with standards

      • Business and industry >
        Build trust and win more business, no matter the size of your company
      • Government >
        Enhancing standards infrastructure, technical assistance and capacity building
      • Education >
        Supporting students, research programmes, and young professionals
      • Consumers >
        Tackling issues consumers face through BSI Kitemark and Consumer and Public Interest Network (CPIN)
    • Services
      Services
      ... X

      Standards and information

      • Access and buy standards >
        Search our standards catalogue
      • Develop a standard >
        Work with BSI to develop a standard
      • Online subscription services >
        BSOL, Compliance Navigator, Eurocodes PLUS, BSI Membership and SCREEN
      • Standards services >
        Create a fast-track standardization document, Consultancy, Research and Insights and International Projects

      Auditing, certification and training

      • Assessment and ISO certification >
        ISO certification and others eg: IATF, FSSC
      • Auditing and verification >
        Supplier audits, custom audits and internal audits
      • Product testing and certification >
        BSI Kitemark, CE marking and verification, Market access solutions
      • Validate BSI-issued certificates >
        Check company, site and product certificates

      • Training courses >
        Individual, group and company-wide training
      • Medical devices services >
        CE marking for medical devices, MDR and IVDR, quality management for medical devices
      • Compliance software and solutions >
        Software tools and solutions for governance, cyber security, risk and supply chain management

      Consulting practices

      • Cybersecurity and information resilience  >
      • Standards Consulting  >
        Management advisory service
      • Supply chain management >
      View all BSI services >
    • Sectors
      Sectors
      ... X
      • Aerospace >
      • Automotive >
      • Banking and financial services >
      • Construction and built environment >
      • Education >
      • Energy, oil and gas >
      • Food >
      • Government >
        Central and local
      • Healthcare >
      • Hospitals >
      • IT >
      • Manufacturing and engineering >
      • Medical devices >
      • Mining >
      • Pharmaceuticals >
      • Professional services >
      View all sectors >
    • Topics
      Topics
      ... X

      Industry reports, research and news

      • COVID-19 >
      • Digital construction >
        BIM, smart cities and connected assets
      • Future of mobility >
      • Global market access >
      • Health, safety and wellbeing >

      • Information security >
        Cybersecurity, privacy (GDPR) and compliance
      • Innovation >
      • Internet of things (IoT) >
      • Organizational resilience >
      • Sustainability >
      •    - Circular economy >
      •    - Net zero >
      View all topics >

      Blogs

      • Built Environment >
      • Cybersecurity and information resilience >
      • Food Industry >
      • Medical devices >
      • Small Business >
      View all blogs >
    • About
      About
      ... X
      • About BSI >
      • BSI impartiality >
      • Our accreditation >
      • Our clients and partners >
      • Our financial information >
      • Our governance >
      • Our legal information >
      • Our purpose, mission and vision >
      • Our Royal Charter >
      • UK National Standards body >
        The global role of BSI as the national standards body
      • Careers >
      • Events and webinars >
      • Media centre >
      • Sustainability >
        Modern slavery statement
      • Contact us >
    • Media centre
    • Careers
    • Contact us
    Select country and language
    • United Kingdom
    Other useful links
    • Media centre
    • Careers
    • Contact us
    GO
    Close
    Contact us
    Contact us
    • Country Selector

    • Home
    SHARE
    Twitter Share Icon LinkedIn Share Icon Facebook Share Icon Email Share Icon

    How standards can help businesses unlock the potential of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

    The United Nations’ (UN) ambitious strategy to end poverty by 2030 and make significant global social and environmental progress could create almost 380m jobs and opportunities worth $12trn (£9trn) in sectors ranging from affordable housing and energy efficiency to circular economy models and advances in healthcare, according to the Business and Sustainable Development Commission.

    However, when the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are underpinned by 169 targets, were formally launched in 2016, the Commission stated that 'most businesses have barely registered the importance of working sustainably'.

    The challenge remains getting organizations at scale to recognize the benefits of working with sustainability in mind and to begin implementing measures that will lead to significant, transformational change.

    The key, therefore, is to help businesses better understand the SDGs, ‘translate’ these into a business context and introduce impactful measures to align with the SDGs. In other words, to encourage them to take action in a meaningful, consistent manner that supports their individual purpose, strategy and sustainability experience/progress to date. Standards have a clear role to play in this process.


    The 17 goals

    1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
    2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
    3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
    4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
    5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
    6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
    7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
    8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth; full and productive employment; and decent work for all
    9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation
    10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
    11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
    12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
    13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
    14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
    15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems; sustainably manage forests; combat desertification; halt and reverse land degradation; and halt biodiversity loss
    16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development; provide access to justice for all; and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
    17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.

    Standards as a framework for sustainability

    Voluntary International Standards can contribute not only to high-level policy initiatives, but also by providing solutions that will be needed in order to achieve many of the SDGs,' says the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

    It adds: 'They provide a harmonized, stable and globally recognized framework for the dissemination and use of technologies, and encompass best practices and agreements that encourage more equitable development and promote the overall growth of society.'

    In other words, standards help businesses to operate sustainably.

    UNIDO notes that standards have 'always played an important role' in this area and have evolved to address other key components of the sustainable development agenda. This has been done by incorporating sustainable-related issues into traditional core standards and by developing specific standards that relate to sustainability issues.

    This progress has meant that standards can now 'support the achievement of just about all the SDGs,' the agency argues.

    What standards apply?

    Speaking at last year’s annual meeting of the ISO Committee on developing country matters (DEVCO), Cecile Fruman, World Bank Group Director, Trade and Competitiveness Global Practices, put into context just how wide-ranging standards are today.

    She said: 'ISO’s portfolio of more than 21,000 standards provides practical tools for all three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, environmental and societal.'

    However, there are certain key standards which support sustainable development more broadly.

    ISO 26000

    The extent to which an organization contributes to sustainable development and its impact on society and the environment is known as 'social responsibility'. It is increasingly becoming a critical measure of performance, with it influencing everything from an organization’s reputation to its ability to attract high-calibre employees.

    ISO 26000 ‘Guidance on social responsibility’ was dubbed the 'most comprehensive guidance of what an organization should do to contribute to sustainable development' by Fruman.

    It provides guidance on how organizations can operate in an ethical and transparent way that contributes to sustainable development, while taking into account the expectations of stakeholders, applicable laws and international forms of behaviour.

    ISO 26000 offers 450 recommendations related to the SDGs, addressing seven core areas of social responsibility:

    • Organizational governance
    • Human rights
    • Labour practices
    • The environment
    • Fair operating practices
    • Consumer issues
    • Community involvement and development.

    ISO 14000

    The ISO 14000 family of standards provides practical tools for organizations looking to manage their environmental responsibilities.

    ISO 14001 ‘Environmental management systems’ focuses on the environmental systems that allow organizations to manage their responsibilities but also covers specific approaches such as environmental audits, communications, labelling and life cycle analysis, as well as managing environmental challenges, such as the impact of climate change. The success of ISO 14001 as a tool for implementing a more systematic process of environmental management has been the growth of accredited certification, with ISO reporting in 2016 a year-on-year increase of 8% between 2014 and 2015, more than double the average 3% increase in other ISO certificates.  

    The full suite of environmental management standards support many of the SDGs, such as those relating to clean water and sanitation, greenhouse gas management and climate action, life below water and life on land.

    In addition to ISO 26000 and the ISO 14000 family of standards, there are other key standards which pertain to numerous areas of the SDGs, one recent, innovative example being BSI’s BS 8001 ‘Circular Economy’. This standard can support alignment to SDG 12 on resource consumption by providing organizations with guidance on the principles of ‘circularity’ (where resources used to manufacture products or deliver services are recovered at their highest quality and kept in circulation for as long as possible).

    Finding the right standards for your business

    Combined with other tools and mechanisms (such as national and international policies, fiscal measures, etc.), standards are a powerful knowledge tool that can support the global implementation and long-term achievement of the SDGs.

    To maximize the strengths that standards and standardization offer, businesses could be, as a starting point, encouraged to work out how the SDGs fit in with their existing sustainability plans and activities – then identify what standards will help ‘translate’ and embed the goals into their strategy and enable them to put everything into practice.

    Some businesses are further ahead in this journey; for those sustainability leaders, standards could prove a useful tool to further, maximize and disseminate their ongoing effort. Like governments, organizations won’t see fit to adopt all 17 goals but rather the ones which align to their individual businesses.

    Those businesses that are successful in embedding sustainability in their organization will be duly rewarded, says Unilever’s CEO, Paul Polman.

    'Business has the unique opportunity to embrace the SDG agenda and recognize it as a driver of business strategies, innovation and investment decisions. Doing so makes business sense and will give them an edge over their competitors,' he explains.

    However, to fully support organizations trying to understand and contribute to the global achievement of the SDG targets, new standards may be necessary.

    BSI is keen to hear about your experiences on all matters sustainability and welcomes suggestions for new standards that will support your objectives in this area. Please send your thoughts to sustainability@bsigroup.com.


    BSI Shop

    BSI offer a range of standards and helpful guides to help your organization achieve it's sustainable development goals

    View standards and publications in the BSI shop >

    Environmental Management

    Take your environmental management to the next level.

    Explore content and discover relevant standards on the dedicated environmental management page.

    Visit page >

    Contact us

    If you have questions about this report, please contact us:

     

    sustainability@bsigroup.com

    SHARE
    Twitter Share Icon LinkedIn Share Icon Facebook Share Icon Email Share Icon
    Linkedin logo Facebook logo Youtube logo Twitter logo
    By Royal Charter
    Find a Standard
    • ISO 9001 Quality Management
    • ISO 13485 Quality Management
    • ISO 14001 Environmental Management
    • ISO 22301 Business continuity
    • ISO/IEC 27001 Information security
    • ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety
    • ISO 50001 Energy Management
    • ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System
    • View all standards
    Services
    • Access and buy standards
    • Develop a standard
    • Online subscription services
    • Standards services
    • Assessment and ISO certification
    • Auditing and verification
    • Product testing and certification
    • Validate BSI-issued certificates
    • Training courses
    • Medical devices services
    • Compliance software and solutions
    • View all services
    Sectors
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Banking and financial services
    • Construction and Built Environment
    • Education
    • Energy, oil and gas
    • Food
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hospitals
    • IT
    • Manufacturing and engineering
    • Medical devices
    • View all sectors
    Topics
    • Future of mobility
    • Global market access
    • Health and safety
    • Information security
    • Innovation
    • Internet of things (IoT)
    • Organizational Resilience
    • Sustainability
    •    - Circular economy
    •    - Net zero
    • View all topics
    • Built Environment
    • Cybersecurity and information resilience
    • Food Industry
    • View all blogs
    About
    • About BSI
    • BSI impartiality
    • Our accreditation
    • Our clients and partners
    • Our financial information
    • Our governance
    • Our legal information
    • Our purpose, mission and vision
    • Our Royal Charter
    • UK National Standards body
    • Events and webinars
    • Sustainability
    • Modern Slavery Statement (PDF)
    Contact BSI +44 345 080 9000
    BSI Tagline Logo - Making Excellence a Habit
    Site Policy:
    • Privacy notice
    • Cookie policy
    • Terms of use
    • Accessibility
    • Site map

    © The British Standards Institution

    Feedback button