Sustainability Standards

The concept of sustainability has been discussed for so many years and yet there is no universally agreed definition of it. From different perspectives, there are plenty different views on how people perceive it. Yet, many explain sustainability as a means to achieve sustainable development.

The most commonly used definition of sustainable development is the one that came out from the Rio conference in 1992 and later adopted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Sustainability and sustainable development have gained a wider recognition at and after the Rio conference, which put sustainability clearly on the political agenda.

Even after twenty years, this issue is still actual and relevant.

Global changes such as growth in population, resource depletion, changes in climate and ecosystem have made sustainability a focus area. Nations, organizations, and communities have become aware of the need for and benefits of contribution to sustainability.

The emerged consideration of organizations toward sustainability has encouraged bodies, such as ISO, to work on sustainability-related standards. With over 19 500 International Standards, ISO promotes world's most prevalent standards for sustainable development. These standards intend to help businesses and organizations all over the world to make progress in environmental, economic and social sustainability.

A few standards that help organizations contribute to sustainable development:

ISO 14001 sets out the criteria for implementing and maintaining an environmental management system. It encourages organizations to systematically address its environmental aspects of their activities and manage their impacts on the environment. It can be used by any organization regardless of its activity or sector. Implementation of ISO 14001 provides assurance to internal as well as external stakeholders that environmental impact is being measured and improved.

ISO 14064 and ISO 14065 are two international standards that address greenhouse gasses. ISO 14064 provides a framework for organizations to measure greenhouse gasses emissions; however, ISO 14065 specifies requirements for organizations that verify resulting greenhouse gasses emission claims.

ISO 20121 specifies requirements for event sustainability management systems for any type of event or event-related activity and provides guidance for event organizers to establish, implement, maintain and improve an event sustainability management system by addressing the management of improved sustainability throughout the entire event management cycle.

ISO 26000 provides guidance and assists organizations in contributing to sustainable development. It is intended to encourage them to go beyond legal compliance, recognizing that compliance with the law is a fundamental duty of any organization and an essential part of their social responsibility. The standard advises organizations to take into consideration societal, environmental, legal, cultural, political and organizational diversity, as well as differences in economic conditions while being consistent with international norms of behavior.

ISO is working on a new standard, ISO 45001, which sets the requirement for an effective occupational health and safety management system to help companies and organizations around the world ensure the health and safety of the people who work for them.

References: www.iso.org

Professional Evaluation and Certification Board, PECB, is a certification body for persons on a wide range of professional standards. Among other international standards, it also offers ISO 26000 training and certification services for professionals wanting to support an organization in the implementation of a social responsibility program; persons responsible for social responsibility program conformity in an organization; auditors wanting to master the social responsibility program audit process; and staff involved in the implementation of the ISO 26000 standard.

ISO 26000 and Professional Social Responsibility Trainings offered by PECB:

• Certified ISO 26000 Lead Manager (5 days)
• Certified ISO 26000 Foundation (2 days)

Narta Voca is the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Product Manager at PECB. She is in charge of developing and maintaining training courses related to HSE. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact her at training@pecb.com.