ISO Standard Helps Communities Manage Sustainable Development

ISO sustainable communities

by | Jul 14, 2016

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ISO sustainable communitiesA new ISO standard aims to help communities adopt strategies to become more sustainable and resilient.

Rapid urbanization brings challenges at the local, national and regional levels. These challenges are linked, among other things, to limited natural resources and land use.

ISO 37101, Sustainable development in communities – Management system for sustainable development – Requirements with guidance for use, will support communities to put in place a sustainable development framework that takes into account their economic, social and environmental context, according to the International Organization for Standardization.

The standard also encourages communities to become more proactive and helps them show that they have  a management system is in place.

ISO says the successful implementation of the standard will:

  • Generate and build consensus on sustainable development within communities
  • Improve the sustainability, smartness and resilience of strategies, programs or plans conducted under the responsibility of communities or on the territory they relate to
  • Improve the local environment, create a happier and healthier place for citizens, and build a community that can better anticipate and adapt to natural disasters, economic shocks and climate change

“The purpose of the standard is all about helping the community to put in place a sustainable development plan with all the concerned actors,” said Bernard Gindroz, chair of the ISO technical committee that developed the standard. “The point is to get as many people as possible around the table debating on how to develop a sustainable development strategy for a community.”

Last year ISO updated the ISO 9001 quality management systems and the ISO 14001 environmental management systems.

Following the revision of the ISO 14001 environmental management systems standard, ISO in March released the updated version of its complementary standard, ISO 14004, to helps organizations get the most out of their environmental management system.

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