It’s a year since the London Declaration was signed by the world’s standards community, an important step towards a more sustainable world via standards. But what’s happened since then, and how can you get involved? We spoke to someone at the heart of the Declaration’s development in the UK, Tom Cantillon.
2022 has been a record-breaking summer, with UK temperatures exceeding 40°C for the first time. Around the world, the heat wave has brought disruption ranging from wildfires, transport meltdown and increased mortality. With temperatures in cities sometimes up to 10-15°C higher than in rural areas, the built environment has to be central to our response to climate change. How do we design cities to be comfortable in higher temperatures, while also ensuring infrastructure can cope?
Welcome to November’s digest of sustainability news for BSI members. This November, as all eyes are on COP 27, we’re catching up on key developments in the world of sustainability, breaking news, data and analysis drawn from across the globe. Like chillies in space, a flying car, pollution-eating moss, and kids’ clothes that grow as they do.
As industries change and evolve over time, standards need to keep pace. To make sure they’re suited to the modern business environment, amendments and alterations are undertaken from time to time.
Here are five different ways a standard may be altered, and the terms used to indicate that a change has taken place.
As we approach winter, it's easy to forget that last summer a drought was declared across much of England. Nor are these issues going to go away, as a report from the National Drought Group underlines. Projections suggest average rainfall over winter will not be enough to prevent drought conditions in some areas next year. So, how can the use of reclaimed water provide part of the solution, helping companies reduce the impact on the environment and help conserve clean water supplies? Particularly in highly water-intensive applications like industrial cooling?
In part one of this article, we explored the potential barriers to building trust in biometric technology, and looked at the role of standards in developing essential, trust-building regulation. In part two, we look at the different types of biometric technology, the potential advantages, and current calls for fresh legislation.
Every time you unlock a smartphone with a fingerprint, you’re using biometric technology. But the potential of biometrics in other applications can only be realized if people are confident that they can trust the underlying systems that curb intrusion on privacy and personal freedoms. What can you do to ensure the public is confident with the way biometrics are used?
Join us at the 2022 BSI Standards Conference and Awards to celebrate standards as tools for building trust as we consider today’s critical focus areas of People, Planet and Digitalization. And we will be announcing the winners of the 2022 BSI Standards Awards, both Standards Makers and Standards Users. Read what’s coming up over 16 - 17 November.
Standards are reviewed every five years. If they are not considered relevant in the current market, they are withdrawn. This means they are not considered current and don’t have standard status. But that doesn't mean they are worthless. You might be surprised how many types of people might want to use withdrawn standards, and how they do so.
You can get the details of all the new, revised, draft and withdrawn standards and publications from the last month in the 60+ pages of the October edition of Update Standards magazine. Including a free standard to address modern slavery in your supply chain. And another standard to build a more resilient future for your organization.
