How can standards help sustainable development?

A new international standard (BS ISO 37101) on sustainable development in communities has been published by BSI. As awareness of the importance of sustainability increases, what is really meant by sustainable development and how can this standard help?

What is sustainable development?

Researchers have calculated that if everyone on Earth lived the lifestyle of the average US citizen, we would need four planet Earths to provide all the necessary resources.[i] It’s no surprise that people in the West use more resource than, for example, subsistence farmers in Africa or Asia; we eat imported foods, drive cars, have larger homes and use electricity for everything from watching TV to drying our clothes.

Sustainable development is about finding a way for individuals and communities to behave that could be carried on by future generations. This means addressing resource use, social inequality and areas such as environmental protection and development of infrastructure.

The challenges of developing cities

It’s easy to agree with the broad principles of sustainable development, but to actually make real change happen is considerably more difficult. For a start, a balance must be struck between encouraging people to live sustainably and recognizing the importance of individual freedoms. City authorities might want to encourage residents to reduce private car use, for example, but an outright ban would likely provoke considerable resistance.

The development of BS ISO 37101:2016 Sustainable development in communities grappled with these issues. For instance, who should take the lead on promoting sustainable development? This could be local authorities, entire communities, local groups or specialist consultants. What’s the best way to manage sustainable development, to ensure objectives are met?

The development of the new standard

In 2011, BSI published BS 8904, Guidance for community sustainable development. This standard was aimed at grassroots and not-for-profit organisations seeking to run projects to improve sustainability in their local communities. Due to BSI’s experience in the area, French standards body Afnor asked the institute to assist in developing a standard that would apply to developments on a city or community-wide basis.

BSI built on the methodology used to build BS 8904 in order to produce a standard that can be used in any location internationally, to produce tangible and meaningful results. Collaborators came from diverse locations around the world, including the UK, Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Sri Lanka and the US. The Global City Indicators Facility and United Nations Environment Programme also contributed.

BS ISO 37101 is intended to be practical; the process it outlines starts with the identification of sustainable development purposes, then provides tools to help achieve these goals. This helps avoid the risk of sustainability projects failing to deliver meaningful change despite good intentions and sound principles.

How BS ISO 37101 can help

The standard helps local authorities to deliver sustainable development projects that involve the whole community. This is sometimes challenging if different stakeholders have conflicting visions for their local area. By agreeing the purposes of a project first of all, initiatives gain greater focus and headway can be measured more clearly. The standard contains a maturity matrix to help track progress towards key goals.

BS ISO 37101 encourages collaborative working, helping to break down the communication silos that often stifle innovation in sustainable development. The standard promotes the fostering of social and environmental change, improvements to local health and wellbeing and encourages an emphasis on responsible resource use and better governance.

How BS ISO 37101 interacts with other standards

The new standard works alongside other complementary standards which city authorities might use to promote sustainability, such as those relating to smart cities, carbon reduction programmes, biodiversity and programmes for adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change. The standard also works alongside management standards dealing with issues such as organizational resilience.

Further standards are set to build on BS ISO 37101 in coming years. These will incorporate learning from case studies applying the management system, such as those currently underway in Hangzhou, China and Versailles, France.

Could the new standard benefit your community?

BS ISO 37101 is intended for use by those in local authorities, such as CEOs, sustainability officers, smart city managers, compliance officers, policy advisors and NGOs and consultants.

David Fatscher, Head of Market Development for Sustainability and Services at BSI, said: 'Whilst previous guidance has enabled individuals to take control of their communities locally, from improving social and economic opportunities to protecting the local environment, this international standard takes a broader view. City leaders can be at the forefront of any decisions that impact their communities and now have the guidance they need to implement changes to benefit their environment in multiple ways.'

How could the new standard benefit your city?