Why the London Declaration matters for the future of our planet

Standards have a critical role to play in supporting and enabling the global climate commitment and achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. 

Now the London Declaration is a commitment by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to actively factor climate science into the development of standards. It is also a pledge to involve those who are most vulnerable to climate change in the standard development process.

Climate action and sustainability is our top strategic priority 

BSI proposed the initial concept of the London Declaration and we are fully committed to seeing it implemented across the 40 000 standards in our national portfolio. Whether you’re looking for a best-practice consensus on digital transformation, workplace safety, employee wellbeing or anything else, BSI will assess, understand and address the climate impact of that standard.

Smart appliances

Both BSI and ISO have been developing standards to mitigate the impact of climate change for a number of years.
For example, BSI recently developed the Energy Smart Appliances (ESAs) standards in response to the UK government’s transformational energy plans. Smart appliances can make electricity demand more responsive to the availability of renewable energy, helping to reach net zero more quickly by enabling consumers to be involved in managing demand in the electricity system. The standards provide essential guidance and good practice for the fast-moving industry to roll out ESAs safely and responsibly, whilst also helping protect consumers from data and privacy risks.

Better batteries

Additionally, BSI developed a standardization program for the UK-government backed Faraday Battery Challenge in order to help the rapidly evolving battery production, recycling, and research sectors to work together in a more environmentally friendly and safe way. Standards are supporting the growth of the battery industry both in the UK and now they are now poised to do the same for many more sectors.
While these initiatives have been a great success, there is a need to emphasise net zero objectives across a much broader range of sectors and disciplines.

Faster, more effective route to sustainability

“The London Declaration will bring the entire ISO community together, helping to unite a vast number of organisations from around the world to find a faster, more effective route to sustainability,” says Sebastiaan Van Dort, Associate Director Energy and Sustainability at BSI.
“British and ISO standards will deliver concrete guidance with inbuilt climate action that can make a real difference. Ultimately, we believe that this will help to achieve the objectives set out in the Paris Agreement."

The London Declaration is being formally signed at the ISO Week London 2021, a meeting of all 163 national standards bodies, hosted by BSI. Afterwards, an Action Plan will be developed which will detail tangible initiatives and reporting mechanisms associated with the Declaration.