One year since the London Declaration: turning words into action

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 Cantilon.

Tom, what do you do at BSI?

I recently joined BSI as the policy manager for the London Declaration. This means that I am responsible for coordinating BSI’s activities related to the Declaration, as well as ensuring coherence with initiatives taken at the regional and international level within the standards community.

What exactly is the London Declaration?

A year ago, the international standards community came together to commit to combatting climate change through the power of standards.
The London Declaration, as that commitment came to be known, is comprised of three elements:

• The consideration of climate science in the development of new and revised standards and publications
• Greater involvement of civil society and those most vulnerable to climate change in the development of standards and publications
• The creation of an action plan and measurement framework to track progress in achieving the first two objectives

How was BSI involved?

BSI was integral to the drafting and signing of the Declaration by standards development organisations, including ISO, IEC, CEN-CENELEC, and national standards bodies (NSBs), and we have been busy in the year since with several initiatives underway at the international and national level.

Now, with COP 27 at Sharm El Sheikh, we thought it a good time to update you on what has been happening with the Declaration, and how you can get involved in shaping its realisation.

So, what has been going on in the past year?

At international level, ISO’s Technical Management Board has approved its action plan, laying out concrete actions and timelines to bring the Declaration to life.
BSI is now leading the implementation working group for that action plan, and work is already underway. This month, a large piece of research related to the Declaration will be delivered, consisting of the measurement of the climate impact of ISO’s suite of standards, and a gap analysis of their climate standards offering.

What is the ISO’s research about?

The research will help to identify the standards for immediate revision based on their climate impact, as well as to identify key gaps in ISO’s sustainability offering. All this will enhance ISO’s ability to provide an end-to-end standards solution for users looking to take robust climate action.

Additionally, at ISO’s General Assembly in Abu Dhabi in September, the Climate Champions Network was launched. This will provide a facility for NSBs to come together and share knowledge, best practice, and opportunities for collaboration at the NSB-to-NSB level. BSI helped to develop this idea for presentation at ISO’s recent General Assembly and we were pleased to have seen it so warmly welcomed by the community and we will continue to shape its activities.

What is happening in the UK?

At a national level, we have recently approved our own national action plan for the Declaration and have recently put out a request for a proposal for research to help us quantify the climate impact of pure British standards. Expect to hear more on this in the new year.

Enhancing the role of civil society in standards development is an equally important commitment of the Declaration.
BSI is working to refine our civil society engagement policies, and ensure all voices are heard in standards development, especially those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
We are working with our existing policy networks, including the Consumer and Public Interest Network (CPIN) and the Sustainability Standards Network to explore how civil society’s role in British standards development can be enhanced, and have several workshops scheduled on this topic.

How can BSI Members get involved?

We are hosting a webinar on the London Declaration at the upcoming Standards Conference, which is taking place November 16-17 in a hybrid format. Registration details can be accessed here. We expect to hold more workshops with our BSI members and stakeholders in the new year, so look out for those.
At BSI, actions related to the London Declaration are being coordinated by myself, so please get in touch here if you have comments or questions.