There are many organisations in the world that develop standards to be used by organisations that want to contribute more to sustainable development. Many of these are listed in Annex A of ISO 26000.
ISO has a part if its website devoted to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ISO has many times stated that one of the main drivers behind developing standards is to contribute to sustainable development.
Such a statement should be based on two things:
1) that all ISO-standards address their potential contribution to sustainable development
ISO has taken steps to help standardizers address sustainability when developing any new, or revising any existing, ISO-standard: ISO Guide 82 Guidelines for addressing sustainability in Standards. In time, provided that Guide 82 is applied by the standardizers (experts/stakeholders), all of the more than 22 000 standards ISO have published will have addressed their unique contribution to sustainable development. This can have a major positive impact considering the millions of companies/organisations that use ISO standards in both developing and developed countries.
2) that specific ISO-standards are developed for specific sustainability needs
Indeed, there are already some ISO-standards that can be seen as specific “sustainability standards” as they have the word sustainability in their title/scope and/or address sustainability related issues such as responsibility, environment, social, governance, safety, health. Some of these ISO-standards are listed in the table below. More information about these standards is available at the ISO website related to the scope or the status, or locally at the National Standards Bodies. The table was developed in 2016 and in 2018 ISO published a longer list of close to 600 standards related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
| ISO Standards, examples | Developed using ISO Guide 82 Yes/No | Delivers on SDG |
|---|---|---|
| ISO/Guide 82:2014 Guidelines for addressing sustainability in standards | Almost all | |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | N (published before Guide 82) | Almost all |
| ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement -- Guidance | Y | Almost all |
| ISO 20121 Event sustainability management systems -- Requirements with guidance for use | N (published before Guide 82) | Almost all |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 1. No poverty | |
| ISO 37120 Sustainable development of communities — Indicators for city services and quality of life | ? | 1. No poverty |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 2. Zero Hunger | |
| ISO 22000 Food safety management | ? | 2. Zero Hunger |
| ISO 4002 Equipment for sowing and planting | ? | 2. Zero Hunger |
| ISO 4197 Equipment for working the soil | ? | 2. Zero Hunger |
| ISO 6880 Machinery for agriculture | ? | 2. Zero Hunger |
| ISO 20635 Infant formula and adult nutritionals | ? | 2. Zero Hunger |
| ISO 1871 Food and feed products | ? | 2. Zero Hunger |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 3. Good health and well-being | |
| ISO 11137 Sterilization of health care products | ? | 3. Good health and well-being |
| ISO 8828 Implants for surgery | ? | 3. Good health and well-being |
| ISO 18615 Traditional Chinese medicine | ? | 3. Good health and well-being |
| ISO/IEEE 11073 Health informatics -- Point-of-care medical device communication | ? | 3. Good health and well-being |
| TS 13131 Telehealth services | ? | 3. Good health and well-being |
| IWA integrated health and care services for aged societies | ? | 3. Good health and well-being |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 4. Quality education | |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 5. Gender equality | |
| ISO 18091:2014 Quality management systems - Guidelines for the application of ISO 9001:2008 in local government | ? | 5. Gender equality |
| ISO 11228-2:2007 Ergonomics - Manual handling, Part 2: Pushing and pulling | ? | 5. Gender equality |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 6. Clean water and sanitation | |
| ISO 14046 Water footprint | ? | 6. Clean water and sanitation |
| ISO 15839 Water quality | ? | 6. Clean water and sanitation |
| ISO 24516-1 Drinking water distribution networks | ? | 6. Clean water and sanitation |
| ISO 24518 Crisis management of water utilities | ? | 6. Clean water and sanitation |
| ISO 24526 Water Efficiency Management Systems | ? | 6. Clean water and sanitation |
| TMB/NP Sustainable non-sewered sanitation systems | ? | 6. Clean water and sanitation |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 7. Affordable and clean energy | |
| ISO 50001 Energy Management | ? | 7. Affordable and clean energy |
| ISO 9553 Solar energy | ? | 7. Affordable and clean energy |
| TR 10217 Solar energy -- Water heating systems | ? | 7. Affordable and clean energy |
| ISO 13065 Sustainability criteria for bioenergy | ? | 7. Affordable and clean energy |
| ISO 17743 Energy savings | ? | 7. Affordable and clean energy |
| ISO 20619 Calculation methods for energy savings | ? | 7. Affordable and clean energy |
| ISO 13065 (FDIS) Sustainability criteria for bioenergy | ? | 7. Affordable and clean energy |
| Clean cookstoves and cooking solutions | ? | 7. Affordable and clean energy |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 8. Decent work and economic growth | |
| ISO 45001 Health and Safety | ? | 8. Decent work and economic growth |
| ISO 37001 Anti-bribery management systems | Y? | 8. Decent work and economic growth 10. Reduced inequalities |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 9. Innovation and infrastructure | |
| TR 37150 Smart community infrastructures -- Review of existing activities relevant to metrics | ? | 9. Innovation and infrastructure |
| ISO 37154 Smart community infrastructures -- Best practice guidelines for transportation | ? | 9. Innovation and infrastructure |
| ISO 21542 Building construction -- Accessibility and usability of the built environment | ? | 9. Innovation and infrastructure |
| ISO 50501 Innovation management system | ? | 9. Innovation and infrastructure |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 10. Reduced inequalities | |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 11. Sustainable cities and communities | |
| ISO 37101 Sustainable development of communities - Management systems | ? | 11. Sustainable cities and communities |
| IWA 9 Framework for managing sustainable development in business districts | ? | 11. Sustainable cities and communities |
| ISO 28000 Security management | 11. Sustainable cities and communities | |
| ISO 37104 Guide to establishing strategies for smart cities and communities | ? | 11. Sustainable cities and communities |
| ISO 37120 Sustainable development of communities -- Indicators for city services and quality of life | ? | 11. Sustainable cities and communities |
| ISO 10711 Intelligent Transport Systems | ? | 11. Sustainable cities and communities |
| ISO 12720 Sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works | ? | 11. Sustainable cities and communities |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 12. Responsible consumption and production | |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 13. Climate Action | |
| ISO 14001 Environmental management systems | ? | 13. Climate Action |
| ISO 14044 Life cycle assessment | ? | 13. Climate Action |
| ISO 14064 Greenhouse gases | ? | 13. Climate Action |
| TS 14067 Carbon footprint of products | ? | 13. Climate Action |
| ISO 14080 Framework and principles for methodologies on climate actions | ? | 13. Climate Action |
| ISO 10987 Earth moving machinery – sustainability | ? | 13. Climate Action |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 14. Life below water | |
| ISO 30000 Ship recycling | ? | 14. Life below water |
| ISO 29400 Ships and marine technology -- Offshore wind energy | ? | 14. Life below water |
| ISO 21070 Marine environment protection | ? | 14. Life below water |
| ISO 35101 Petroleum and natural gas industries -- Arctic operations | ? | 14. Life below water |
| ISO 12878 Environmental monitoring of the impacts from marine finfish farms | ? | 14. Life below water |
| ISO 19900 General requirements for offshore structures | ? | 14. Life below water |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 15. Life on land | |
| ISO 14055 Combating land degradation and desertification | ? | 15. Life on land |
| ISO 38200 Chain of custody of wood and wood-based products | ? | 15. Life on land |
| ISO 23611 Soil quality -- Sampling of soil invertebrates | ? | 15. Life on land |
| ISO 15952 Effects of pollutants on juvenile land snails | ? | 15. Life on land |
| ISO 22030 Soil quality -- Biological methods | ? | 15. Life on land |
| ISO 11850 Machinery for forestry -- General safety requirements | ? | 15. Life on land |
| ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility | 16. Peace and justice | |
| ISO 19600 Compliance management systems | ? | 16. Peace and justice |
| Not applicable as this SDG addresses signatory states(government agencies, institutions, public policy), not organizations (as ISO standards do)? | 17. Partnerships |