Sustainable development

Subject

Sustainable development – development that meets the environmental, social and economic needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

While the challenge of sustainable development is global, the strategies for achieving it at community level are local, to a large extent, and can therefore differ in context and content from country to country and region to region. Community strategies need to reflect the context, preconditions, priorities and needs, particularly in the social environment, e.g. social equity, cultural identity and traditions, heritage, human health, safety and comfort, and social infrastructure.

In order to become more sustainable, communities also face the challenge of respecting planetary boundaries and taking into account the limitations these boundaries impose.

The concept of “planetary boundaries” describes a framework within which humanity needs to live in order to continue to develop and thrive for generations to come. Climate change, freshwater consumption, land-use change and loss of biodiversity are examples of planetary boundaries. Crossing these boundaries could generate abrupt or irreversible environmental changes, while respecting them significantly reduces risks. Planetary boundaries can be broken down in order to select measures that can be addressed at community level, while taking into account the specific situation.

The management of sustainable development in communities encompasses a wide range of issues, e.g. issues related to the economic, social and natural environment of communities and their interactions. Those issues can have strategic, operational and competitive implications.

The capacity to foster cross-discipline harmony and common purpose is fundamental to achieving a community’s objectives effectively and efficiently.

Applied standards

ISO 37101 establishes requirements for a management system for sustainable development in communities, including cities, using a holistic approach, with a view to ensuring consistency with the sustainable development policy of communities.

This International Standard is intended to help communities become more resilient, smart and sustainable, through the implementation of strategies, programmes, projects, plans and services, and demonstrate and communicate their achievements.

This International Standard is intended to be implemented by an organization designated by a community to establish the organizational framework and to provide the resources necessary to support the management of environmental, economic and social performance outcomes. A community that chooses to establish the organizational framework by itself is considered to constitute an organization as defined in this International Standard.

This International Standard is applicable to communities of all sizes, structures and types, in developed or developing countries, at local, regional or national levels, and in defined urban or rural areas, at their respective level of responsibility.

This International Standard can be used in whole or in part to improve the management of sustainable development in communities. Claims of conformity to this International Standard, however, are not acceptable unless all its requirements are incorporated into an organization’s management system for sustainable development in communities and fulfilled without exclusion.

This International Standard is designed to empower communities and to build on local initiatives. It targets environmental, social and economic issues, including improved community services and socio-economic benefits, as well as supporting clear purposes for sustainable development in communities and encouraging sound planning systems to achieve them.

This International Standard focuses on communities as stepping stones towards sustainability of society as a whole. Although each community has values and interests of its own, all communities can derive mutual benefits from agreeing upon ownership of shared values and objectives without exonerating individual actors from their respective responsibilities. This can be achieved only if the community applies a long-term view on planning, while respecting the Earth’s overall capacity and the needs of current and future generations, including the capability and resources to provide resilience.

This International Standard fosters the establishment of a multi-actor process in communities, through a holistic approach that facilitates the cooperation of all interested parties and avoids a silo approach. It is intended to provide guidance for organizations that implement other management systems that are compatible with this International Standard, such as ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 50001, ISO 20121, ISO 14046 and ISO 26000, whether involved directly or indirectly in sustainable development in communities at different stages in their life cycles.

Our services

The SSA provides high quality services of Certification of management system for sustainability based on ISO 37101. The service includes a complex of onsite and off-site assessment of how organisation established, implemented, maintained and continually improved a sustainability management system.