The British Standards Institution (BSI) has initiated an 18-month process to create a new, independently verifiable standard to ensure the credibility of net-zero targets set by businesses and organisations. BSI plans to unveil this standard at COP30, the UN’s 2025 climate conference in Brazil.
The development of the new net-zero standard is a collaborative effort with ICONTEC, Colombia’s national standards body, aiming to involve experts from standards bodies across more than 170 countries. Following the completion of this phase, a public consultation is scheduled for 2025.
The standard is set to replace BSI’s current ISO Net Zero Guidelines, enhancing best practice recommendations in line with the raft of target-setting, strategy development and disclosure frameworks that have taken shape since these Guidelines were launched in 2022.
“While progress is being made to decarbonise key industries around the world, and many individuals and organisations are stepping up, the net-zero landscape is complex and the lack of clarity risks slowing down efforts to turn ambition into action,” BSI chief executive Susan Taylor Martin said.
She added that international collaboration represents a landmark opportunity to bring clarity, credibility and trust to the net-zero transition process.