The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched ISO/UNDP 53001, the first international management system standard designed to help organisations align strategy, governance, and operations with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The standard was officially unveiled during the ISO Annual Meeting in Paris, hosted by French national standards body AFNOR.
Designated as ISO/UNDP 53001, Management systems for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – Requirements, the framework provides a structured methodology for businesses, government agencies, academic institutions, and non-profit organisations to embed SDG targets into daily operations, measure performance, and drive continuous improvement.
ISO Secretary-General Sergio Mujica stated that while the SDGs have served as a global vision for a decade, ISO/UNDP 53001 delivers a common language and standardized operational structure to translate high-level commitments into verifiable impact.
Marcos Neto, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, highlighted that achieving the 2030 Agenda requires integrating sustainability metrics into institutional decision-making.
The drafting process was led by Danish Standards, which chaired the international technical committee tasked with establishing consensus across global stakeholder groups. Jens Heiede, Chief Executive Officer of Danish Standards, noted that the standard was engineered to remain flexible across differing industries, organizational scales, and geographic regions. As a requirements-based management system, ISO/UNDP 53001 enables third-party verification and continuous auditing, allowing organisations to demonstrate accountability to investors, regulators, and consumers. ISO and UNDP confirmed they will produce supplementary, sector-specific guidance documents to assist with global implementation.
