ISO management standards for climate adaptation

NEN (Foundation Royal Netherlands Standardisation Institute) manages more than 34,000 standards. These standards involve national, European or global agreements regarding which all the stakeholders (government authorities and other parties) have reached consensus. In 2019, the NEN Commission on “ISO standards for climate adaptation” was set up. Via this Commission, Dutch stakeholders are contributing to the development of international standards for climate adaptation within ISO, the international organisation for standardisation. Two ISO standards pertaining to climate adaptation have already been completed. The purposes for which these two standards can be used are set out below.

• The first standard, NEN-EN-ISO 14090, “Climate adaptation - Principles, requirements, and guidelines” is also effective at the European level; it is the first climate adaptation standard developed by ISO. Would you like to study the effects of climate change in the plans and activities of your organisation? Are you writing a climate adaptation plan, for example? Or would you like to find out what climate risks your organisation is running? This standard can help you tackle such issues in a systematic manner.
• The second standard, ISO/TS 14092, “Climate adaptation – Requirements and guidelines for adaptation planning for local governments and communities” is intended to help local governments and other stakeholders on their way in considering climate adaptation measures. For example, have you conducted a stress test in your municipality and would you like to discuss the results with other parties in a risk dialogue, in order to draw up an adaptation strategy on the basis of the outcomes? This standard can help you do just that.

These two standards are only the beginning. ISO is developing a range of climate adaptation standards, to which Dutch stakeholders in the NEN Commission are contributing.