Continual improvement: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)
Continual improvement (French: amélioration continue) is the recurring activity through which an organisation strengthens its performance and the relevance of its management system. In ISO 53001, it means that the contribution to the SDGs progresses from one cycle to the next, driven by results, audits and feedback.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
Nobody expects spectacular progress every year. The auditor looks at whether monitoring data, internal audit results, nonconformities and the expectations of interested parties are actually used to decide on concrete improvements, and whether those improvements are then followed through to completion.
The notion carries most weight during surveillance and recertification audits, when the situation is compared with earlier visits. A system that has not moved since initial certification, with no new objective and no adjustment, prompts questions. ISO uses “continual” rather than “continuous” on purpose: progress happens in steps. See clause 10 and the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
Improvement or correction
Not every change counts as improvement. Fixing a nonconformity restores the expected level; improvement raises it, for instance by extending an indicator to a new site or tightening an objective once it has been reached twice. The auditor separates the two when reading the outputs of the management review.
See also
- Corrective action: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A corrective action (French: *action corrective*) removes the cause of a nonconformity so that it does not happen again or appear elsewhere.
- Management review: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)Management review (French: *revue de direction*) is the examination of the SDG management system by top management at planned intervals: results, changes in context, feedback from interested parties, audits, resources.
- Recertification audit: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A recertification audit (French: *audit de renouvellement*) takes place before an ISO 53001 certificate expires, so that a decision can be made on renewing it for a further three-year cycle.
- ISO/UNDP 53001 clause 10: what the auditor checksISO 53001 clause 10 covers improvement.