Contribution to the SDGs: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)
Contribution to the SDGs (French: contribution aux ODD) is the effect, positive or negative, that an organisation's activities, products and decisions have on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. ISO 53001 requires this contribution to be managed rather than merely described: planned, monitored and improved over time.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
The auditor checks that the contribution claimed can be demonstrated. Public statements, on a website or in an annual report, are traced back to the internal data supporting them. A contribution displayed with no indicator and no record behind it is a serious concern for the credibility of the certificate.
The organisation is also expected to separate what it causes directly, what it takes part in, and what happens in its value chain. Confusing a sponsorship programme with the effect of the core business is a frequent slip. The ISO/UNDP 53001 standard and the ISO/UNDP PAS 53002 shed light on the notion.
Both sides of the ledger
A contribution is not only what an organisation adds. A logistics firm that funds tree planting while its fleet emissions keep rising has a net position the auditor will ask it to state. The auditor looks for both sides to be managed, and an account that leaves out the negative effects is treated as incomplete rather than modest.
See also
- Impact: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)An impact (French: *impact*, the same word) is a change, positive or negative, that an organisation causes or contributes to for people, society, the economy or the environment.
- Priority SDG: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A priority SDG (French: *ODD prioritaire*) is a Sustainable Development Goal that the organisation treats as central to its management system, because its activities contribute strongly to it or risk harming it.
- Sustainable Development Goals: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), *Objectifs de développement durable (ODD)* in French, are the 17 goals adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity by 2030.
- ISO/UNDP PAS 53002 guidelines: from guidance to a certifiable standard (ISO/UNDP 53001)ISO/UNDP PAS 53002 is a Publicly Available Specification published in September 2024: free guidelines for contributing to the SDGs, aimed first at senior leaders.