Interested party: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)
An interested party (French: partie intéressée) is a person or group that can affect the organisation's decisions, be affected by them, or perceive itself to be affected: employees, customers, suppliers, neighbours, funders, authorities. ISO 53001 asks the organisation to identify those relevant to its system and determine their relevant expectations.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
The auditor checks that the list of interested parties is not generic. Groups are expected to fit the sector and the location, each with the expectations judged relevant, including those that become legal or contractual obligations.
In interviews, the auditor asks how those expectations were gathered and when they were last reviewed. The link with the SDGs is tested as well: if a strong staff expectation on workplace gender equality appears nowhere in the objectives, that choice is questioned. The requirement belongs to clause 4 of the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
Relevant, not exhaustive
The organisation is not asked to list every conceivable group, only those relevant to its SDG system. The auditor tests the filter: a cooperative bank that lists its members but not the local communities its loans finance has narrowed the field without saying why. What is judged is the reasoning, not the length of the list.
See also
- Stakeholder: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A stakeholder (French: *partie prenante*) is, in the everyday language of social responsibility and sustainability reporting, any person or group concerned by an organisation's activities.
- Context of the organization: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)The context of the organization (French: *contexte de l'organisme*) covers the internal and external issues that shape an organisation's ability to contribute to the SDGs: market, regulation, supply chain, location, internal culture.
- Requirement: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A requirement (French: *exigence*) is a need or expectation that is stated, generally implied or obligatory.
- ISO/UNDP 53001 clause 4: what the auditor checksISO 53001 clause 4 covers the context of the organization.