Measurement: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)
Measurement (French: mesure) is the process of determining a value: tonnes of CO₂ emitted, a gender pay gap, the share of suppliers assessed. In ISO 53001 it gives SDG objectives a verifiable basis; the method used must produce results that can be compared from one period to the next and reproduced.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
Method matters as much as the figure. The auditor asks where a number comes from, how it is calculated, who checks it and whether the method has stayed the same over time. A dramatic swing in an SDG indicator caused by an unreported change of boundary is a textbook case of non-comparable results.
The auditor sometimes recalculates a value from raw data to test the reliability of the chain. Nonconformities often concern untraceable sources or spreadsheets with no controls. See clause 9 of the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
Methods before instruments
Measuring equipment is rarely the issue in an SDG system; calculation methods are. The auditor expects the organisation to fix its conventions, such as emission factors or what counts as an assessed supplier, and to record any change so that the series stays comparable. Where a third party supplies a figure, its source and date must be traceable.
See also
- Monitoring: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)Monitoring (French: *surveillance*) means determining the status of a system, process or activity by observing, checking or recording information at defined intervals.
- Performance: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)Performance (French: *performance*, the same word) is a measurable result, quantitative or qualitative.
- Objective: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)An objective (French: *objectif*) is a result to be achieved, set at a given level and for a given function.
- ISO/UNDP 53001 clause 9: what the auditor checksISO 53001 clause 9 deals with performance evaluation.