Opportunity: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)
An opportunity (French: opportunité) is a favourable circumstance an organisation can use to achieve or exceed its intended results. In ISO 53001 opportunities are determined alongside risks: a new market linked to an SDG, a local partnership, a product innovation, finance directed at sustainable development.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
The auditor checks that the organisation has not looked only at threats. The harmonized structure asks for risks and opportunities to be addressed together; a register containing none is not a nonconformity in itself, but it raises questions about the analysis carried out.
When an opportunity is retained, the auditor follows what becomes of it: a planned action, an objective, an investment, or a reasoned decision not to pursue it. The term is distinct from an opportunity for improvement, which is an audit finding rather than a planning notion. See clause 6 of the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
Where positive contribution is built
For an SDG system, opportunities are often where positive contribution takes shape: a product redesign that cuts emissions for customers, or a recruitment partnership with a local training centre. The auditor checks that such opportunities are assessed with the same rigour as risks, including their possible side effects on other goals.
See also
- Risk: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)Risk (French: *risque*) is the effect of uncertainty on expected results, whether unfavourable or favourable.
- Observation: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)An observation (French: *observation*), sometimes called an area of concern, is a finding in an audit report that is not a nonconformity but flags a weak point that could become one.
- 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 6: what the auditor checksISO 53001 clause 6 deals with planning.