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. In ISO 53001 this choice follows from the analysis of context and steers objectives and indicators.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
The auditor asks how the selection was made: criteria, data used, people consulted, date. Negative effects must have weighed as much as positive contributions. A shortlist limited to the goals where the organisation shines, leaving out the one its activity affects most, is examined closely.
According to BSI, publisher of the British edition, every organisation applying the standard addresses SDGs 5, 8 and 13, on top of those aligned with its own objectives. The page on mandatory SDGs goes into this point. See also the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
Revisiting the choice
The choice of priority SDGs is not fixed for the whole cycle. A new activity, an acquisition or a change in regulation can shift the analysis, and at surveillance audits the auditor checks that the choice was reviewed when such changes occurred.
See also
- 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.
- 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.
- Double materiality: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)Double materiality (French: *double matérialité*) is a principle of European sustainability reporting: an issue matters either because the organisation affects people or the environment, or because it affects the organisation's financial position.
- 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 mandatory SDGs: the common base of SDGs 5, 8 and 13 (ISO/UNDP 53001)According to information available to Gardiant, ISO 53001 requires every organisation to address three mandatory SDGs: SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 13 (climate action).