Publicly available specification: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)
A publicly available specification, or PAS (French: spécification publiquement disponible), is an ISO document developed faster than an International Standard to meet an urgent need, with narrower consensus. ISO/UNDP PAS 53002:2024, guidelines for contributing to the SDGs, came before ISO 53001.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
A PAS is not a requirements standard and cannot be certified. ISO/UNDP PAS 53002, published in September 2024, free of charge and 39 pages long, is aimed first at leaders and offers reference points for contributing to the SDGs. It is aligned with UNDP's SDG Impact Standards.
The auditor does not use it as an audit criterion. An organisation drawing on it will find vocabulary and logic consistent with ISO 53001, but only the requirements of the standard are verified. See the page on ISO/UNDP PAS 53002 and the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
Standard, PAS and frameworks compared
Three kinds of document should not be confused. An International Standard such as ISO 53001 contains requirements and can be certified; a PAS such as PAS 53002 offers guidance reached through faster consensus; UNDP's SDG Impact Standards are frameworks outside the ISO system. Only the first serves as an audit criterion in a certification audit.
See also
- UNDP: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)UNDP, the United Nations Development Programme (French: *PNUD*), is the UN agency dedicated to development.
- Harmonized structure: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)The harmonized structure (French: *structure harmonisée*), formerly known as Annex SL, is the common framework ISO applies to its management system standards: ten clauses with identical core terms and requirements.
- 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.