Stage 1 audit: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)
A stage 1 audit (French: audit d'étape 1) is the first part of an initial certification audit. The auditor reviews how the SDG management system has been designed and how ready it is, largely from documents, in order to decide whether stage 2 can go ahead and how to organise it.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
At this point the auditor confirms that the structural elements exist: scope, analysis of context, choice of priority SDGs, policy, objectives, internal audit programme and management review. The visit also tests how well the organisation understands ISO 53001 and gathers what is needed to plan stage 2, such as sites, processes and headcount.
Weaknesses spotted at stage 1 are reported as areas that could become nonconformities at the next stage. If key elements are missing, stage 2 may be postponed. The certification process page shows where this step fits, alongside the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
Stage 1 versus stage 2
Stage 1 asks whether the system is ready to be audited; stage 2 asks whether it works. That is why stage 1 findings are rarely graded and instead point to areas of concern. The interval between the two stages leaves the organisation time to deal with them, and the stage 2 plan is drawn up from what stage 1 found.
See also
- Stage 2 audit: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A stage 2 audit (French: *audit d'étape 2*) is the second part of an initial certification audit.
- Certification audit: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A certification audit (French: *audit de certification*) is the initial audit through which a certification body checks that an SDG management system meets ISO 53001 before a first certification decision.
- Scope: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)The scope (French: *domaine d'application*) sets the boundaries of the SDG management system: activities, products or services, sites and entities covered.