SDG 7 and ISO/UNDP 53001: affordable and clean energy through the audit lens

Three dimensions within one goal

Seventh of the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda, adopted in 2015, SDG 7 is named ‘Affordable and clean energy’. It combines universal access to reliable energy services, the share of renewable energy and improvements in energy efficiency.

Affordability is the dimension most often forgotten. For an energy supplier, a landlord or a local authority, households struggling to pay their energy bills are part of the goal just as much as the generation mix. An ISO 53001 SDG 7 audit therefore opens with a question: which dimension, and for which interested parties?

The auditor's checkpoints

• The energy issue appears in the context analysis, together with the dimension or dimensions selected.
• Objectives distinguish consumption, energy intensity and renewable share.
• The accounting method for purchased renewable energy (on-site generation, direct contract, guarantees of origin) is stated explicitly.
• Consumption data come from meter readings, invoices or identified sub-meters.
• Investment or energy-purchasing decisions reviewed by top management take the objective into account.

SDG 7 or SDG 13: avoiding double counting

Energy and climate are closely linked, and the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard does not forbid one action from serving several SDGs. What the auditor does check is that each objective has its own indicator. A cut in greenhouse gas emissions belongs to SDG 13; lower consumption per unit produced or a higher renewable share belongs to SDG 7. Reporting the same figure under two objectives without saying so inflates the apparent contribution.

In terms of requirements, the issue is described under clause 4, the objective planned under clause 6 and monitored under clause 9. Where the organisation runs an ISO 50001 energy management system, the auditor can draw on its data while checking that the SDG contribution perspective is genuinely present.

Findings on energy

• Guarantees of origin are counted as the organisation's own renewable generation, with no explanation of the method.
• The objective is expressed as absolute consumption while activity levels have swung sharply, making the trend unreadable.
• Affordability, identified as an issue for customers, has no objective at all.
• Leased sites or long-term rental vehicles are excluded from the boundary without justification.

From stage 1 to surveillance

At stage 1 of the initial audit, the auditor checks that the energy objective is designed coherently. At stage 2, they test the data on a sample of sites and invoices. Surveillance audits, held at least once per calendar year, then show whether the announced trend holds up.

Climate, industry and linked requirements

• SDG 9 and ISO/UNDP 53001: industry, innovation and infrastructure through the audit lensSelected by manufacturers, infrastructure operators and research-intensive organisations, SDG 9 is often evidenced by budgets rather than results.
• SDG 12 and ISO/UNDP 53001: responsible consumption and production through the audit lensWith SDG 12, the ISO 53001 audit follows the organisation's flows: materials bought, products designed, waste generated, information given to customers.
• SDG 13 and ISO/UNDP 53001: climate action through the audit lensSDG 13 holds a special place in ISO 53001: according to BSI, every organisation applying the standard has to address it.
• ISO/UNDP 53001 clause 6: what the auditor checksISO 53001 clause 6 deals with planning.