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. It cannot be certified. ISO 53001 grew out of it in the form of auditable requirements, and a companion document, ISO/UNDP 53002, is now being developed.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
ISO/UNDP PAS 53002 guidelines: what a PAS is
The ISO/UNDP PAS 53002 guidelines, titled Guidelines for contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), belong to a particular category of ISO deliverable. PAS stands for Publicly Available Specification. This type of document answers an urgent market need: it is produced faster than an International Standard and does not require the same degree of consensus among member countries.
In this case the content is guidance: the text recommends rather than requires. It is not written so that an independent auditor can establish conformity, and no organisation can hold a certificate against it. Its value lies in giving direction to leaders, not in providing a basis for verification. That is the main difference from the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard, whose requirements are set out in our reference guide.
PAS 53002 at a glance
- Date and edition
- Published in September 2024 as a first edition, under the reference ISO/UNDP PAS 53002:2024.
- Length
- Thirty-nine pages, a short document compared with most management system standards.
- Access
- Free of charge, unlike ISO 53001, which is sold by ISO and national standards bodies.
- Intended readers
- Senior leaders first and foremost: the text addresses those who set strategy and take decisions.
- Scope
- Applicable to every sector, whatever the activity.
- Lineage
- Aligned with UNDP's SDG Impact Standards for businesses.
Three documents, three functions
| Document | Nature | Certifiable | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO/UNDP PAS 53002:2024 | Publicly Available Specification, guidelines | No | Orient the contribution to the SDGs, mainly at senior leadership level |
| ISO/UNDP 53001:2026 | Management system requirements standard | Yes, by a third party, on a voluntary basis | Set out what an organisation must establish to manage its contribution |
| ISO/UNDP 53002 (forthcoming) | Companion document, implementation guidelines | No | Shed light on how the 2026 requirements are applied |
From advice to verifiable requirement
Moving from the PAS to the standard was more than a change of label. A recommendation can stay general; a requirement has to be worded so that a third party can say whether it is met. The 2026 standard therefore had to turn an intention, contributing to the SDGs, into observable mechanisms: selection of priority SDGs, objectives, indicators and governance decisions that reflect them, all within the structure shared by management system standards.
The PAS remains useful after 2026. Shorter and free, it is an entry point for boards and executive teams that want to understand the approach before buying the standard. It carries no weight as a requirement, however: nothing it recommends binds a certified organisation unless the standard itself contains the same provision.
The forthcoming ISO/UNDP 53002
ISO and UNDP have announced a companion document numbered 53002, this time without the PAS prefix. It will provide implementation guidance for the 2026 standard. Further resources, including case studies, are announced for early 2027. Until the document is published its content cannot be described; in any event, it will not change the requirements of ISO 53001. The origins of the standard place these stages in the project timeline.
Further reading
- ISO 53001 and UNDP: the origins of a jointly developed standard (ISO/UNDP 53001)ISO 53001 brings together ISO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
- ISO 53001, ISO 26000, ISO 14001: where the standard sits among the frameworks (ISO/UNDP 53001)ISO 53001 differs from ISO 26000, which gives social responsibility guidance and cannot be certified.
- ISO 53001 certification: what it proves and how it is issued (ISO/UNDP 53001)ISO 53001 certification confirms, after an audit by an independent body, that an organisation's management system meets the standard's requirements for managing its contribution to the SDGs.
- ISO 53001 principles: the logic behind the requirements (ISO/UNDP 53001)The principles of ISO 53001 come down to one idea: manage the contribution to the SDGs as a management system.
Frequently asked questions
Can an organisation be certified to ISO/UNDP PAS 53002?
No. PAS 53002 is a guidance document: it makes recommendations, not requirements that a third party can verify. Only ISO/UNDP 53001, published in 2026, allows certification by an independent body. An organisation may draw on the PAS, but it cannot claim certified conformity with that document.
Where can PAS 53002 be obtained?
ISO makes it available free of charge, through the specification's page and the page dedicated to the ISO/UNDP guidelines for the SDGs. It is the first edition, published in September 2024. ISO 53001, by contrast, is a paid standard sold by ISO and by national standards bodies, such as AFNOR in France.
Will the future ISO/UNDP 53002 replace the PAS?
Available sources indicate that a companion document, ISO/UNDP 53002, is being developed to give implementation guidance on the 2026 standard. They do not say what will happen to the 2024 PAS once it is published. That point will need to be followed when the new document appears.