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ENISO/UNDP 53001 Management Systems for UN Sustainable Development Goals
The first management system standard developed jointly by ISO and a UN agency (UNDP). It confirms that an organisation puts the SDGs at the centre of how it is run and manages the impact of its decisions on people, the planet and future generations.
This standard is not covered by our IAS or UAF accreditation scopes. ITS certifies it under its own scheme. See our accreditations →
What this certification proves
ISO/UNDP 53001 does not certify that you display the SDG logo or that your report is long. It examines whether a working system identifies impacts, sets priorities, commits to ambitious targets and improves — in short, the management system behind the report. Where ESG ratings and disclosure look at *what was reported*, 53001 audits *how impact is managed*.
It differs from ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 in scope: relevance to all 17 SDGs, not a single field, and the whole value chain, local communities and excluded groups, not only what happens inside your own fence. Whatever the sector, three issues must always be addressed — climate action (SDG 13), gender equality (SDG 5) and decent work (SDG 8).
The backbone is one chain: review of the 17 SDGs → impact identification → materiality → priorities → SDG objectives → ambitious targets → outcome indicators → improvement plan. A broken link is a nonconformity. The audit checks that impact data actually feeds strategy, the business model, remuneration and decisions.
⚠️ As of 2026 there is not yet an international accreditation scheme for this standard. ITS certificates to 53001 are issued under our own (non-accredited) scheme, and we say so plainly.
Who this is for
- Public corporations and government agencies that must evidence social value, carbon neutrality and regional contribution in performance evaluations
- Large groups and ESG-leading affiliates that need a group-wide management system behind sustainability disclosure and ESG ratings
- Financial groups, banks and insurers managing the social and environmental impact of their lending and investment portfolios
- Exporters in global supply chains that need one integrated basis for customers' supply-chain due diligence and overseas disclosure rules
- Regional governments, universities, hospitals and foundations that must show local SDG delivery, ranking indicators or donor trust through a verified system
- Organisations that already publish an ESG or sustainability report and want the management system behind it verified by a third party
🌱 How this relates to ESG
E EnvironmentalS SocialG GovernanceIt spans all three pillars: the 17 SDGs themselves cover people (1–6), prosperity (7–11), planet (12–15), peace (16) and partnership (17). 53001 gathers scattered ESG activity into one management system that a third party can certify.
- Sustainability disclosure — reporting regimes increasingly ask for the system that manages social and environmental impact, not only financial effects. The impact inventory, materiality assessment and outcome indicators are that evidence
- Supply-chain due diligence — global customers require human-rights and environmental due diligence from suppliers; a standard that reaches the value chain gives one integrated answer
- Public and university evaluation — a verified system answers social-value criteria and SDG-contribution ranking indicators
- Investors and lenders — the impact data that rating agencies and financial institutions ask for is produced systematically
- 🔴 Built against greenwashing — justified ambitious targets, outcome indicators, published third-party assessment and stakeholder consultation make exaggerated claims hard to sustain
What certification gives you
- Gathers scattered ESG activity into one management system proven by third-party certificationSee the 8-step certification process →
- The credibility of a standard co-developed with the UN (UNDP) — a basis for disclosure, ratings and due diligenceRequest an audit-days and fee estimate →
- Shares the same clause structure (4–10) as ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001, so documentation, internal audit and management review can be integratedSee ISO 14001 →
- Requires ambitious targets, outcome indicators and stakeholder consultation — a structural guard against greenwashingVerify a certified organisation →
- With the standard just published, being an early certified organisation carries real visibilityCertification mark guide →
How the requirements are structured
This is the overall shape of what the standard asks for. Working through it in this order is a sensible way to prepare.
| Clause | Title | In plain terms |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Context | Assess relevance to all 17 SDGs, identify excluded groups and silent stakeholders, define a scope that includes the value chain, and review yearly. |
| 5 | Leadership | Embed SDG contribution in strategy, the business model and remuneration; set an SDG policy; involve the governing body; disclose externally every year. |
| 6 | Planning | Assess materiality (likelihood × severity) of impacts, prioritise, set ambitious targets justified against baselines and thresholds, and manage options and trade-offs. |
| 7 | Support | Build capability across the value chain, cover the required content of external reporting, and publish third-party assessment results. |
| 8 | Operation | Control operating criteria including outsourcing; handle complaints and conflicts with whistle-blower protection; run a grievance mechanism co-designed with stakeholders. |
| 9 | Performance evaluation | Measure real impact with outcome-based indicators rather than outputs, act on results above and below expectation, and hold management review. |
| 10 | Improvement | Document an ambitious continual improvement plan, revisiting the business model where needed. |
※ This is a summary written to help you, not the text of the standard. Please refer to the published standard for the exact requirements.
Before you apply, please check
Having these in place makes the audit considerably smoother. If you are not ready yet, you are still welcome to get in touch — we will set out what to do first, with a timeline.
- A record of relevance assessment against all 17 SDGs — the first document the audit looks at
- A stakeholder map that includes excluded groups and the organisations that represent them, with consultation records
- An impact inventory across the value chain and a materiality assessment (who, what, how much, contribution, risk)
- An SDG policy and target justification (baseline, threshold, no-action scenario) — targets must be justified against thresholds, not merely achievable
- 🔴 Current data on the three mandatory issues: climate action (13), gender equality (5) and decent work (8)
- A grievance channel usable by supplier and subcontractor workers, with handling records
- Outcome indicators defined and measured — real change, not counts of training sessions
- At least one internal audit and a management review completed before applying
- Audit days and fees depend on size, number of sites and value-chain scope, and are quoted after the scope is agreed
You can apply for ISO/UNDP 53001 certification here
Tell us your organisation’s size and the standards you need, and we will send you the audit duration and a fee proposal. You are free to decide after seeing it.
Tel 02-786-9242Email info@itscert.or.krFax 02-6940-9317
※ ITS Certification Body does not provide management system consultancy. Auditing and consultancy must remain separate. What we can do is explain the certification process and what you need to have in place.
Which audit division handles this
Audits against this standard are carried out by our 환경·안전보건심사본부. See the organisation chart →