BSI Leads Charge as Global Standard for Net Zero Under Way

In a landmark move to advance climate action, the British Standards Institution (BSI) has initiated the development of an independently verifiable international standard on net zero. 

The framework aims to provide clear and robust guidelines to accelerate global climate action, set to launch in line with COP30 in November 2025.

The creation of BSI’s international standard will be a collaborative effort involving thousands of experts from more than 170 countries. 

A unified effort for a sustainable future

BSI is spearheading this initiative in partnership with ICONTEC, Colombia’s National Standards Body, with a public consultation to follow to ensure global input and that diverse perspectives are considered.

BSI’s CEO Susan Taylor Martin said: “The launch of this standard development process is an important moment in the global effort to meet the climate challenge. While progress is being made to decarbonise key industries around the world, and many individuals and organisations are stepping up, the net zero landscape is complex and the lack of clarity risks slowing down efforts to turn ambition into action.

“This important collaboration — with BSI bringing together national standards bodies and their experts from around the world — represents a landmark opportunity to bring clarity, credibility and trust to the net zero transition process and ultimately to help accelerate our common progress towards a sustainable world.”

Building on the foundation of the ISO Net Zero Guidelines — introduced at COP27 through BSI's leadership — the new standard aims to convert these guidelines into a robust, independently verifiable framework. 

BSI firmly believes this updated skeleton will provide organisations worldwide with clear, credible best practices for achieving net zero. By defining what constitutes credible net zero action, the standard will bolster confidence and guard against greenwashing, offering a clear path for conformity assessment and the verification of net zero claims.

Roberto Montoya, CEO of ICONTEC, added: “For ICONTEC, chairing the group that developed the ISO Net Zero Guidelines was an enriching experience as we work in collaboration with both developing and developed countries. Now, we have the great responsibility to be part of the leadership of the group that will develop the International Standard for Net Zero. 

“We are conscious that achieving net zero requires a collaborative, ambitious and urgent effort, so we invite all countries to participate in the process and together establish the requirements that will serve as the basis for implementing credible, transparent and verifiable actions to achieve net zero.”

Addressing the net zero challenge

BSI’s lead on putting forward net zero standards comes off the back of research conducted by the institute and the University of Oxford which highlights the urgent need for standardised guidelines. 

The study, Governing Net Zero: Assessing Convergence and Gaps in the Voluntary Standards and Guidelines Landscape, underscores the complexity and fragmentation of the current net zero landscape. 

As well as this, BSI's 2024 Net Zero Barometer reveals significant challenges faced by UK businesses — while 83% are committed to the UK’s net zero target, 92% encounter persistent barriers and a significant minority remain uncommitted or inactive.

It also found that one in four UK businesses are not confident of achieving net zero by 2050 and 28% say their organisation will be taking no action in the next 12 months on this, with a further one in four citing a lack of clarity on what net zero means as a barrier.

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