From ambition to proof: how standards make sustainability concrete
Last updated:
4/3/2026
Sustainability is high on the agenda for companies today. Yet in many organizations, it remains limited to isolated initiatives or well-intentioned projects. As soon as companies have to put their commitment into practice, the same questions arise: how do you make sustainability measurable? How do you prove circularity or biodiversity impact? And how do you build trust among customers and investors?
According to Alexandre della Faille of NBN, standards play an important role in providing the answer. During the recent 'Journey to Sustainability - The Power of Standards' event, he explained that voluntary European and international standards help companies achieve medium- and long-term sustainability goals and develop internal policies. At the same time, they strengthen the reputation of companies and organizations, because their products, services, and governance are then based on frameworks that are recognized in Europe and beyond.
Standards are not just technical documents. They offer companies a practical way to integrate sustainability into their strategy and daily operations.
A good example of this comes from Schréder. Michèle-Cerise Soors, Head of Circular Economy at the Organisation, explains that circularity is built into their luminaires (lighting installations) right from the design stage. According to her, the engineers consider the entire life cycle of the product and the impact of materials in the production chain from the outset.
But at a certain point, that internal commitment was no longer enough. Customers wanted concrete proof of that circularity. That is why Schréder decided to use standards to demonstrate their approach. According to Michèle-Cerise, standards such as ISO 59004 and ISO 59020 help to create a common terminology and measurable criteria, so that both designers and customers understand exactly what is meant by terms such as retrofit, refurbishment, or recyclability.
Standards therefore make it possible not only to promise circularity, but also to substantiate it. For example, companies can demonstrate how much recycled material is in a product or how much material can be reused at the end of its life.
According to Mira Tayah of Agoria, the transition to a circular business model is much more than a technical adjustment. She emphasizes that circularity requires a complete transformation of the business model. Not only internal processes change, but also the relationship with customers and partners.
Standards play an important role in this transition because they create trust. By establishing quality criteria and methodologies, they help companies to guarantee the reliability of circular products and processes. At the same time, they provide inspiration for product design and help organizations to define circularity and sustainability objectives and integrate them into their policies.
In other words, standards ensure that circularity does not remain an experiment, but becomes a structural part of business operations.
In addition to circularity, biodiversity is also becoming increasingly important in business strategies. Caroline Lhuillery, manager of the ISO committee working on biodiversity, points out that more than half of global GDP depends on ecosystems and natural resources.
That is why the ISO 17298 standard was recently developed. This standard provides a framework that enables organizations to integrate biodiversity into their strategy and operational processes. According to Lhuillery, this is done through a step-by-step approach: companies first analyze their dependencies on nature and ecosystems, then determine their priorities and integrate them into an action plan that is part of their management system.
This approach makes biodiversity part of the entire decision-making chain, ensuring that it is not just a one-off sustainability measure but a long-term strategy.
Companies that work with environmental management systems also see the added value of standards. Stefaan Vanhalle of STAXS Belgium explains that ISO 14001 provides his organisation with organisation framework for making environmental objectives concrete and measurable. According to him, the standard helps organizations to systematically map their environmental impact, formulate objectives, and continuously improve through the well-known Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.
In addition, according to Vanhalle, standards create a common language. When companies work with a standard, customers and partners immediately know which methodology is being used and what requirements apply. Certification by an independent auditor also strengthens the confidence of customers and stakeholders.
What all these examples have in common is that standards make sustainability concrete. They help companies structure their strategy, measure their impact, and communicate their actions credibly to customers, investors, and partners.
Standards also provide a framework for looking ahead. European initiatives such as the future Circular Economy Act will impose new criteria for products and services on the European market. Many of the standards being developed today will help companies prepare for these regulations.
In an economy where sustainability is becoming increasingly important, standards are therefore an important lever. They translate ambitions into concrete actions and make it possible to embed sustainable impact structurally in business operations.
