When I first set up Terra Infirma, I made a strategic decision that I would avoid getting drawn into the world of ISO standards, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) etc. Part of this is down to my nature – I have a serious allergy to box ticking and bureaucracy – and part of it is the question “what difference will it make?”.

There’s an old joke that says “ISO14001 allows you to destroy the planet in a well documented manner.” So when I read “Our Sustainability programme is based on our ISO14001 system”, I wince.

In my local Councillor role, I have scanned dozens of EIAs in planning applications, none of which have ever said “this development should not go ahead” – hardly surprising when the developer is paying for the EIA. I have done a couple of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), but at the back of my mind is the nagging memory of a (20 year old) study that found that 100% of the comparative LCAs they reviewed favoured the product of the company paying for the LCA.

It is hard to keep up with standards and frameworks. The ISO14000 series of standards have exploded in number with quite a level of overlap. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) joins GRI and other reporting standards, and the UK’s finance industry now has Carbon Transition Plans. Standards appear, merge and die all the time (remember EMAS?) I live this stuff day in day out and I still get blindsided by a new framework on occasion.

But.

Let’s go back to that question I asked above – “what difference will it make?” As far as I am aware, none of the more powerful techniques in our toolbox, eg Theory Y, Backcasting or Green Jujitsu, are found in any standard. Yet these will transform your organisation, not bind it in green tape. I understand that many organisations are compelled to comply with certain standards, or feel they need to be seen to. But don’t let the tail wag the dog – do what really makes a difference.