The NBN Trust recently joined the British Standards Institution’s (BSI) national committee on Biodiversity – BDY/1. The committee develops national standards and feeds the UK voice and expertise into the development of international standards at the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).
We have joined BDY/1 to help ensure that emerging biodiversity standards are informed by practical experience of biodiversity data, evidence infrastructure, data quality, provenance, and interoperability. We are not joining as an ecological authority on all topics, but as a national biodiversity data organisation that can help test whether proposed standards are clear, usable, and grounded in what data holders and practitioners can realistically provide.
UK leading the way
The UK led the development of ISO 17620:2025 ‘Biodiversity – Process for designing and implementing biodiversity net gain in development projects’, based on the original British Standard BS 8683:2021, demonstrating UK leadership in this area.
The committee continues to participate in live work which includes:
- The revision of the British standard BS 42020:2013 ‘Biodiversity. Code of practice for planning and development’. Due out for public consultation this summer. NBN Trust members will be notified when this is out for comment.
And ISO standards on:
- Requirements and guidelines for the characterisation of products based on native species – this is at final draft stage and will be published soon.
- Biodiversity and the food sector
- Biodiversity dynamics in managed forest landscapes
- Quantifying marine biodiversity status: Integrating taxonomy, functionality and species interactions
- Identifying standardisation needs around ecological networks
And exploring standards on aspects relating to wetlands, freshwater monitoring protocols, biodiversity guidelines on measurement, data, monitoring, and assessment, and biodiversity indicators for financial institutions.
BSI is also working on nature market standards, supported by Defra and devolved administration. Nature Investment Programme | BSI . A series of ‘Flex’ standards – a fast-track, iterative standards designed to address immediate, evolving needs in fast-changing markets – have been developed for organisations directly involved in nature projects and schemes, as well as investors and corporate buyers of related nature credits. This initiative is designed to boost private sector investment into nature and support positive environmental outcomes.
Get involved
BSI welcomes ideas for new areas of standardisation, to support the UK’s active participation in the ISO work and engage in national activities.
As a member of BDY/1, the NBN Trust can help gather targeted input from the Network where specific standards are open for comment or where BSI needs particular expertise.
Organisations that represent a wider stakeholder group and have relevant expertise may also wish to contact BSI directly about possible committee membership, subject to BSI’s normal application and approval process.
You can contact Christina Allen, Standards Development Manager – Sustainability, and BDY/1 committee manager christina.allen@bsigroup.com , or feel free to get in touch with the NBN Trust representative on the committee, Will Millard.