Achieve a sustainable business

British Standards Online (BSOL) gives you instant access to over 3,000 standards related to embedding more sustainable practices and helping your business make the transition to net zero and greater resource efficiency.

Using standards to achieve your sustainability goals demonstrates to your clients, partners, employees and consumers that you want to make a difference to the world that we live in, ensuring that you are respectful of people and planet. Standards equip you with the knowledge to be competitive, environmentally proactive and socially responsible.

British Standards Online Library (BSOL) is a simple tool that acts as your business improvement partner, giving you the knowledge and support to ensure that your business adheres to the highest standards. Our standards are built with leading industry knowledge and are trusted and used by businesses globally.

Environmental Management

• ISO 14001 Environmental management systems
• ISO 14004 Environmental management systems – guidelines on implementation
• ISO 14031 Environmental performance evaluation
• ISO 14005 Environmental management systems
• ISO 14090 Adaption to climate change
• BS 8583 Biodiversity – Manage the risk and opportunity

Social Responsibility

• ISO 26000 Guidance on Social responsibility

Greenhouse Gas Management

• ISO 14064-1 Greenhouse Gases Specification
• PAS 2060 Specification for the demonstration of carbon neutrality 
• PAS 2050 Specification for the assessment of the life cycle of green house gas emissions
• PAS 2080 Carbon management in infrastructure 
• PAS 2070+A1 Specification for the assessment of green house gasses

Resource Efficiency (including Energy Management and Water Management)

• BS 8001 Circular economy principles
• ISO 50001 Energy management
• BS EN 16247 Energy audits 
• ISO 14046 Water footprinting 
• BS 8580 Water quality 
• ISO 46001 Water efficiency management

Our planet faces a huge dilemma with human-induced climate change directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions. Standards can play a significant part in accelerating the transition to a net zero economy and define a journey to reach carbon neutrality. They provide clear and practical guidance for organizations of all sizes and sectors to mitigate - and adapt to - climate change.

In the context of carbon neutrality, an area that is both highly important and multifaceted, standards play a vital role in building and managing a best practice-led journey. From broad-ranging standards encompassing carbon neutrality at the strategic, organizational, and product-level, to highly specific standards such as those denoting competency requirements for reporting.

In our report, we provide high-level guidance on the key areas any business should consider in their approach and implementation of a carbon neutrality journey, providing standards insights and best practice examples.

In 2019, the UK Parliament passed legislation that committed the country to reduce its net emissions by 100 per cent by 2050. The target involves every UK business, no matter how big or small, committing to change. This is a huge task for UK business, government and wider communities. Businesses are all at different stages with this process, some had adopted sustainable practices before the announcement, and some are yet to make any changes.

To find out how UK businesses are managing the transition to net zero BSI has published the ‘Net Zero Barometer’ report. Through a survey of 1,000 senior decision makers across a range of industries in all parts of the UK, we discovered how advanced their plans are to achieving the 2050 target, as well as the challenges they are facing.

We’ve developed a deep understanding of how organizations use standards as best practice to work more productively, advise with confidence and better manage their business.

BSOL has over 100,000 standards, over 53 pre-built sector modules.

Tailor a custom standards database of exactly what you need or take our pre-built sector modules.