ISO 37111:2024

Sustainable cities and communities - Urban settlements - Guidance for a flexible approach to phased implementation of ISO 37101

This document provides guidance for a more flexible implementation of ISO 37101. This can be appropriate for smaller urban settlements or those dominated by a specialised function. Others can be starting on their journey of maturing sustainability from a very low-level base, or aim to explore sustainable development in a gradual, phased way due to limited resources. Some will want to rapidly initiate action that will have an immediate impact to demonstrate value and stimulate wider support. It provides practical toolkits to achieve implementation (e.g. policies and economic incentives, technical tools, and self-assessment checklists). This document applies to urban settlements of any composition and type.

Titre manque

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 24-Jun-2024
• ICS: 13.020.20 - Environmental economics. Sustainability
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 268 - Sustainable cities and communities
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 268/WG 1 - Management System Standards
• Current Stage: 6060 - International Standard published
• Start Date: 25-Jun-2024
• Due Date: 26-May-2024
• Completion Date: 25-Jun-2024

Overview

ISO 37111:2024 - Sustainable cities and communities - Urban settlements - Guidance for a flexible approach to phased implementation of ISO 37101 - provides practical, scalable guidance for implementing the ISO 37101 management system for sustainable development in urban settlements. It is intended especially for smaller or specialised urban settlements (neighbourhoods, market towns, ports, campus towns, etc.), or entities with limited resources that need a phased, flexible approach to maturity in sustainability.

The standard supplies toolkits, methods and checklists to help local administrations and stakeholders start, prioritise and demonstrate progress toward sustainable development aligned with the UN SDGs.

Key topics and technical focus

• Phased implementation and progressive adoption of ISO 37101 to match local capacity and resources.
• Context and stakeholder analysis: understanding the organization, identifying interested parties and enabling participation.
• Ten practical tools and methods, including:
  • Building and promoting a shared local vision
  • Organising stakeholder workshops
  • Readiness assessments and capability reviews
  • Roadmaps with interim objectives and milestones
  • Risk management approaches
  • Specific plans, public policies and economic incentives
  • Action plans with assigned responsibilities
  • KPI frameworks and monitoring, reporting and verification
• Monitoring & evaluation: establishing evaluation models, reporting and continuous improvement mechanisms.
• Supporting materials in annexes: examples of interim objectives mapped to SDGs, KPI framework examples, maturity and evaluation models.

Practical applications - who uses it and why

ISO 37111 is useful to:

• Local governments and municipal departments seeking a manageable route to implement ISO 37101.
• Small or specialised urban settlements (tourist towns, industrial towns, campuses, districts) that require tailored, resource-sensitive approaches.
• Urban planners, sustainability officers and NGOs implementing pilot projects, targeted interventions or phased sustainability roadmaps.
• Regional or inter-municipal alliances coordinating shared services, policies or incentive schemes.

Practical uses include preparing a stepwise roadmap, defining interim sustainability objectives, adopting targeted policies and incentives, implementing KPI-led monitoring, and demonstrating early wins to build stakeholder support.

Related standards

• ISO 37101 - Management system for sustainable development of communities (primary standard this document helps to implement).
• ISO 37104 - (Referenced connection) provides steps where ISO 37111’s tools and methods can contribute to broader implementation processes.

ISO 37111:2024 is a hands-on guidance document designed to make sustainable-city management systems accessible, adaptable and measurable for diverse urban settlements. Keywords: ISO 37111, ISO 37101, sustainable cities, urban settlements, phased implementation, KPI framework, sustainability roadmap, SDGs.

Standards Content (Sample)

International
Standard
ISO 37111
First edition
Sustainable cities and
2024-06
communities — Urban settlements
— Guidance for a flexible approach to
phased implementation of ISO 37101
Reference number
© ISO 2024
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
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Phone: [phone]
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Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Aspects and characteristics of urban settlements . 2
4.1 General .2
4.2 Implementing ISO 37101 in urban settlements .3
4.3 Considering progressive implementation of ISO 37101 .3
5 Context of the organization . 4
5.1 Understanding the organization and its context .4
5.2 Identifying the organization .4
5.3 Identifying interested parties and engaging collaboration and participation of all.5
6 Tools and methods to support the implementation . 6
6.1 General .6
6.2 Tool and method 1 — Building and promoting shared vision locally .7
6.3 Tool and method 2 — Organizing workshops by engaging interested parties.8
6.4 Tool and method 3 — Readiness — Getting prepared to initiate the process .9
6.5 Tool and method 4 — Conducting capability review .10
6.6 Tool and method 5 — Identifying and adjusting a roadmap with interim objectives or
milestones .10
6.6.1 Roadmap .10
6.6.2 Interim objectives .11
6.6.3 Milestones . 12
6.7 Tool and method 6 — Adopting a risk management approach . 12
6.8 Tool and method 7 — Specific plans, public policies and incentives . 13
6.8.1 Specific planning . 13
6.8.2 Use of public policies and incentives .14
6.9 Tool and method 8 — Using action plans with tasks for responsible actioners . 15
6.10 Tool and method 9 — Using a KPI framework to drive implementation .16
6.11 Tool and method 10 — Monitoring, reporting and verification of progressing process . .17
6.11.1 General .17
6.11.2 Establishing evaluation models .17
6.11.3 Undertaking analysis and continuing improvement .18
6.11.4 Reporting .19
Annex A (informative) Examples of interim objectives that contribute to address the six
purposes provided in ISO 37101 and with an indication of the corresponding 17 UN SDGs .20
Annex B (informative) Tools and methods in ISO 37111 (this document) that contribute to the
five steps in ISO 37104 .23
Annex C (informative) Examples of a KPI framework for sustainable urban settlements .24
Annex D (informative) Examples of evaluation models .28
Bibliography .32

iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee
has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations,
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with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for different types of
ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent
rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a)
patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that
this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at
www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 268, Sustainable cities and communities.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

iv
Introduction
ISO 37101 establishes a management system for the sustainable development of cities and communities. It
aims to be applicable to all urban settlements of any size and characteristics. However, it is considered that
the context, size and characteristics of certain urban settlements are sufficiently different for there to be a
need for additional guidance to facilitate a more flexible and appropriate implementation of ISO 37101. This
document provides relevant guidance, tools and methodologies to allow for these specific circumstances
and, more generally, to also facilitate the initial stages of sustainable development, or a planned phased
implementation, of ISO 37101, where this is needed.
The definition of “urban settlements” is not simple, as it depends on many interdependent factors. Some of
them relate, for example, to the size of the settlement’s population in relation to a region’s wider geography,
or how the administrative units are organised in a local or national context. The term also has varying
designations in different languages, that are not always equivalent. For the purposes of this document,
we will mainly be referring to urban settlements that are relatively small in size compared to big cities or
metropolitan areas. We will also include subdivisions of a city, such as neighbourhoods, boroughs or urban
districts. Specialised urban settlements can, for example, include urban settlements based around ports or
harbours, railway junctions, market towns, a single specialised industry such as mining or steel-making,
tourism centres, administrative, ecclesiastical or educational (e.g. university) centres. These often do not
have the full range of functions and services normally associated with a large city.
The specialised or smaller urban settlements we are considering will typically still have a certain level of
administrative autonomy in decision-making. This includes the ability to independently manage resources,
such as having control over a budget.
In spite of the diversity of characteristics of urban settlements, the range of problems in relation to
sustainability can be similar to those affecting large urban developments. However, the scale and intensity
of those problems can be less or be more focused, while the administrative or organizational unit will often
have access to proportionately less resource.
Given the complexity of sustainable development, the technical knowledge required to understand the wide
array of subjects involved should not always be available in smaller or more specialised urban settlements,
including in public administration. This can be one of the most significant challenges faced by specialised
or smaller urban settlements when engaging in the promotion of sustainable development and the
implementation of a full management system.
This document gives guidance for different types of urban settlements, some with specific functions, others
at different stages of sustainable development, to implement ISO 37101 flexibly and manageably. Different
histories, demographics, local industries, geographic locations, innovation skills and other distinctive
characteristics can be considered on a case-by-case basis, recognizing that each type of urban settlement
needs to develop in a way that reflects and enhances their unique characteristics and experiences. Their
distinguishing features, which underpin their attractiveness, quality of life, and social cohesion, will also
generate specific cross-cutting issues and encourage diversity.
In a specialised or smaller urban settlement, solutions and initiatives that promote sustainable development
need to be more focused and they eventually demand smaller but carefully targeted investment. These
smaller or specialised urban settlements can make a start and take small steps in sustainable development
through being creative, and using simple but accessible solutions, making more use of SMART processes and
methods (software) and relying on local people's knowledge and education (rather than more expensive
infrastructure and hardware).
This document provides a flexible approach, giving guidance to urban settlements that have limited
resources and could only meet the full ISO 37101 requirements through small, phased steps and gradual
improvements that eventually build maturity (see the maturity model provided in Annex D). The tools and
methods included allow administrative units or organizations to monitor and measure the progress of
improving sustainable development outcomes at successively higher levels of maturity, and as they develop
to dynamically adjust their results and expectations to remain aligned with the UN Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs).
v
There are some characteristics that foster successful sustainable development for smaller or more
specialised urban settlements, including:
— Creativity: Being creative can contribute significantly to the sustainable growth of smaller or more
specialised urban settlements. As an example, new technologies can be pioneered at a smaller scale,
because it is easier to pilot smaller or niche sustainable schemes (e.g. local currencies for tourist towns
or car-sharing in more ruralised, dispersed communities) due to lower operational costs locally. These
conveniences and advantages can improve quality of life locally and so help to attract more residents,
visitors, and investors.
— Local context: The unique distinction that a local context has can be utilized to avoid homogenized
solutions. Therefore, it is critical to identify potential opportunities and risks for local improvement. For
example, it can be relevant to consider intergenerational inequity issues such as providing facilities or
infrastructure that serves a range of ages especially children and aging people.
— Cooperation: Active collaboration in various forms, such as intercity, inter-regional, and international
collaboration, assists urban settlements to make the best use of resources at the lowest possible cost,
to counteract risks together, and become more resilient, e.g. collective energy purchase. Furthermore,
issues such as lowering carbon emissions rely heavily on the cross-sectoral synergy of the energy supply,
mobility, buildings and materials, and behaviour. Therefore, cooperation between administrative units
or local organizations at different levels is important, so that joint efforts can be made to achieve the
overall goal.
— Connection: Accessibility is vital for sustainable development. Urban settlements are interconnected
with adjacent regions and cities, and better connections within megacities can improve public services
and transportation conditions, while investment in improving infrastructure (particularly large
infrastructure) is typically unaffordable for smaller urban settlements on their own. Moreover, ecological
corridors can greatly improve the environmental impact of the entire region.
— Competition: It is important to maintain a good business environment, i.e. simplifying the start-
up process, protecting minority investors, and providing good-quality public services. Meanwhile,
opportunities for mutuality should be explored in new emerging areas such as e-business, smart cities,
cyber technologies, artificial intelligence, the Metaverse and the digital economy in order to increase
sustainability and competition.
— Competence: Smaller urban settlements increasingly attract and retain talent due to a relatively
superior quality of life. They can also promote the formation of industry clusters that bring together
businesses from similar sectors, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing among businesses. For
example, by focusing on knowledge-based industries, smaller urban settlements can attract a diverse
range of businesses and entrepreneurs, which create a culture of continuous learning and professional
development.
This document contains a scope (Clause 1), normative references (Clause 2), terms and definitions (Clause 3),
and aspects and characteristics of urban settlements (Clause 4). Clause 5 elaborates on the context of
the organization. Clause 6 provides ten tools and methods. Figure 1 illustrates an overview of the main
components in this document.
vi
Figure 1 — Overview of the main components in ISO 37111 (this document)

vii
International Standard ISO 37111:2024(en)
Sustainable cities and communities — Urban settlements —
Guidance for a flexible approach to phased implementation of
ISO 37101
1 Scope
This document provides guidance for a more flexible implementation of ISO 37101. This can be appropriate
for smaller urban settlements or those dominated by a specialised function. Others can be starting on their
journey of maturing sustainability from a very low-level base, or aim to explore sustainable development in
a gradual, phased way due to limited resources. Some will want to rapidly initiate action that will have an
immediate impact to demonstrate value and stimulate wider support. It provides practical toolkits to achieve
implementation (e.g. policies and economic incentives, technical tools, and self-assessment checklists).
This document applies to urban settlements of any composition and type.
2 Normative references
The documents listed below are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content meets
the requirements of this document. Only the edition cited applies to dated references. In the case of undated
references, the most recent edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) is used.
ISO 37100, Sustainable cities and communities — Vocabulary
ISO 37101:2016, Sustainable development in communities — Management system for sustainable development
— Requirements with guidance for use
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 37100, ISO 37101 and the
following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
urban settlement
built-up area with a residential population and infrastructure for the built environment that encompasses
various functions within a community, including administrative, cultural, economic, residential, and
religious aspects
Note 1 to entry: In this document, an urban settlement can include cities and their surroundings, rural-urban fringes
or areas separate from a large city or distinctive areas within a large city, such as urban districts, boroughs, towns,
counties, zones and parts of a city, such as neighbourhoods.
Note 2 to entry: There is no universally recognized definition of population scale classification for urban settlements,
and different regions and countries have their own standards; therefore, this document takes the approach of
describing the features of urban settlements rather than offering a definition based on scale.

3.2
capability
ability to perform or support a function
Note 1 to entry: In the context of an urban settlement, several aspects relate to capability, such as carbon emissions,
energy, water resources, natural environment, culture, public facilities, and economic development.
[SOURCE: ISO 6707-1:2020, 3.7.1.9, modified — Note 1 to entry has been added.]
3.3
intergenerational equity
fairness in the differences (e.g. in terms of living standards, quality of life, financial opportunities) between
one generation and the next
3.4
readiness
state of having the knowledge, skills, processes and technologies needed to address a particular issue or
challenge
Note 1 to entry: Considerations of readiness can include diagnosis of the local status quo in order to understand the
level of major sustainability considerations, e.g. maturity, digitalization, citizen's understanding, competency and
skills of experts.
Note 2 to entry: Adapted from ISO/IEC 27050-4:2021, 3.2.
3.5
statistical system
comprehensive processes across organizations to connect producers of statistics with other producers and
users in a consistent way that ensures transparency, openness, clarity and ready accessibility in the release
and use of data, statistics and wider analysis
3.6
indicator
quantitative, qualitative or descriptive measure
[SOURCE: ISO 15392:2019, 3.18]
3.7
KPI framework
key performance indicator framework
essential management tool that comprises a selection of KPIs, identified as critical to assess progress towards
an intended result, providing a focus for strategic and operational improvement, allowing for effective value
demonstration and resource management
Note 1 to entry: The KPIs are typically quantifiable and time-bound and can be used by an organization or individual.
3.8
cross-sectoral cooperation
planning (combined with monitoring and evaluation) at a strategic-level, within an organization, between
similar organizations, or across entire or different linked sectors, to maximize the benefits in a cost-efficient
way, and to avoid siloed decision-making
4 Aspects and characteristics of urban settlements
4.1 General
Urban settlements usually have some degree of autonomy, they have their own identity and can be described
as small cities, urban districts or communities. This description includes the concept of neighbourhoods,
which are part of a city.
In general terms, they have many of the characteristics of a city, but compared with major cities, their scale
and size are smaller, which frequently implies that the challenges and the issues referred to in ISO 37101 as
sustainability issues are relatively and comparatively of a smaller scale (although in some circumstances
still complex).
Another characteristic of urban settlements is that they have fewer resources, in particular in relation to the
knowledge and expertise on sustainability issues and the major challenges of sustainable development.
In contrast, due to the size and scale, it is possible that the measures and solutions to deal with these
challenges can be simpler and do not require extremely sophisticated measures.
Nonetheless, the goals of sustainable development are achievable through the management system for
sustainable development established in ISO 37101 when it is used flexibly in and applicable to cities and
communities of all sizes and types.
4.2 Implementing ISO 37101 in urban settlements
The implementation of ISO 37101 in an urban settlement should be conceived in a way that takes into
account the context of that area and it should adopt solutions that are as simple as possible as it attempts to
tackle the main challenges (in accordance with the requirements of ISO 37101) in a pragmatic, effective and
efficient way.
By doing this, the following benefits can be achieved:
— meeting various interested parties' practical needs and periodical expectations, including demonstrating
legal compliance and improving relations with small-scale, intimate, inter-dependent local communities;
— delivering cost savings (e.g. lowering the cost of research and development on tools and methods or
experiential learning);
— improving the recognition of the commitment to sustainable development by an organization, by
demonstrating clear and pre-defined interim achievements;
— enabling all interested parties to engage in a management system for sustainable development;
— improving coordination and facility sharing with other nearby cities or communities that are also outside
stakeholders;
— raising awareness about sustainability in various maturity levels and phases;
— focusing more on software and human resources instead of hardware only.
4.3 Considering progressive implementation of ISO 37101
When planning the implementation of a management system for sustainable development of an urban
settlement, it can be useful to consider a progressive phased implementation as described in 5.1. The
adoption of considering a progressive implementation of ISO 37101 offers several additional benefits for
urban settlements, particularly for those with limited available resources, by allowing an organization to:
— develop a management system at its own pace;
— define the scope when implementing ISO 37101 and tailor this to fit the local resources available;
— decide how many phases it wishes to go through and what level of maturity it envisions its management
system to reach in each phase;
— decide on issues or other aspects to be considered, such as a distinctive local culture, or emerging
industry that distinguishes them from the competition or surrounding urban areas;
— start with the area’s greatest potential for long-term improvement and achieve optimum benefits;
— mobilize quickly to implement ISO 37101, and ultimately achieving the UN SDGs;

— identify interim objectives and suitable indicators, select toolkits, perform task decomposition, and
assign tasks to entities in charge;
— dynamically adjust implementation for performance improvement, e.g. interim objectives, indicators
and tasks;
— stimulate a positive culture and attitude towards sustainable management.
5 Context of the organization
5.1 Understanding the organization and its context
Urban settlements can be of any size. Therefore, they can include "small" human communities or
neighbourhoods within a city, or part of a multi-nuclear city, or autonomous communities within the urban-
rural fringe or separate from a large city. In order to define urban settlements when applying this document,
some of the following aspects should be considered:
— They are areas with relatively independent and stable communities and populations, with physical,
political or historical-cultural boundaries that can be distinguished from other human settlements.
They have a relatively small or medium population and built-up area compared to other cities in the
same country and region, as defined by each country's criteria.
— Locally, there are usually a plethora of normal daily office duties. Staff can lack sustainability expertise
and find it difficult to secure financing and to manage complex projects such as lower-carbon emissions
schemes, however, the proximity to other citizens with some knowledge or sustainability experience,
due to the smaller scale, can engage more active participation.
— They are typically not centres of authority or economic hubs of first-level administrative divisions,
because a small or medium proportion of the economy is in larger urban regions. For example, some
are called a “satellite city”, a district of a megacity, or a part of an urban agglomeration located near the
most important economic activity hubs. Most of them are located far from centres of economic activity.
They also include subdivisions of cities, such as neighbourhoods, usually the provision of public services
is made by the parent city and many times they don’t have a formal autonomous administration. When
compared to large cities, their economy is less diverse and resilient.
— As local infrastructure and services are provided at a smaller scale, most of them are not sufficient
or complete when compared to large cities. Meanwhile, some urban settlements can share important
infrastructure and services (e.g. airports, harbours) with other cities and settlements.
When planning the implementation of a management system for sustainable development of an urban
settlement, periodical adjustments are essential for organizations seeking to manage it. Regular reviews
and adaptations responding to new trends and changes are necessary to ensure success. Organizations
should regularly reassess external and internal factors related to the development of the urban settlement
and update or modify them to keep pace with the implementation of ISO 37101.
5.2 Identifying the organization
As a starting point, the administrative unit or organization can be informal and recognized or endorsed by
relevant stakeholders. This means that it can be any of the urban settlement stakeholders as listed in a) to
d) below.
In the case of a smaller urban settlement which does not have a formal autonomous public administration
(e.g. a neighbourhood), the organization in charge of the management system can find it useful to secure some
form of formal endorsement from the local government. The organization should meet the requirements
provided by ISO 37101:2016, 4.2 and 4.3.
a) Authorities: Local authorities play a critical role in taking the lead in long-term management of urban
settlements. Local governments are usually in place, and they can initiate a vision which includes a clear
description of the purposes and interim objectives. They can provide public services and involve the
coordination of relevant interested parties in forming and maintaining a long-term strategy.

b) Civil society organizations: These organizations exist in most types of urban settlements globally,
and can play a more important role in assisting local governments in achieving phased objectives and
implementing a specific plan. Self-governing organizations can coordinate all the businesses, residents,
and visitors to participate in a variety of sustainable management activities.
c) Users: Within smaller or specialised urban settlements, a user refers to enterprises, residents, visitors,
or other individuals.
d) Other participants: There are other participants that are outside the urban settlement, including public
service providers or developers, which can assist in areas such as the implementation of long-term
plans or tasks. There are also other types of organizations, such as academic organizations or national
governments, which can provide various forms of assistance to the sustainable development initiative.
NOTE 1 City councils and local governments are defined as local authorities in ISO 37101.
NOTE 2 Local governments include responsible entities, which are typically the departments or executive institutes
of the local governments.
NOTE 3 The roles are not fixed. They can sometimes change in the activities of sustainable management. Self-
governing organizations and large enterprises, for example, are usually also users.
5.3 Identifying interested parties and engaging collaboration and participation of all
Interested parties are key components for a successful and effective management system, and since urban
settlements are usually relatively small with close personal connections and communications, identifying
the variety of interested parties, understanding the various local contexts, and recognizing the different
levels of willingness to be involved are essential (e.g. engagement, participation and collaboration) during
the implementation process.
NOTE Subclause 5.3 in this document pertains to the context of organization and leadership relative to
ISO 37101:2016, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, and Clause 5, which emphasize the importance of understanding concerns and engaging
stakeholders in policy and vision-building to ensure legitimacy. Stakeholders are also ready to be reminded of the
process.
For smaller and specialised urban settlements, interested parties can include the following:
a) authorities:
— city council;
— governments of the surrounding areas;
— wider regional governments;
— local government and sub regional institutions;
— ministerial and other relevant high-level participants;
— local representation of the national government;
— economic and social councils;
— state-led, intergovernmental bodies and forums;
— state-led and private industries acting on behalf of the local government, e.g. contractors or operators
of inner or inter regional infrastructures, property developers, technology and application providers,
system integrators, infrastructure service providers and operators.
b) civil society organizations:
— non-governmental organizations;
— alliances (including voluntary groups);

— trade unions;
— chambers of commerce;
— social organizations/public institutions;
— educational, religious or faith organizations;
— scientific societies;
— professional societies;
— inter-city coordination organizations;
— self-governing organizations within the neighbourhoods;
— self-governing organizations in the surrounding neighbourhoods.
c) users:
— business enterprises;
— small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
— individuals, including citizens, visitors, employees and experts;
— indigenous residents.
d) other interested parties:
— academia, knowledge providers;
— consultancy firms or planning and design institutes outside the urban settlement;
— quality infrastructure organizations;
— monitoring and evaluation companies;
— education, healthcare, transportation and other public service providers;
— facilities and utilities enterprises;
— innovative companies and start-ups;
— urban developers.
The organization should engage all interested parties to communicate and discuss the main sustainable
development issues of urban settlements, and to collaboratively find solutions.
6 Tools and methods to support the implementation
6.1 General
This clause provides tools and methods for smaller and specialised urban settlements that wish to rapidly
initiate actions, address prioritized sustainability purposes and issues, and support and facilitate the
implementation processes of ISO 37101.
The organization can begin by identifying phased or intermediate targets on the journey towards more
mature sustainable development. These targets could even include steps to reach maturity level 1 (refer to
ISO 37101:2016, Annex A).
At any maturity level, the organization can select any combination of these tools and methods to start with,
noting that usually at least three should be considered. There is no necessary fixed order or prerequisite for
adopting these tools and methods, and all of them will need the engagement of interested parties (see 5.3).

The organization can carry out evaluation and reporting (see 6.11) and adopt a risk management approach
(see 6.7) of the actual maturity level both at the beginning and the end of the period of that maturity level,
which should be around 2 years to 3 years for one level, for example, in order to assess the effectiveness of
the implementation when adopting those selected tools and methods.
When utilizing the tools and methods as provided in this document, it is recommended to identify the
frequencies and other relevant factors based on individual needs. This will effectively help the urban
settlement in strengthening advantages and enhancing capabilities to improve various aspects.
Some of the tools and methods are useful to one or more of the five steps provided in ISO 37104, and it
is highlighted that these tools and methods should support managing the implementation with the overall
goal being to implement all of the requirements of ISO 37101. The linkages of the tools and methods in this
document that can contribute to the five steps in ISO 37104 are provided in Annex B.
Additionally, urban settlements should encourage cross-sectoral cooperation, information and knowledge
sharing with other urban settlements. They can do so by establishing alliances, workshops, or events to
exchange experiences on the usage of such tools and methods and share the learnings.
6.2 Tool and method 1 — Building and promoting shared vision locally
The shared vision is a set of statements that clearly describe the intended outcome of sustainability in
the future, with the setting of objectives to be achieved and performance to be monitored. It is therefore
part of and the basis for the policy described in ISO 37101:2016, 5.2. The vision provides guidance on the
direction of various sectors. The shared vision for sustainable development is a key commitment by the
management system of the urban settlement. It states the formal expression of the intentions and direction
of the organization. Therefore, the vision takes into account the sustainability purposes and issues provided
in ISO 37101, and reflects the current situation and the desired outcomes, highlights the needs, common
understanding and core values of all interested parties.
The organization should plan to achieve the shared vision as the basis and core of its policy when establishing
objectives of sustainable development in the urban settlement (refer to ISO 37101:2016, 6.2).
Organizing workshops by engaging interested parties (see 6.3) can facilitate discussions and help to identify
areas for consensus and to build and promote shared vision, in order to mobilize contributions and resources
as needed.
The shared vision should be developed according to ISO 37101:2016, 5.2, and within participatory processes,
using intensive and extensive consultation and engagement of the interested parties. Having a shared vision
has several advantages:
— explaining purposes to all interested parties in a clear and concise manner, as well as attracting citizens
to work together collaboratively;
— converting broad, long-term visions into more specific, action-oriented terms, and providing blueprints
for a more sustainable future;
— improving the organization's image as competent and professional, which in part assures the funding
sources.
The shared vision should be communicated to all interested parties to encourage additional external
resources and draw internal and external public attention. Social participation can help to build
collaboration within communities through mutual trust, listening, respect for diversity, and continuous
civic empowerment. However, it can be the case that at the beginning, due to the lack of a shared vision, it
can take a long time to seek external resources, and the audience can be limited to a small group of leaders.
Promoting a shared vision to the general public can enable citizens to agree and act on future visions, as
well as to become more involved in the process. Organizations can use the following methods to raise public
awareness:
— design a logo or slogan and related items;

— create websites or short blogs/films/slides presenting the vision of a local sustainable future;
— organize promotional events with the core value of sustainable development to raise awareness and funds.
By doing this, the organization can keep the local community informed and engaged about the importance of
making changes and delivering a prosperous future. Meanwhile, interested parties can contribute external
resources to accelerate the progress.
It is also helpful to be aware that building a shared vision can support other tools and methods, including
identifying a roadmap with interim objectives and milestones (see 6.6) to ensure that progress is being
made, establishing and coordinating specific planning (see 6.8.1), developing and introducing policies and
incentives (see 6.8) and using the KPI framework to drive implementation (see 6.9).
6.3 Tool and method 2 — Organizing workshops by engaging interested parties
Due to the lack of available information and limited understanding of the interested parties in smaller urban
settlements, the organization can find it difficult to address the expectations and needs of all legitimately
interested parties. It is therefore beneficial to use workshops as a means to engage all interested parties to
fully communicate and together review and identify prioritized sustainability issues provided in ISO 37101,
keeping in mind that it is necessary to achieve a balanced outcome for the economy, society, environment, etc.
To facilitate the effective production of group thinking among all the interested parties, workshops should
be organized as follows:
— The organization should invite and collect at least two to five valid representatives of each different
interested party group, including staff or representatives of local authorities, civil societal organizations,
public services providers and other participants (see 5.3).
— The depth of a consensus can be increased by bringing interested parties together, by exchanging views,
sharing evidence and by developing a consensus-based agreement.
— The organization should explain to the participants the expected outcome of the workshop (see
ISO 37101:2016, 6.2 or objectives for sustainable development) and the elements should be considered
to achieve that, such as the interim objectives (see 6.6) or specific planning (see 6.8.1).
— When trying to identify something together, e.g. shared vision (see 6.2) or focus issues, a clear decision
mechanism should be explained, e.g. each participant can cast a maximum of three to six votes for
the options in favour. The organization can count the ranking of each option according to the voting
result. The ranking list can be shared with a third-party reviewer to evaluate how to best arrange the
implementation scheme.
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