For cities around the world, environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles are a means to create more sustainable and resilient communities and to address challenges like climate change, social inequality and economic instability. But until recently, there was no standardized way to measure ESG using reliable and comparable city data. This lack of standardization created skepticism in ESG assessments and led to accusations of “greenwashing.”

The World Council on City Data (WCCD), a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Toronto, has been leading global efforts to support and validate cities’ commitments to ESG through standardized data. The organization had already worked closely with SCC to develop the ISO 37120 series of standards, which provides cities with quantitative, globally comparable and independently verified local level data. Although this suite of standards consists of more than 250 key performance indicators (KPIs), it didn’t cover all aspects of ESG. 

With SCC’s support, WCCD drove the research and consultations that led to a National Workshop Agreement that informed the creation of a new standard: ISO/AWI 37125: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Indicators for Cities. It specifies and establishes a set of fully numeric KPIs that will provide the data needed for cities to address risk, improve decision-making and enhance their ESG profile. It will also enable financial and municipal leaders to “speak the same language” and ensure that ESG-driven investment in cities is directed where it is most critically needed.

“When we started WCCD, we didn’t know how to implement an ISO standard. We knew it was desperately needed, but it was SCC who really guided us on how to implement these standards and to get cities to adopt them. We couldn’t have done it without them.” – Patricia McCarney, President & CEO, World Council on City Data