A new guide for integrating climate change in standards development

The long-term impacts of climate change are expected to intensify in the future. With Canada's average temperature warming at twice the global rate, recognizing impacts like the increasing occurrence of extreme weather conditions is vital in the development and revision of national standards.

A new step-by-step guide, supported by the Standards Council of Canada and prepared by Manifest Climate, will help standards writers address potential climate risks and impacts across the life cycle of products, services, infrastructure, and tests.

The Guide for Integrating Climate Change Adaptation Considerations into Canadian Standards can help standards professionals determine if their work has any climate-related implications and what direction to take to address them.

'The versatile applications of this guide strengthens the ability of Canadian standards writers to support national action to mitigate our environmental footprint and safeguard the well-being of communities threatened by extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and snow,' said Chantal Guay, CEO of SCC. 'Agility and a long-term vision are critical to ensure standards provide sustainable solutions for our future.'

'With heightened efforts to transition to a low-carbon, more resilient economy, there are unprecedented risks and opportunities. Our guide explores best practices related to data, risk and integration considerations,' said Laura Zizzo, Co-Founder and CEO of Manifest Climate. 'These suggestions offer a consistent way to identify, assess and apply climate-resilience in standards development.'

Standards writers who use the guide are not expected to have expertise in the environment sector. It offers case studies along with a list of other resources such as climate datasets, tools and reports.

Manifest Climate helps the world's leading businesses navigate the risks and opportunities of climate change. For additional information, visit manifestclimate.com.

This guide was developed as part of SCC's Standards to Support Resilience in Infrastructure Program. For additional information, visit our flagship page.