ISO 37104-2019 PDF

Full title and description

Sustainable cities and communities — Transforming our cities — Guidance for practical local implementation of ISO 37101. This ISO guidance document helps local authorities and other organizing bodies plan, implement, measure and manage a city-level management system for sustainable development based on the requirements and principles of ISO 37101; it offers a practical five-step approach, diagnostic tools (including a cross‑analysis matrix linking six sustainability purposes to 12 action areas), and examples of how other ISO city standards can support implementation.

Abstract

ISO 37104:2019 provides non‑normative guidance to assist cities, towns, villages and other settlements in translating ISO 37101 requirements into practical local action. It covers leadership and political commitment, baseline review and diagnosis, strategy and target setting, action planning and implementation, performance evaluation and continual improvement, and the organisational supports (resources, competence, communication, documented information) needed to sustain a management system for sustainable development. The standard emphasizes stakeholder engagement, benchmarking and the use of city indicators.

General information

• Status: Published / Valid (first edition).
• Publication date: April 2019 (approved 26 April 2019; published April 2019).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 13.020.20 — Environmental economics; sustainability.
• Edition / version: 1st edition (2019).
• Number of pages: 61 pages.

Scope

Guidance for organizing bodies—typically local governments—on establishing, implementing and continually improving a management system for sustainable development at the city or settlement level. The document is applicable to a wide range of community sizes and scales and is intended to help structure policies, set priorities and targets, design action plans and monitor outcomes in a holistic, inclusive and sustainability‑focused way. It explicitly supports city‑wide strategies but can be adapted for sectoral schemes within a city.

Key topics and requirements

• Political commitment and leadership: roles, responsibilities and governance arrangements for local authorities.
• Organizational capacity and competence building to operate a sustainable development management system.
• Five-step implementation process: baseline review/diagnosis, strategy and objectives, action plan development, implementation, monitoring and continual improvement.
• Cross‑analysis matrix linking the six purposes of sustainability to the 12 action areas for systematic diagnosis and planning.
• Performance evaluation, KPIs and benchmarking (including mapping to ISO city indicator standards).
• Support processes: resources, communication, stakeholder engagement and documented information control.
• Integration guidance showing how ISO 37101 can be supported by related ISO standards (for indicators, smart operating models and resilience practices).

Typical use and users

Primary users are local governments, city managers, sustainability officers, urban planners and policy teams seeking to adopt a structured management approach to local sustainable development. Secondary users include consultants, regional bodies, NGOs, academic advisors and private‑sector partners involved in city programmes, strategies or projects who need a common implementation framework based on ISO 37101.

Related standards

ISO 37104 is part of the ISO 371xx family. Most directly related are ISO 37101 (management system for sustainable development of communities), ISO 37120 (indicators for city services and quality of life), ISO 37106 (guidance on smart city operating models) and other companion indicator standards such as ISO 37122 and ISO 37123 (smart city and resilient city indicators). These standards are intended to be used together to connect policy, operating models and measurable indicators at city level.

Keywords

sustainable cities; sustainable development; ISO 37101 implementation; city management system; local government guidance; city indicators; benchmarking; resilience; smart city operating model; stakeholder engagement.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 37104:2019 is guidance for practical local implementation of ISO 37101 — a toolkit for cities and other settlements to plan, implement and manage a city‑level sustainable development management system.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers leadership and governance, baseline review and diagnosis, strategy and objective setting, action planning, implementation, performance evaluation and continual improvement, plus the support processes (resources, competence, communication, documented information) needed to operate a management system for sustainable development at local level.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Local governments and city administrations (city councils, sustainability teams), urban planners, consultants and partners involved in city programmes and services use the guidance to structure municipal policies, plans and monitoring against sustainability objectives.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: ISO 37104:2019 is the first edition published in April 2019 and is listed as a valid/published standard (not superseded as of its publication). Users should check their national standards body or ISO catalogue for any revisions after 2019 if they need the absolute latest status.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it belongs to the ISO 37100 series (commonly referenced as the ISO 371xx family) addressing sustainable cities and communities; it is intended to be used alongside ISO 37101 (management system), ISO 37120 (indicators), ISO 37106 (smart city operating models) and other related documents.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Sustainable cities, management system, ISO 37101 implementation, city indicators, governance, stakeholder engagement, benchmarking, resilience, action planning.