July 2026 marks one year since CircHive became a liaison partner to ISO/TC 331 – Biodiversity, strengthening the project's contribution to international biodiversity standardization activities.
ISO/TC 331 is the international standardization committee dedicated to biodiversity. Its mission is to develop internationally recognized standards, guidance, and frameworks that support organizations, governments, and other stakeholders in measuring, managing, and reducing their negative impacts on biodiversity while also recognizing biodiversity related risks and reporting biodiversity performance. By creating a common language and harmonized approaches, ISO/TC 331 helps to accelerate effective biodiversity action across sectors and regions.
Since joining the committee in July 2025, CircHive partners have actively participated in meetings and discussions within Working Group 2 (WG 2) and Working Group 4 (WG 4), bringing project expertise and research-based perspectives into international standardization processes.
WG 2 – Measurement, Data, Monitoring and Assessment concentrates on developing approaches that enable organizations to understand, monitor, and evaluate their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity. The group addresses topics such as biodiversity metrics, monitoring methodologies, data quality, assessment frameworks, and performance evaluation, helping to establish reliable and comparable measurement practices.
Through participation in WG 2’s meetings, CircHive has contributed practical insights from ongoing research and innovation activities to discussions on active and future standardization projects. This engagement enables project partners to exchange knowledge with international experts and support the development of robust methodologies for biodiversity assessment and monitoring.
WG 4 – Organizations, Strategies and Sustainable Use focuses on guidance that helps organizations integrate biodiversity considerations into decision-making, management practices, and value chains. The working group develops standards and guidance documents that support biodiversity stewardship, strategic planning, and the sustainable use of biological resources across different sectors.
Within WG 4, CircHive partners are currently following and contributing to the ongoing development of ISO/TS 18244 – Biodiversity and the Food Sector: Guidelines on how to improve biodiversity performance of food companies and food retailers. Through participation in drafting activities and technical discussions, project experts have provided input based on CircHive’s experiences and findings, helping to strengthen the practical relevance of the emerging guidance.
Over the past year, CircHive representatives have taken part in numerous working group meetings, contributing comments and expertise to both active and emerging standardization initiatives. These exchanges help ensure that research outcomes and stakeholder perspectives from the project can contribute to future standards while keeping the project connected to the latest international developments in biodiversity standardization.
By contributing to the work of ISO/TC 331, CircHive continues to strengthen the link between research, innovation, and standardization—supporting the development of practical and internationally aligned approaches that help organizations address biodiversity challenges and advance sustainable practices.
CircHive looks forward to continuing its collaboration with ISO/TC 331 and contributing to the future development of international biodiversity standards.