CircHive participated in the annual plenary meeting of ISO/TC 331 Biodiversity on 29 May 2026, marking a major opportunity to share project results with international standardization experts. As liaison partner to ISO/TC 331, CircHive presented project results and engage with international experts on how these outcomes could support ongoing and future biodiversity standardization efforts.
Presenting CircHive’s methodological work
During the plenary meeting, CircHive introduced its overall objectives and presented insights from the project’s methodological work. A key focus of the project is the assessment and comparison of existing biodiversity assessment methodologies, including life cycle assessment, natural capital accounting and input-output approaches. One of the project tasks was to screen 45 methods and analyze how they differ in terms of purpose, scope, assessment focus and output types.
The presentation also introduced CircHive’s conceptual framework on biodiversity assessment, which connects data, methods and decision-making. It shows how different approaches can be combined depending on the assessment need, moving from broader, qualitative assessments towards more detailed and site-specific analyses. In addition, during the presentation practical outputs such as a decision tree tool to support the selection of suitable biodiversity assessment methods and guidance materials for organizations applying biodiversity footprinting and natural capital accounting were introduced.
Exploring pathways into standardization
A central part of the exchange on that day focused on how CircHive’s research results could be brought into standardization. Participants discussed possible links between the project’s findings and the ongoing work of ISO/TC 331, in particular with regard to biodiversity measurement, data, monitoring and assessment. CircHive highlighted several areas where further standardization could support more consistent and comparable biodiversity assessments, including
- defined minimum requirements and selection criteria for biodiversity footprinting methods,
- need for harmonized and standardized biodiversity data (systems/structures)
- data is currently often too fragmented across different sources, formats and platforms
- inconsistencies in spatial and temporal resolution of data
- harmonization of indicators across existing and emerging (regulatory) frameworks
- data interoperability,
- monitoring and reporting frameworks,
- and practical benchmarks for decision-making.
The committee’s experts responded positively to the findings and ideas presented and showed interest in further exploring effective ways to connect research and standardization.
Next steps
The plenary meeting provided valuable feedback and helped identify potential pathways for transferring CircHive results into international standardization. During the remaining project period, CircHive will actively pursue these opportunities, monitor the relevant work within standardization committees such as ISO/TC 331 and participate in upcoming standardization projects where possible. By maintaining this exchange with standardization experts, the project aims to ensure that the project‘s results are in line with current international developments and research-based outputs can support the development of robust, practical and internationally relevant approaches and standards for biodiversity assessment and decision-making.