As climate and sustainability standards become increasingly central to achieving global net zero objectives, the governance of the organisations that develop and maintain these standards has emerged as a critical determinant of their credibility, legitimacy, and effectiveness. This report presents an independent review of governance practices across five influential climate and sustainability standard-setting organisations: the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The study evaluates governance arrangements through four dimensions: governance and accountability, independence, strategy and purpose, and process and technical rigour. Drawing on best-practice principles from organisations including ISEAL, the OECD, ISO, and charity governance frameworks, the review examines how governance structures support transparency, stakeholder representation, conflict-of-interest management, risk oversight, and robust standard-development processes. The findings indicate that all organisations demonstrate a strong commitment to governance and public-interest objectives. However, common challenges stem from the need for long-term funding and capacity to develop and maintain governance infrastructure. This is needed to help strengthen and formalise processes that underpin independence, transparency and due process in standard-setting. Strengthening governance requires both organisational improvements and coordinated ecosystem-wide support to sustain trust, comparability, and effectiveness in climate and sustainability standards.
Authors: Alexis McGivern, Matilda Becker, Kaya Axelsson, Grace Wright-Arora, Clarissa Salmon.
