Overview
ISO/IEC TS 17021-8:2019 specifies competence requirements for personnel involved in auditing and certifying management systems for sustainable development in communities. It complements the generic certification requirements of ISO/IEC 17021‑1 by defining the additional knowledge and skills auditors, application reviewers, and certification decision‑makers need to evaluate management systems based on ISO 37101.
This technical specification helps certification bodies ensure that audit teams collectively possess the expertise to assess community‑focused sustainability management systems and verify intended outcomes.
Key topics and requirements
- Scope and purpose
- Additional competence requirements that supplement ISO/IEC 17021‑1 for community sustainable development certification.
- Generic competence
- Certification bodies shall define competency criteria for each certification function, accounting for ISO/IEC 17021‑1 and this TS.
- Auditor competence (Clauses 5.1–5.8)
- Audit teams must have collective competence to perform audits and understand how management system processes interact to achieve intended outcomes.
- Knowledge areas required:
- Terminology and processes for sustainable development in communities.
- Context of the organization: internal/external issues, interested parties, scope and boundaries.
- Sustainability purposes: attractiveness, environment, resilience, resource use, social cohesion, well‑being.
- Sustainability issues: governance, education, innovation, health, culture, social cohesion, economy, environment, safety, infrastructure, mobility, biodiversity.
- Leadership: role of top management in commitment and outcomes.
- Planning: risks & opportunities, baseline review, compliance obligations, significance of issues, stakeholder engagement.
- Objectives and performance evaluation: methods and indicators (qualitative/quantitative; proactive/reactive).
- Competence for application review and certification decisions (Clauses 6–7)
- Personnel conducting application reviews and making certification decisions need equivalent understanding of terminology, context, planning and sustainability issues.
- Supporting material
Applications and who uses it
- Certification bodies - to define role‑specific competence matrices and select qualified auditors.
- Lead auditors and audit teams - to verify collective competence and training needs for community sustainability audits.
- Application reviewers & decision‑makers - to assess applicant scope, audit time and certification outcomes.
- Consultants, trainers and community managers - to prepare organizations for certification against ISO 37101.
- Regulators and stakeholders - to understand assurance expectations for sustainable development in communities.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO/IEC TS 17021-8:2019, competence requirements, sustainable development in communities, ISO 37101, management systems certification, audit team competence.