BSI Group, the business services company that creates standards and awards kitemarks to organisations that achieve them, has created a new standard for the sustainable development of communities.

BS 8904 is still in draft form and now out for consultation. BSI claims the standard will be pertinent to local councils, charities, social enterprises, co-operatives and individuals belonging to communities, and hopes to attract comments from these groups.

BSI said that the Guide to the sustainable development of communities is designed primarily to be used by communities working on grassroots initiatives. It is intended to help people focus on collective action, evaluate their progress and be more accountable for their activities.

It also aims to support changes proposed in the Localism Bill to enable communities to take control of decision-making in relation to areas such as access to education and transport.

The standard has been developed with input from various universities, Defra, the Department for Education, the Department of Health, the Audit Commission and other agencies.

BSI’s head of market development Katherine Hunter said: “Much emphasis has already been placed on commercial entities managing their sustainable development, however it is the communities themselves which are an important channel for the delivery of it, hence the importance of this new standard.”

She added that BS 8904 addresses a new area of standardisation for BSI, in that it attempts to use standards to help society as a whole, rather than a specific organisation or sector.

Respond to the consultation here.