The national Standards body for France, AFNOR, is hosting an international workshop on 'Sustainable Business Districts' on 28 – 29 January 2010 in France to produce an 'International Workshop Agreement' (IWA).

The IWA will provide a framework to establish a core set of indicators and a performance assessment methodology for sustainable development of business districts, as well as a guide of best practices. Such a framework appears particularly crucial at a time when the sustainable operation of business districts continues to be a key focus worldwide.

Currently, standardisation is generally product or service-based and rarely considers the territorial dimension. There are national regulations and Standards around the world and some international private specifications or protocols that apply to urban areas, but they do not take the specificities of business districts into account.

The agenda for the IWA will cover the definition of a business district; develop guidance on evaluating sustainable construction during the whole life cycle, promotion of energy management, and guidance on design and management of transport and security issues.

View the workshop invitation [47 kB PDF]. For more information email karen.batt@standards.co.nz