ABSTRACT
Referring to international standards can be a highly effective way to ensure that works, goods or services meet quality assurance or other relevant criteria. Standards may determine whether technological equipment is compatible with equipment that is already in place or that it meets specified benchmarks for sustainability. For example, UK Central Government departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental public bodies must adhere to the UK procurement policy on timber, which requires that all timber and wood-derived products must be from independently verifiable legal and sustainable sources. There are legal risks to consider when specifying by reference to standards. Within the European Union a core function of procurement law is to support and facilitate the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons. The UK Government has designed Government Buying Standards to simplify sustainable procurement. ISO20121 is an international standard that specifies the requirements of an event sustainability management system to improve the sustainability of events.
