How can cities and communities use standards to be more efficient and achieve their climate and digital policy goals? That was the focus of a new report from the CEN/TC 465 Ad hoc Group on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities and Communities.

Over ten months, OASC member cities Aarhus, Aalborg (Denmark), Cork (Ireland) and Kranj (Slovenia) worked with experts from policy, industry, research and local governments to explore how emerging practices—such as local digital twins, data spaces and digitally enabled solutions—can be scaled through European and international standards. Eight case studies provided practical insights into challenges like data governance, interoperability and capacity building, while mapping relevant frameworks from ISO, IEC, ITU-T and national bodies and identifying gaps in current standards.

The report looks ahead with three strategic priorities:

• Ensuring EU-funded project results feed directly into future standards
• Linking standards with policy tools, localisation, stakeholder inclusion, research and digital infrastructure
• Stronger coordination with European Commission initiatives and international standardisation bodies

Why it matters: Standards are the bridge between pilots and scalable solutions. They help cities and communities turn innovation into long-term impact and support Europe’s climate-neutral future.

This work was co-chaired by Monika Heyder (ICLEI Europe) and Martin Brynskov (OASC), bringing together local, practical insights and international expertise to guide the next generation of standards for sustainable and smart cities and communities.

Learn how OASC members are shaping the next generation of standards for cities and communities to deliver more effectively on their policy goals as part of projects — by joining the OASC Conference in Fundão, Portugal on 28-29 January 2026, where this year’s theme highlights digital transformation through funded projects.