Environment Standards Summary – October 2025 (Part 8 of 9)

Looking back at October 2025, the Environment, Health Protection, and Safety sector experienced a dynamic month for international standardization. Five critical standards were published, each addressing contemporary concerns such as water quality, biodiversity, smart infrastructure, and microplastic pollution. This analytical overview synthesizes their scopes, contextual importance, and practical applications, providing industry professionals, compliance officers, engineers, and researchers with a consolidated resource to stay current on regulatory and implementation shifts.

These standards reflect a growing convergence between environmental protection, health risk management, and technological advances. For practitioners aiming to maintain best practices and regulatory compliance, reviewing this month's publications is essential to anticipate future requirements and operationalize leading-edge methods.

Monthly Overview: October 2025

October 2025 was marked by a notable emphasis on water quality management, biodiversity integration, and the operationalization of smart infrastructure supervision. The standards published this month covered:

• Advanced analytical methods for micro-contaminant and microplastic detection in water
• Strategic and procedural requirements for integrating biodiversity considerations into organizational operations
• Practical frameworks for supervising smart community infrastructures across their lifecycle

Compared to previous months, the October round displayed a heightened focus on water and urban environmental stewardship, aligning with intensifying global regulations and societal expectations for sustainability and risk transparency. These publications highlight the sector's transition toward quantitative measurement, systemic management frameworks, and cross-sectoral accountability.

Standards Published This Month

ISO 13646:2025 – Water Quality: Determination of Selected Estrogens using SPE-LC/GC-MS

Water quality – Determination of selected estrogens in whole water samples – Method using solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography (LC) or gas chromatography (GC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) detection

This standard details rigorous methods for quantifying five selected estrogens in whole water samples using solid-phase extraction (either disk or cartridge), followed by either liquid chromatography or gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (including tandem or high-resolution MS). The procedural flexibility accommodates matrices ranging from drinking water to surface water and groundwater, even in the presence of suspended particulate matter (SPM) up to 500 mg/l and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) up to 14 mg/l.

Key requirements:

• Application of SPE for extraction and concentration
• Chromatographic separation via LC or GC, with MS-based quantification
• Validation of methods for target estrogens, including 17α-ethinylestradiol, with verified LOQ down to sub-nanogram-per-litre levels
• Stringent QA/QC, calibration, and recovery calculation protocols

Who must comply:

• Water utilities
• Environmental monitoring laboratories
• Regulatory agencies and researchers involved in endocrine-disruptor surveillance

The standard addresses the urgent need to monitor trace estrogens due to their strong ecotoxicological impacts—feminization of aquatic fauna and biodiversity loss at extremely low concentrations. It also serves as a potential reference for regulated monitoring requirements (e.g., Water Framework Directive EQS compliance in the EU) and can extend, with validation, to treated wastewater and complex matrices.

Key highlights:

• Quantification ranges as low as 0.006 ng/l (EE2)
• Covers sample prep for high-particulate, high-DOC samples (whole water)
• Adaptable for additional hormones with appropriate validation

Access the full standard:View ISO 13646:2025 on iTeh Standards

ISO 17298:2025 – Biodiversity: Strategic and Operational Integration Requirements & Guidelines

Biodiversity – Considering biodiversity in the strategy and operations of organizations – Requirements and guidelines

ISO 17298:2025 establishes comprehensive requirements and guidelines for integrating biodiversity considerations into both the strategic direction and daily operations of organizations. Its broad applicability—across size, sector, and nature (public, private, large enterprise, micro-entities)—makes it central to universal sustainability frameworks emerging post-Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Key requirements:

• Identification and prioritization of biodiversity impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities
• Setting and communicating biodiversity objectives
• Developing a formal biodiversity action plan with appropriate indicators
• Continuous monitoring, analysis of results, and iterative improvement
• Stakeholder engagement and context integration

Who must comply:

• Large corporates and SMEs seeking to align with global biodiversity goals
• Public authorities, financial institutions, local government, and NGOs
• Organizations subject to ESG disclosure or due diligence requirements

ISO 17298 bridges organizational management systems (e.g., ISO 14001), ecological restoration, social responsibility, and landscape-level approaches. By systematizing biodiversity risk assessment and action planning, it helps organizations future-proof compliance and support global nature-positive ambitions.

Key highlights:

• Aligns with Target 15 of the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework
• Flexible for diverse organizational contexts (corporate, municipal, agricultural, etc.)
• Promotes transparent assessment, continuous improvement, and communication

Access the full standard:View ISO 17298:2025 on iTeh Standards

ISO 37190:2025 – Smart Community Infrastructure Lifecycle Supervision: Guidance

Guidance for practical implementation of ISO 37155 series for supervising at each life cycle phase of smart community infrastructures

ISO 37190:2025 provides a management-oriented framework for supervising smart community infrastructure systems—spanning design, development, operation, and decommissioning. Grounded in the ISO 37155 guideline series, this standard emphasizes risk identification, specification assignment, verification, and validation across every life cycle phase of integrated infrastructure in smart cities or communities.

Key requirements:

• Application of systemic risk identification and mitigation for each community infrastructure component
• Allocation and validation of specification requirements to ensure functionality and accountability throughout the life cycle
• Supervision and validation processes tailored for regulatory, community, and national authorities
• Emphasis on inter-system consistency and management of system-of-systems interactions

Who must comply:

• Regulatory authorities at all levels (national, municipal)
• Smart city planners and project managers
• Infrastructure developers, operators, and service providers

This standard reflects the trend toward holistic lifecycle management for urban assets, shaping accountability, reliability, and performance in modern smart cities. It integrates prior ISO 37155-1 (specification requirements) and ISO 37155-2 (allocation of requirements) guidance, bridging operations and high-level governance.

Key highlights:

• Structured guidance for risk management across the infrastructure lifecycle
• Supports specification validation and stakeholder accountability
• Enhances consistency across interconnected smart urban systems

Access the full standard:View ISO 37190:2025 on iTeh Standards

EN ISO 16094-2:2025 – Water Quality: Microplastic Analysis by Vibrational Spectroscopy

Water quality – Analysis of microplastic in water – Part 2: Vibrational spectroscopy methods for waters with low content of suspended solids including drinking water (ISO 16094-2:2025)

This European standard establishes the principles for investigating microplastics in drinking water and other waters with low levels of suspended solids—using advanced vibrational spectroscopy coupled with microscopy. It’s applicable to microplastics from 1 μm to 5,000 μm in particle size, supporting both automatic enumeration and characterization.

Key requirements:

• Procedures for filtration, particle extraction, and sample preparation with stringent contamination control
• Analysis and chemical identification using infrared (IR) or Raman microspectroscopy
• Classification by polymer type (PE, PP, PET, PA, PC, PS, PTFE, PVC, PMMA, PU, etc.) and particle size range
• Quality assurance, verification of counting and identification accuracy, and reporting guidelines

Who must comply:

• Utilities and laboratories conducting water quality and safety monitoring
• Environmental regulators and public health authorities
• Researchers investigating emerging contaminants in water systems

The standard responds to the global concern over microplastic pollution, particularly as even minute concentrations are now recognized as possible health risks and ecosystem disruptors. It also addresses interference and blank control—a critical element in microplastics analytics.

Key highlights:

• Targeted for waters with low organic or particulate matter (e.g., drinking water, groundwaters)
• Automated particle enumeration and polymer identification
• Enables harmonization of microplastic measurements across borders

Access the full standard:View EN ISO 16094-2:2025 on iTeh Standards

Common Themes and Industry Trends

October 2025’s new standards paint a clear picture of evolving priorities in the Environmental, Health Protection, and Safety sector:

• Sophisticated Monitoring and Trace Analytical Methods: There is a marked rise in standards for highly sensitive detection of water pollutants, hormones, and microplastics, supporting compliance with stricter environmental thresholds.
• Systemic Approaches to Sustainability and Accountability: The biodiversity and smart infrastructure standards demonstrate a sectoral transition from isolated interventions to comprehensive, organization- and city-wide frameworks. They mandate not just baseline compliance but continuous improvement and adaptive risk management.
• Alignment with Global Environmental Goals: There is strong alignment with multi-lateral frameworks like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and UN Sustainable Development Goals, indicating that standards are increasingly serving as bridges between local practice and global commitments.
• Emphasis on Data Quality, Validation, and Reporting: Across the board, new standards require enhanced data quality, method validation, and robust documentation—essential for regulatory acceptance and stakeholder trust.

Industries most directly affected this month include water utilities, laboratories, municipalities, and organizations looking to demonstrate leadership or compliance in biodiversity stewardship or smart city development.

Compliance and Implementation Considerations

For organizations and professionals impacted by these October 2025 standards, effective compliance and early adoption involve several steps:

1. Assess Applicability:

   • Determine whether your activities, products, or facilities fall within the scope of these standards—particularly if regulated substances (e.g., estrogens, microplastics) or ecosystem impacts are relevant.

2. Evaluate Methodology and Competency:

   • For analytical standards, ensure your laboratory has the required instrumentation (LC/GC-MS, IR/Raman microspectroscopy) and personnel are trained in protocols and quality assurance practices.
   • For management system standards (biodiversity, smart infrastructure), conduct gap analyses against existing practices.

3. Integration and Planning:

   • Incorporate new requirements into operational procedures, EMS, or quality management systems. For biodiversity, establish cross-functional teams for action planning and monitoring.
   • Smart city stakeholders should update lifecycle management and verification routines in accordance with ISO 37190.

4. Timelines and Transition:

   • Monitor regional or sectoral deadlines for regulatory adoption of these standards. Some may become legal requirements or de facto procurement criteria within months.

5. Resources:

   • Leverage guidance annexes, recommended protocols, and reference material lists provided within each standard.
   • Engage with industry associations and regulatory bodies to clarify interpretations and implementation priorities.

Priority recommendations:

• Water operators should prioritize investment in advanced instrumentation to meet new quantification limits for estrogens and microplastics.
• All organizations, regardless of sector, should consider early adoption of the biodiversity standard to address supply chain and ESG expectations.
• Smart city authorities must establish clear oversight frameworks and documentation processes to demonstrate due diligence in infrastructure lifecycle supervision.

Conclusion: Key Takeaways from October 2025

The October 2025 standardization cycle brought forth transformative tools and frameworks for advancing environmental health, sustainability, and operational resilience. The tight integration of analytical rigor (as seen in water quality standards) with strategic management frameworks (for biodiversity and infrastructure) signals a more interconnected approach to risk management and sustainability.

Professionals in this sector are encouraged to:

• Review the applicable standards in detail, utilizing the linked resources above
• Prioritize capacity building and systems alignment—especially in trace contaminant analysis, organizational biodiversity planning, and smart infrastructure oversight
• Recognize that compliance is increasingly multidimensional, involving not just technical performance but transparent, stakeholder-oriented reporting and continual improvement

Remaining current with international Environmental, Health Protection, and Safety standards is not only essential for meeting legal and market requirements—it is crucial for building organizational credibility, resilience, and competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.

For deeper exploration and direct access to authoritative texts, use the above links to iTeh Standards, where the full documents and additional guidance are available for your compliance, audit, and management needs.