In 2020, as part of the Standards in Action consultation campaign, SCC connected with a wide range of interested parties across the country to ask what else is required to prepare Canada for climate change. Surveyed interested parties, which encompassed government, not-for-profit organizations, and the private sector, called for a need to accelerate standards development, renewal, and mobilization; as well as a change in pace to address rapidly evolving practices, technologies, and materials and to reflect the urgency of the climate crisis. Interested parties emphasized that while responses to climate change in Canada are emerging and maturing, additional standards and supporting tools are needed to achieve greater clarity, comparability, consistency, measurability, robustness, and scalability in Canada’s adaptation efforts. The standardization network further emphasized the importance of advancing efforts to mobilize standards, as well as to move faster, aim higher, and to be more inclusive.
In response, since fall 2023, SCC has conducted two successful rounds of Call for Proposals for the development of new National Standards of Canada (NSC) and the update of existing NSCs to incorporate climate change considerations. SCC has further identified a need for an open call for non-NSCs to address our current needs. Through the present Call for Proposals: Advancing Climate Adaptation Through Flexible Standards-Based Strategies and Solutions, SCC seeks to diversify the standard-based solutions in its climate-change and sustainability portfolio. This is an opportunity for interested parties to submit proposals for funding for projects that align with one of the themes indicated in section 3.2, Eligible Projects.
