The standards set to shape the built environment in 2026

Dan Rossiter FCIAT

Built environment sector lead, BSI

20 January 2026

It’s not just the review of Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the 19650 standard you need to look out for this year. Here, Dan Rossiter at BSI highlights the other standards that will impact the built environment in 2026.

Abstract image for standards. Image: 141521625 © Kseniia Kolesnikova | Dreamstime.com. — Image: Kseniia Kolesnikova | Dreamstime.com

BSI, the UK’s national standards body, curates more than 60,000 standards. While each one is vital and impactful to their respective users, I thought it would be helpful to highlight a few of the standards being published in 2026 that I think are extra special. So here are my top six for 2026.

Information management

It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than six years since ISO 19650 was published in Q4 2018. International committee ISO TC 59/SC 13 and national committee B/555 have been hard at work developing the updates to Parts 1, 2 and 3, which are almost ready for public comment later this year. To understand the key changes and how best to comment, it is well worth registering for the joint BSI-nima webinar on 24 February.

In addition to ISO 19650, work has been underway to develop PAS 1958, which looks to unify the key concepts relating to data and information within the built environment. For anyone working within the information management space, PAS 1958 is the one to watch for this year!

Construction products

Following the regulatory reform in response to the Grenfell tragedy, several standards have been revised or proposed to support a better built environment. There are two examples I’d like to highlight, focused on construction products that are being published in 2026:

PAS 2000: A code of practice for bringing safe products to market; and

BS 8670-2: A code of practice for construction product-related competence.

Between both PAS 2000 (publishing Q1 2026) and BS 8670-2 (publishing through committee CPB/1 Q4 2026), the sector will have in place both the means of establishing competence frameworks around construction products (and their information) as well as have the support in place to undertake the required due diligence when marketing products. This not only supports the sector, but also meets key proposals put forward by the government within its Construction Products Reform Green Paper that are likely to feature within the upcoming white paper due in Q1 this year.

If you’d like to know more about the BSI’s work on competence, I recommend you register for the Built Environment Competence Hub, developed in collaboration with the Industry Competence Steering Group.

Generation 2 Eurocodes

[Author’s note: Gen2 has more than 140 standards products, but who’s counting!] For those who aren’t aware, the Eurocodes, first published in 2002, were the outcome of more than 30 years of collaborative European development relating to 10 major aspects of structural design. Since 2013, work has been underway within CEN/TC 250 and UK mirror B/525 to update these vitally important standards to support their ease of use.

Consisting of 78 project teams, the second-generation Eurocodes are being published at a rate of knots to meet the deadline of March 2028, when all first-generation Eurocodes will be withdrawn. If you want to find out more, I suggest checking out the Second Generation Eurocodes video series.

Trees

Finally, for those of you who are arboriculturally-minded, 2026 will provide an important update to BS 5837 during Q4. Originally published in 2012 through committee B/213, this standard provides guidance on the relationship between trees and the design, construction and demolition of buildings. Given the focus in recent years on biophilic design as well as the roles that trees and other soft landscaping can play in supporting flood resilience, I have no doubt that BS 5837 will continue to be an impactful standard.

And there we have it, some of the standards I felt it was important to draw your attention to in 2026. Please note that this is just a small sample of the standards being published by BSI. Due to my (self-restricting) title, I’ve not managed to write about any of our fire-related standards or even the standards related to digital product passports from IST/47/-/3!

To hear more about these, as well as other important standards, please keep an eye on our BSI socials, which advertise publications, promotional webinars and other exciting news in the world of standards.

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19650 BSI Dan Rossiter standards

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