What is ISO 14064

ISO 14064 is a series of standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that provide guidance on greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting. The standard is designed to help organizations measure, quantify, report, and verify their GHG emissions and removals accurately and transparently. It consists of three parts

Guidance for Companies

ISO 14064 offers companies clear guidance for quantifying, reporting, and managing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By following ISO 14064 standards, companies can systematically assess their carbon footprint, develop targeted emission reduction strategies, and enhance transparency in reporting to stakeholders. Compliance with ISO 14064 helps companies mitigate environmental risks, foster stakeholder trust, and drive continual improvement in GHG management practices. Overall, ISO 14064 empowers companies to contribute to global sustainability goals and demonstrate environmental responsibility.

Introduction

This paper provides an overview of ISO 14064, an international standard that addresses the quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and the verification of this information. It will provide an overview of the structure of the standard and present key aspects of its design and application. ISO 14064 is a technical specification and is climate policy neutral. ISO 14064 exists as a guide for the private and public sector in developing GHG inventories for their organization as well as foundation for policy makers and program developers for initiatives to address the global environmental challenge of climate change.

BackgroundISO 14064 is a standard developed under processes of the International Standards Organization. A non-governmental organization located in Geneva, Switzerland, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) coordinates efforts by groups of technical experts representing individual national standard institutes to develop consensus-based voluntary technical standards on variety of issues. ISO has issued over 16,000 standards including the well known ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standard series on quality and environmental management, respectively. The objective of ISO standards is to facilitate international cooperation, especially business and trade, by facilitating communication on technical issues between industry, government, consumers, and other stakeholders and allowing consistency of products and services within and across national boundaries.

The development of ISO 14064, an addition to the ISO 14000 environmental management standard series, began in 2002. Recognizing quickly emerging interest in addressing the environmental issue posed by climate change combined with the lack of international standards for businesses to take action, a work group was formed to attempt to define how to quantify and report GHG emissions from an organization, as well as how GHG reports could be verified. A key objective of the process was to create a technically rigorous but policy neutral product that would be applicable regardless a country’s current climate change policy, especially its participation in the United Nation’s Kyoto Protocol. Through a process that included continuous interaction and cooperation of national technical advisory committees consisting of 175 experts representing 45 countries and a series of international in-person negotiating meetings, a standard on these issues was developed and issued by ISO for international use in March 2006. In August 2006, ISO 14064 was also approved by the American National Standards Institute as an American National Standard.

Resources

Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals