ISO 14064: Carbon footprint at organisational and project level
ISO 14067: Carbon footprint for products
Reducing GHG emissions is crucial in the fight against climate change. Because we cannot manage what we cannot measure, international standards for the quantification and verification of GHGs are essential. The ISO 14064 standard provides clear guidelines and requirements for quantifying, reporting and verifying emissions, both at an organizational and a project level. The ISO 14067 standard performs the same role for the carbon footprint of products.
Determining the carbon footprint of companies, projects and products serves a multitude of purposes:
- Quantifying the direct and indirect financial risks an organization is exposed to because of increasing emission costs
- Identifying potential for GHG emission reductions
- Satisfying the information needs of clients who wish to report the emissions of their supply chain
- Making claims about the climate-friendliness of a product, service or organization
- Attracting investors who prefer climate-friendly assets
- Obtaining better results in rankings and ratings, such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
INDEPENDENT VALIDATION & VERIFICATION OF THE CARBON FOOTPRINT
Independent validation and verification by a competent third-party like DQS provides the assurance that the reported figures are accurate and trustworthy. The independent verification also helps improve rating results, for example in the scoring of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
Whereas validation is the review of project design data and documentation with the purpose of confirming that the predicted reductions are plausible, verification is about making sure that the reported data and information is correct.
The validation and/or verification can be done as a standalone assessment, or as part of an external assurance assessment on an entire sustainability report.
After the assessment, DQS will issue an AA1000-licensed assurance statement, which is recognized by CDP and many other stakeholders.
PRODUCT CARBON FOOTPRINT
Whereas for organizations and projects the relevant standard is ISO 14064, the standard for the carbon footprint of products is ISO 14067. This standard is based on the lifecycle assessment approach, which can also be verified by an external party.
WHY DQS?
As a certification and assessment body, DQS has a long-standing tradition as a credible and neutral third party. Ever since the founding of DQS in 1985, we have relied on a large network of highly qualified assessors, who combine their in-depth knowledge of standards and methodologies with first-hand experience in the relevant industry sector.