The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is developing a new standard for the carbon footprint (CFP) of products, ISO 14067. Customers, consumers and shareholders are increasingly concerned with the environmental impact of the activities, products and services they consume.
In May 2013, ISO TS 14067:2013 was published, which specifies principles, requirements, and guidelines for the quantification and communication of the carbon footprint of products (CFPS), including goods and services, covering GHG emissions and removals over the life cycle of a product.
Benefits of ISO 14067
There are many benefits that arise when performing a CFP assessment:
- The standard makes reliable and comparable parameters available to organizations and consumers.
- Life cycle processes that significantly contribute to CFP can be identified by service providers and manufacturers; thus, improvement in the efficiency of the value creation chain by reducing emissions can be achieved when taking targeted measures. Furthermore, this LCA can help organizations to implement other standards, for instance ISO 14001:2015 .
- The standard provides a transparent quantification and reporting of the GHG, including those generated from the production to the waste disposal or recycling – that is, the whole life cycle of the product or service.
- ISO 14067 is also consistent with other environmental standards, for instance, ISO 14025 (environmental labels and declarations), ISO 14044 (lifecycle assessment), and BSI PAS 2050 (specification for the assessment of the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services).
The calculation of CFP is the first step towards the implementation of a reduction and offsetting strategy for the emissions