Increasing global, technical, legal and contractual obligations impose demands on organisations to produce declarations, disclosures and reporting on sustainability information. Consumers, buyers, government agencies, regulators, and contracting authorities need validation, verification and assurance of this information, so that they can make informed decisions on investments, procurement, and employment.
ISO 14019 has been heralded as the definitive standard aiming to provide a framework for developing credible and transparent environmental labelling and declarations. The standard will guide organisations on how to communicate their environmental performance in a way that is understandable and credible to consumers, businesses, and other stakeholders.
Developed by the Technical Committee ISO/TC 207/SC2, ISO14019 is at the enquiry stage and could progress shortly to Final Draft Stage, as the next step and the final formal review prior to publication.
The Technical Committee ISO/TC 207/SC 2 is part of the broader ISO/TC 207 (International Organisation for Standardisation/Technical Committee 207), which focuses on environmental management. Specifically, SC 2 (Subcommittee 2) is dedicated to the development of standards related to Environmental Management Systems (EMS). The draft* includes:
ISO/DIS 14019 Sustainability information
Part 1: General principles and requirements for validation and verification
Part 2: Principles and requirements for verification processes
Part 3: Principles and requirements for validation processes (*not yet developed)
Part 4: Principles and requirements for bodies validating and verifying sustainability information
The standard outlines how to develop environmental labels and declarations based on scientific evidence, making sure that the information provided is accurate, reliable, and clear to avoid misleading claims. Hence, it is envisaged that this series of standards will have a wide-ranging application, being utilised by validation and verification bodies in accordance with ISO/IEC 17029, and within schemes operated by inspection bodies according to ISO/IEC 17020 or certification bodies according to ISO/IEC 17065.
Part 1 specifies general principles and requirements for the validation and verification process of sustainability information, including reporting on environmental, social, governance (ESG) and other sustainability aspects. The outcome of the process will be an assurance opinion or factual finding, upon which the stakeholder/interested parties can rely upon in making their relevant decisions, as illustrated in Figure B.1 direct from the Draft Standard.
Figure B.1 — Three-party assurance relationship
Part 2 specifies requirements for the verification process of quantitative and qualitative sustainability information, by providing elements of a verification programme, such as process, evidence-gathering activities, reporting, and the addresses uncertainty in values and how to address these uncertainties.
Part 4 specifies requirements for bodies performing validation and verification of declared sustainability information, adopting the principles and general requirements of ISO/IEC 17029 for the competence, consistent operation and impartiality of bodies performing validation/verification as conformity assessment activities.
The objective of all elements and parts of the standard is to promote the development of environmental labels and declarations that avoid “greenwashing” (misleading claims about the environmental performance of products or services), thereby enhancing credibility in environmental claims. ISO14019 sits alongside a plethora of certification, guidance and technical standards (eg. ISO14064/ISO14065, ISO14068, ISSA5000 etc.), reinforcing the hierarchy and providing a robust assurance framework for managing sustainability claims.
SCS have an ISO17029 project in development and look forward to the continued refinement and latter publication of ISO14019 to aid the meeting the emerging requirements of our current and potential future clients.
