ISO 14067 explained in plain English
ISO 14067 is the international standard for quantifying the carbon footprint of a product. It does not give you a number; it sets the rules for working one out and for reporting it so that someone else can understand and check it. This guide summarises what it covers, in our own words.
7 min read · Updated
Where ISO 14067 sits
ISO 14067 builds on the life cycle assessment standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. Those set out the general method for studying a product's environmental impacts across its life. ISO 14067 narrows that to one impact, climate change, and adds rules specific to greenhouse gases.
The GHG Protocol Product Standard covers the same ground and is broadly compatible. The PACT methodology goes further on choices left open, so that footprints from different suppliers line up when they are shared; see the PACT methodology and data file.
What it asks you to decide and state
- The goal: why the footprint is made, for whom, and whether it will be used to compare products in public.
- The unit: a functional unit (what the product does) or a declared unit (one piece, one kilogram).
- The boundary: which life-cycle stages and processes are in, and what is cut off.
- The data: which data is your own, which comes from databases, and its quality.
- Allocation: how a shared process (one factory, many products) is split between products.
- Treatment of special cases: electricity, biogenic carbon, land-use change, recycling and aircraft emissions.
What it asks you to report
A study report has to set out the results and the choices above, plus the assumptions, the uncertainty and the limitations, so that a reader can judge the figure. Some values must be shown separately rather than buried in the total, such as biogenic emissions and removals and emissions from land-use change.
Every footprint we produce includes the study report items and a standards checklist that shows, requirement by requirement, what is met and what is not.
What "in line with ISO 14067" should mean
Many tools say they follow ISO 14067. A useful test is whether the result comes with the decisions and report items above. If it does not say its boundary, data sources, data quality and limitations, it is a number, not an ISO 14067 footprint.
Following the method is also different from being checked. ISO 14067 provides for a critical review by an independent expert, which is needed before a footprint is used in public comparisons. Most footprints exchanged between businesses are not critically reviewed, and should say so.
Where to start
If a customer has asked you for an ISO 14067 footprint, start with your materials and a year of energy bills. Our step-by-step guide shows the order, and the full footprint form walks through every ISO 14067 decision and checks each one as you go.
Questions
Is ISO 14067 mandatory?
No law requires it in general, but many buyers ask for footprints calculated in line with it, and some product rules point to it.
Does ISO 14067 cover water or other impacts?
No. It covers climate change only. A full life cycle assessment covers other impacts too.
What is the difference between ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol Product Standard?
Both quantify product footprints and are broadly compatible. ISO 14067 is the international standard; the GHG Protocol standard is often used by companies already reporting under the GHG Protocol.