All you need to know about ISO 14 067
Did you know? The supply chain emits on average 11.4 times more emissions than its direct activity. From the extraction of raw materials to transport, manufacturing and distribution, every stage in its life cycle leaves a mark on our planet.
Environmental transparency is no longer an option, but a necessity. With this in mind, organizations are increasingly called upon to measure and reduce their environmental impact. But how can we ensure that a product's carbon footprint is assessed in a reliable and comparable way?
This is precisely the mission of ISO 14067. This international standard offers a rigorous methodology for measuring CO₂e emissions associated with goods and services, and is fully in line with a responsible innovation approach aimed at transforming production and consumption patterns.
1.3 Standard requirements and guidelines
2. How important is it for organizations to adopt ISO 14067?
2.1 A strategic lever for competitiveness
2.2 Regulatory compliance and anticipating environmental legislation
2.3 Optimizing resources and reducing costs
3. How to implement ISO 14067 in an organization?
3.1 Key stages in obtaining ISO 14067 certification
3.3 Long-term benefits of adopting the standard
4. Global Climate Initiatives: an expert partner, ISO 14067 and ISO 14064 compliant
4.1 Full compliance with ISO standards
Understanding ISO 14067 and its essential role
🤔What does this standard consist of?
ISO 14067:2018 is an international standard that defines the principles and requirements for calculating the carbon impact of products. Its main objective is to establish a clear, scientific and uniform methodology enabling organizations to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by a product throughout its life cycle.
Adopted in 2018 by the International Organization for Standardization, this standard is in line with other environmental standards:
- ISO 14040 and 14044, which provide a framework for life cycle assessment (LCA),
- ISO 14064 on GHG assessments for companies.
❇️ Methodological framework
The climatic impact of a product is based on a rigorous scientific approach. Its methodology is mainly based on LCA.
Single-criteria LCA on the climate change indicator, also known as Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), is a method that takes into account all the greenhouse gas emissions generated at each stage of a product's life, from design to disposal:
1️⃣ Raw materials extraction: impact of resources used (e.g. ore extraction, wood cutting, etc.).
2️⃣ Manufacturing: energy consumption and emissions linked to industrial processes.
3️⃣ Transport and distribution: emissions linked to logistics and the transport of goods.
4️⃣ Product use: energy consumed by the product during its life cycle.
5️⃣ End-of-life: recycling, energy recovery or landfill.
This approach provides a global and precise view of a product's ecological impact. This helps avoid accounting errors, while offering greater comparability between different solutions.
💢Standard requirements and guidelines
To ensure an accurate and uniform assessment of the carbon footprint of products, ISO 14067 is based on several fundamental requirements:
🔹 Data transparency and traceability
- All metrics used to calculate the carbon footprint must be clearly documented.
- Emission sources must be precisely identified.
🔹 Rigorous scientific methodology
- Use internationally recognized emission factors (e.g. IPCC, ADEME).
- Integration of direct and indirect emissions throughout the product life cycle.
🔹 Comparability and verifiability
- Results must be comparable between different goods or organizations.
- Third-party verification may be necessary to guarantee the reliability of the metrics.
🔹 Taking uncertainties into account
- Identification of measurement limits and calculation uncertainties.
- Set up scenarios to test the robustness of results.
How important is it for organizations to adopt ISO 14067?
💯A strategic lever for competitiveness
💚Meeting consumer and investor expectations
According to the 15th GreenFlex barometer on responsible consumption, conducted in collaboration with ADEME: "76% of French people say they are committed to responsible consumption."
➡ Having a certified carbon footprint enables companies to differentiate themselves by displaying total transparency on the environmental impact of their goods and services.
➡ It also boosts the confidence of investors, who are increasingly incorporating ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) criteria into their financing decisions.
🌐 An asset on international markets
The ISO 14067 standard is recognized worldwide, facilitating access to international markets, particularly in sectors with strict environmental regulations.
For example, the European Union is imposing more and more directives on imported goods, notably via the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
⚖️Conformité regulations and anticipating environmental legislation
📈A response to new climate regulations
Governments and international organizations are tightening regulations to combat climate change. Among the most influential regulations are :
- The CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) in Europe, which requires companies to declare their carbon footprint.
- France's AGEC law, which imposes environmental labelling on certain products.
- The carbon neutrality commitments made by many countries by 2050, which will influence companies in all industries.
❗ Avoiding greenwashing and ensuring credible communication
Greenwashing has become a major concern for consumers and authorities alike. Numerous companies have been censured for misleadingly communicating their impact on the climate.
➡ With ISO 14067, structures can rely on a recognized and verifiable methodology to avoid any risk of being accused of false ecological claims.
➡ They can also use their results to communicate responsibly and establish a transparent dialogue with their customers and partners.
✅Optimizing resources and cutting costs
🎦Identify and reduce the most polluting workstations
By carrying out a precise assessment of a product's carbon footprint, this helps to identify the stages in the life cycle that emit the most CO₂e:
🔹 Optimize manufacturing processes by reducing energy consumption.
🔹 Choosing suppliers more committed to the ecological transition by favoring raw materials with a lower carbon impact.
🔹 Easier access to public procurement contracts, which increasingly favor companies adopting low-carbon practices.
💰Access to financing and subsidies
Structures committed to a CSR approach can benefit from a wide range of financial assistance:
✔ Government subsidies for the adoption of eco-responsible practices.
✔ Preferential interest rates for companies committed to sustainability.
✔ Easier access to public procurement contracts, which increasingly favor environmentally-friendly companies.
How do you implement ISO 14067 in your organization?
For a structure to be able to evaluate, reduce and communicate effectively, it must put in place a rigorous, structured process.
How to sustain and strengthen your business through a successful low-carbon trajectory.
💡The key steps to ISO 14067 certification
✅ Defining the scope of the assessment
It's essential to precisely define the scope of the product or service under study. This involves answering the following questions:
🔹 Which goods are involved (a whole range or a specific product?)
🔹 What assessment methodology will be used (emission factors, database, etc.)?
🔹 What are the measurement criteria (direct emissions, indirect emissions, possible exclusions)?
✅ 1.2 Collecting data
The most technical stage consists of collecting precise metrics on each phase of the product's life cycle, known as a life cycle inventory:
- Energy and raw materials consumption
- Greenhouse gas emissions during production
- Transport modes and logistics impact
- Product use and emissions
- End-of-life treatment (recycling, incineration, landfill, etc.)
💡 Use recognized benchmarks (e.g. ADEME's Base Carbone, Ecoinvent, GHG Protocol) to guarantee the reliability of metrics.
✅ 1.3. Calculate carbon footprint
Once collected, they must be converted to CO₂ equivalents using emission factors in line with international standards (IPCC, ADEME, IPCC).
➡ S pecialized software exists to automate this calculation, such as the SaaS platform offered by Global Climate Initiatives, which supports structures in carrying out their greenhouse gas assessment.
Other solutions include SimaPro, OpenLCA and CarbonScope.
✅ 1.4. Third-party verification
To guarantee the credibility of the results, a structure can call on an independent third-party organization to :
✔ Audit the methodology and calculations performed.
✔ Ensure compliance with ISO 14067.
✔ Issue an official certification, which enables a label to be affixed attesting to the approach.
💡 Examples of certification bodies: LRQA, SGS, AFNOR...
📢Challenges and obstacles to overcome
- Complex metrics and tools
One of the main challenges of ISO 14067 is the collection and analysis of environmental data. It can be difficult to obtain accurate information, especially from suppliers.
💡 Solution: Work closely with the supply chain and favor automated tools for collecting metrics.
- The cost of implementation
LCA and certification can represent a significant financial investment for organizations, especially SMEs.
💡 Solution: Search for public grants and subsidies available for environmental initiatives (e.g. ADEME in France, European funds for ecological transition, Banque Publique d'Investissements).
- Internal buy-in and organizational change
This kind of approach requires a high level of involvement from the various teams (R&D, production, logistics, marketing). If internal commitment is weak, implementation of the standard may be compromised.
💡 Solution: Train employees and raise stakeholder awareness of environmental issues.
🚀The long-term benefits of adopting the standard
Adopting this standard is not just a question of compliance, it's an investment in the future. By combining it with eco-design, this approach is part of a Net Zerotout approach tomeeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Here are the long-term benefits of committing to this approach.
📈 Strengthen your company's competitiveness and resilience
- Companies committed to the ecological transition are attracting more investors.
- They anticipate regulatory changes and avoid penalties linked to carbon taxes.
- They improve their brand image and win the loyalty of environmentally conscious customers.
🔄 Facilitating innovation and eco-design
ISO 14067 encourages structures to rethink the design of their products by integrating more sustainable materials and more energy-efficient processes.
🌿Patagonia
Patagonia is a model of CSR communication. It relies on total authenticity in its supply chain, encourages garment repair and donates part of its profits to environmental causes.
The "Don't Buy This Jacket" campaign, encouraging consumers to limit over-consumption and opt for sustainable purchases.
👄Taiki Cosmetics Europe
Taiki Cosmetic has been committed to a CSR approach for several years, with the aim of reducing its environmental footprint. Its strategy involves concrete actions such as the eco-design of its products, the selection of its partners and the reduction of business travel.
As part of this long-term CSR vision, Taiki Cosmectics Europe entrusted Global Climate Initiatives with the task of carrying out their 1st GHG assessment.
🌍 Global Climate Initiatives: an expert partner, ISO 14067 and ISO 14064 compliant
Against a backdrop of accelerating climate change and growing regulatory requirements, organizations need reliable, rigorous support that meets international standards.
With this in mind, Global Climate Initiatives (GCI) has established itself as a benchmark player in carbon footprint management, offering operational solutions for measuring, reducing and managing greenhouse gas emissions.
✅ Full compliance with ISO standards
GCI guarantees rigorous application of international standards:
- ISO 14067, for calculating the carbon footprint of products using a complete, scientifically validated life-cycle approach.
- ISO 14064, for the production of organizational GHG balances in line with the requirements of current legislation (CSRD, green taxonomy, etc.).
This dual compliance ensures maximum traceability, comparability and credibility for structures in managing and communicating their climate strategy.
🛠️ A proven, accessible digital platform
The SaaS platform developed by GCI enables organizations to :
- Carry out their complete GHG assessment (Scopes 1, 2 and 3) in accordance with ISO 14064.
- Accurately assess thecarbon footprint of their products using ISO 14067 methodology.
- Identify concrete reduction levers and implement personalized action plans.
- Benefit from structured and verifiable reporting, adapted to stakeholder expectations and regulatory obligations.
🤝 Expertise recognized by committed companies
Numerous organizations have already placed their trust in GCI to structure and accelerate their climate strategy. A case in point is Taiki Cosmetics Europe, which relied on GCI's support to carry out its first GHG assessment as part of its overall CSR approach.
Thanks to its expertise and tools that comply with the most demanding standards, GCI supports organizations at every stage of their carbon transition, enabling them to transform their commitments into concrete, verifiable results.
Implementing ISO 14067 requires a strong commitment and a rigorous methodology, but the long-term benefits are considerable.
✔ Better control of products' carbon footprint
✔ A competitive edge and regulatory foresight
✔ Lower costs and optimized resources
Today, adopting ISO 14067 means preparing your company for tomorrow's environmental challenges. The question is no longer whether to commit, but how to accelerate this transition.
Our carbon experts will be happy to give you a free free demonstration of our platform. 🚀
Firstly, the use of GCI has enabled a significant reduction in the uncertainty of the GHG Balance, particularly for scope 3, from 50% to 5%. The Group now has 95% accurate data.
Thanks to supplier data collected and interpreted by the GCI tool, in-depth in-house analyses have been carried out on the impact of 35,000 products, grouping suppliers into 170 families. This represents +80% of purchases in mass and in euros.