Overview

Requirements for quantifying and reporting an organization's greenhouse gas inventory; Part 1 of the three-part ISO 14064 series, confirmed current in 2024

ISO 14064-1:2018 specifies principles and requirements at the organization level for the quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals. It is the first of three parts: Part 1 covers organizational GHG inventories, ISO 14064-2 covers GHG projects (quantifying, monitoring and reporting emission reductions or removal enhancements), and ISO 14064-3 specifies requirements for the validation and verification of GHG statements. The second edition of Part 1 was published in December 2018, replacing ISO 14064-1:2006, and was reviewed and confirmed as current in 2024.

The most significant change in the 2018 edition was the move away from the scope terminology familiar from the GHG Protocol. ISO 14064-1:2018 requires emissions to be reported as direct emissions and removals and as indirect emissions grouped into categories — indirect emissions from imported energy; from transportation; from products used by the organization; associated with the use of products from the organization; and from other sources. The intent is to force explicit consideration of value chain emissions rather than allowing them to be omitted as "optional Scope 3". The categories map onto GHG Protocol scopes but are not identical, and organizations reporting under both need to be clear about which basis they are using.

The standard sets requirements for designing and developing the inventory: defining the organizational boundaries (by control or equity share) and reporting boundaries, identifying GHG sources, sinks and reservoirs, selecting quantification methodologies, selecting and collecting activity data and emission factors, and quantifying and reporting emissions of the seven greenhouse gases in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

It also requires a base year GHG inventory to be established with a documented recalculation policy for structural changes such as acquisitions, disposals and methodology changes — the mechanism that keeps reduction claims honest over time. Requirements cover inventory quality management, uncertainty assessment, documentation and record retention, and the content of the GHG report, including methodologies, boundaries, base year, exclusions with justification, and separate reporting of biogenic CO₂.

Organizations frequently describe themselves as "ISO 14064 certified". Strictly, this is not a management system standard and there is no certification against it. What exists is verification of a GHG statement: a third party verifies the inventory in accordance with ISO 14064-3, and verification bodies are accredited under ISO 14065, with team competence requirements in ISO 14066. The output is a verification opinion on a specific inventory for a specific period — which is what regulators, customers and disclosure frameworks actually want.

ISO 14064-1 is broadly compatible with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and is used as the quantification basis for carbon disclosure, for regulatory and customer reporting, and as the inventory input to ISO 14068-1 for carbon neutrality claims. It also supports ISO 14001 environmental management systems and ISO 50001 energy management programmes, and complements ISO 14067, which addresses product-level rather than organization-level footprints.

Purpose

To specify how an organization quantifies, documents and reports its greenhouse gas emissions and removals, including value chain emissions, so that the resulting inventory is complete, consistent, transparent and capable of independent verification.

Key Benefits

• Provides an internationally recognised specification for organizational greenhouse gas inventories
• Requires explicit treatment of indirect value chain emissions across defined categories
• Establishes base year and recalculation rules so reduction claims remain comparable over time
• Requires uncertainty assessment and inventory quality management
• Designed for independent verification under ISO 14064-3 by bodies accredited to ISO 14065
• Broadly compatible with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard used by most disclosure frameworks
• Supports regulatory, investor and customer reporting requirements on emissions
• Provides the inventory foundation for carbon neutrality claims under ISO 14068-1
• Integrates with ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 programmes
• Applicable to organizations of any size or sector, public or private

Key Requirements

• Define organizational boundaries using a control or equity share approach and document the choice
• Define reporting boundaries and identify GHG sources, sinks and reservoirs within them
• Report direct emissions and removals separately from indirect emissions
• Categorise indirect emissions: imported energy; transportation; products used by the organization; use of products from the organization; and other sources
• Justify and document any exclusions from the inventory
• Select and document quantification methodologies, activity data and emission factors
• Quantify emissions of the relevant greenhouse gases and express results in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent
• Report biogenic CO₂ emissions separately from fossil emissions
• Establish a base year inventory and a documented recalculation policy for structural and methodological changes
• Assess and document uncertainty associated with the inventory
• Implement GHG information management and quality control procedures
• Retain documentation and records sufficient to support verification
• Prepare a GHG report containing the required content, including boundaries, methodologies, base year and exclusions
• Use ISO 14064-3 and accredited verification bodies where independent verification of the GHG statement is sought

Who Needs This Standard?

Organizations quantifying and reporting emissions for regulation, investors, customers or voluntary disclosure — listed companies, large private groups, public sector bodies, energy-intensive manufacturers, and suppliers asked to report emissions data to corporate customers.

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