ISO 14063:2020

Overview - ISO 14063:2020 (Environmental communication)

ISO 14063:2020, "Environmental management - Environmental communication - Guidelines and examples", provides guidance for designing and implementing effective environmental communication within any organization. The standard covers principles, policy, strategy and activities for both internal and external environmental communication, and is applicable to organizations of all sizes and sectors. It can be used independently or in combination with the ISO 14000 family (for example ISO 14001 environmental management systems).

Key topics and technical requirements

ISO 14063:2020 focuses on practical, proven approaches adapted for environmental topics. Major technical elements include:

• Principles of environmental communication - transparency, appropriateness, credibility, clarity and regionality.
• Environmental communication policy - management commitment and development of a formal policy aligned with organizational values.
• Communication strategy - integration with overall communication processes, resource efficiency, and setting measurable communication objectives.
• Stakeholder identification - identifying and analysing interested parties and target groups to tailor messages and channels.
• Planning and execution of activities - situational analysis, defining geographic scope, selecting content, tools and approaches (including social media), and assigning responsibilities.
• Crisis and emergency communication - preparatory planning for timely, accurate responses to environmental incidents.
• Monitoring and evaluation - collecting and evaluating data, recording feedback, conducting management review and revising plans based on performance.

The standard emphasizes examples and guidance rather than prescriptive measures, so organizations can adapt approaches to local conditions and communication needs.

Practical applications - who should use ISO 14063

ISO 14063 is valuable for a broad range of users:

• Sustainability and environmental managers developing communication policies or aligning communications with an environmental management system.
• Corporate communications and PR teams creating transparent sustainability messaging for customers, investors and communities.
• Compliance and risk managers preparing crisis response plans and stakeholder engagement strategies.
• SMEs and large enterprises seeking a structured approach to environmental reporting, stakeholder dialogue and reputation management.
• Consultants and auditors advising on or assessing environmental communication practices.

Use cases include building stakeholder trust, improving sustainability reporting, responding to information requests, and supporting decision-making with clear environmental information.

Related standards

• ISO 14001 (Environmental management systems) - integration with EMS processes
• ISO 14020, ISO 14021, ISO 14024, ISO 14025, ISO 14026 - product labels, declarations and specific communication tools
• Annex A of ISO 14063 provides a reference table to the ISO 14000 family

Keywords: ISO 14063:2020, environmental communication, environmental management, stakeholder engagement, sustainability reporting, ISO 14000.