ISO 14067:2018

Overview

ISO 14067:2018 - "Greenhouse gases - Carbon footprint of products - Requirements and guidelines for quantification" - provides principles, requirements and guidance for calculating and reporting the product carbon footprint (CFP). It aligns with life cycle assessment (LCA) standards (ISO 14040 and ISO 14044) and focuses on a single impact category: climate change (greenhouse gas - GHG - emissions and removals). The standard covers both full and partial CFP studies and defines methodology from goal and scope through inventory, impact assessment and interpretation. Communication, carbon offsetting and verification procedures are outside its scope.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Life cycle perspective: CFP must be evaluated across relevant life cycle stages (raw materials, production, use, end-of-life) with clearly defined system boundaries.
• Goal and scope definition: Specify purpose, functional or declared unit, system boundaries, time boundary and allocation rules.
• Data and data quality: Requirements for data collection, validation, representativeness and temporal/geographical relevance.
• Life cycle inventory (LCI): Compile GHG emissions and removals tied to unit processes and convert to a CFP using appropriate emission factors.
• Impact assessment for climate change: Apply consistent treatment of biogenic carbon and specific GHGs; assess timing of emissions/removals where relevant.
• Documentation and reporting: Required and optional information for CFP study reports to ensure transparency and avoid double-counting.
• Interpretation and critical review: Analyze results, sensitivity and uncertainty; when needed, subject studies to critical review.
• Limitations: Addresses only GHG/climate change impacts - does not evaluate other environmental, social or economic impacts; excludes offsetting and communication rules.

Practical applications

ISO 14067 is used to:

• Support product design and eco‑innovation by identifying major GHG hotspots across a product’s life cycle.
• Provide a consistent basis for internal corporate decision‑making, supplier engagement and procurement policies focused on carbon reduction.
• Inform voluntary sustainability reporting, ecolabel development and product comparisons (see normative Annexes on comparison and limitations).
• Serve consultants, LCA practitioners and sustainability teams who need an ISO‑aligned methodology for quantifying product carbon footprints.

Who should use this standard

• Product manufacturers and brand owners
• LCA and CFP practitioners and consultants
• Sustainability managers and supply‑chain analysts
• Public authorities and procurement officers seeking consistent CFP methodologies

Related standards

• ISO 14040 / ISO 14044 - Life cycle assessment (LCA) framework and requirements
• ISO 14026 - Communication of CFP information (claims and reporting)
• ISO 14064-3 - Verification of GHG assertions
• ISO/TS 14027 - Product category rules (PCR) guidance

Keywords: ISO 14067, carbon footprint of products, CFP, product carbon footprint, LCA, greenhouse gases, GHG quantification, climate change, life cycle assessment.