ISO 16294:2025

Overview

ISO 16294:2025 - Basic chemical products - Basic chemicals resulting from chemical recycling - General principles - sets out general requirements and guidance for basic chemicals and raw materials produced by chemical recycling of organic materials (CR‑BCRM). It explains core principles to support safe, transparent and consistent use of recycled feedstock in the chemical industry and to facilitate market uptake as part of a circular economy. This document provides high‑level requirements (not product‑specific limits) and does not replace technical standards developed by other ISO technical committees.

Key topics and requirements

• Definitions and scope: introduces terms such as chemical recycling, basic chemical (BC), raw material of basic chemicals (RM), BCRM and CR‑BCRM to standardize language across stakeholders.
• Evaluation items: CR‑BCRM shall be assessed on quality, resource efficiency, energy consumption, air and water emissions, process difficulty, and safety, health and equitable working conditions.
• Quality assurance: analytical methods, specifications, quality management and QA for CR‑BCRM should match those for virgin BCRM. Suppliers are required to provide a safety data sheet (SDS) in accordance with ISO 11014, and to document process control, shipping inspection, packaging and labelling.
• Labels and declarations: CR‑BCRM and products using CR‑BCRM may be self‑declared (with explanatory text, symbols or diagrams) or subject to third‑party conformity assessment. ISO 14021 (self‑declared environmental claims) and ISO 14024 (Type I environmental labelling) are referenced for environmental labelling approaches.
• Transparency and communication: the standard emphasizes sharing relevant information between suppliers and purchasers (e.g., CO2 emissions and residues) while not requiring disclosure of proprietary manufacturing know‑how.

Applications and users

Practical uses:

• Procurement and sustainable sourcing policies for chemical manufacturers and brand owners evaluating recycled feedstock.
• Quality management and conformity workflows in chemical and recycling companies integrating CR‑BCRM into production.
• Product designers and formulators seeking verified recycled inputs for polymers, solvents, monomers and intermediates.
• Regulators, industry associations and sustainability teams developing circular‑economy roadmaps and reporting frameworks.

Primary users:

• Chemical producers, recyclers and feedstock suppliers
• Purchasing officers and sustainability procurement specialists
• Quality assurance laboratories and compliance teams
• Environmental and occupational health managers

Related standards

• ISO 11014 - Safety data sheet content
• ISO 15270 - Plastics recycling guidelines
• ISO 20400 - Sustainable procurement
• ISO 22095 - Chain of custody terminology and models
• ISO 26000 - Guidance on social responsibility
• ISO 14021 / ISO 14024 - Environmental labelling and declarations

Keywords: ISO 16294:2025, chemical recycling, CR‑BCRM, basic chemicals, recycled feedstock, circular economy, quality assurance, safety data sheet, environmental labelling.