ISO 22526-4:2023

Overview - ISO 22526-4:2023 (Environmental footprint / LCA for biobased plastics)

ISO 22526-4:2023 provides requirements and guidance for conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine the environmental (total) footprint of plastics that are partly or wholly of biobased origin. The standard focuses on how to handle the biogenic specificities within an LCA while requiring that the whole product system (not only the biobased fraction) is assessed. It supports studies covering full life cycles and, with justification, partial scopes such as cradle-to-gate or gate-to-gate analyses for business-to-business information.

Key technical topics and requirements

• LCA methodology and scope: Aligns with ISO 14040/14044 principles; clearly define goal, functional unit and system boundaries.
• Life Cycle Inventory (LCI): Emphasis on data quality, collection and modelling for biomass-based systems, including:
  • Geographical and temporal representativeness of biomass acquisition phases
  • Allocation procedures for co-products
  • Inventory of fossil and biogenic carbon flows
  • Guidance on land use and water use accounting
• Modelling guidance: Specific guidance for agriculture, forestry and aquaculture systems and for product use-phase and end-of-life modelling when biobased inputs are involved.
• Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA): Selection of impact categories and indicators relevant to biobased plastics (e.g., climate change treatment for fossil vs. biogenic carbon, land-use impacts, water impacts). Rules for weighting and comparative assertions intended for public disclosure.
• Interpretation, reporting and critical review: Requirements for transparent reporting, documentation of assumptions (e.g., carbon storage), and when a critical independent review is needed.

Practical applications and users

ISO 22526-4:2023 is practical for:

• Plastics manufacturers producing biobased polymer resins and products
• LCA practitioners, sustainability consultants and environmental managers conducting LCAs for biobased plastics
• Product designers and R&D teams assessing alternatives and material choices
• Procurement teams and B2B communicators preparing cradle-to-gate declarations
• Regulators and auditors evaluating environmental claims involving biobased content

Use cases include product environmental footprinting, supply‑chain assessments, comparative supplier evaluations (with caution and adherence to reporting rules), and designing end-of-life or feedstock substitution strategies.

Related standards

Relevant referenced documents include:

• ISO 14040 / ISO 14044 (LCA principles and requirements)
• ISO 14025 (Type III environmental declarations)
• ISO/TR 21960, ISO 472, EN 16575, EN 16760

Keywords: ISO 22526-4:2023, biobased plastics, life cycle assessment, LCA, environmental footprint, carbon footprint, cradle-to-gate, LCI, LCIA, biogenic carbon, land use, water use.