ISO 22948:2020

Overview - ISO 22948:2020 (Carbon footprint for seafood - CFP–PCR for finfish)

ISO 22948:2020 provides product category rules (CFP–PCR) for quantifying and communicating the carbon footprint of finfish products. Built on international life cycle assessment (LCA) principles, the standard covers finfish from fisheries and aquaculture value chains, specifying methodology from fishing and/or cultivation of feed ingredients through to final consumption. It is intended to support transparent, comparable carbon footprint results for seafood (finfish) but, when used alone, does not define a product’s overall environmental or sustainability performance.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Life cycle basis: Aligns with ISO LCA standards (ISO 14040 / ISO 14044) and product carbon footprint rules (ISO 14067).
• System boundaries: Detailed rules for defining boundaries across value-chain stages - fishing, feed production, aquaculture, processing, distribution, retail, and final consumption.
• Functional / declared unit: Requirements for defining the unit of comparison (e.g., mass of edible product).
• Data and data quality: Guidance on data collection, sampling, geographical and temporal delimitation, validation, and electricity/fuel data.
• Allocation and cut-off rules: Methodological guidance on allocation between co‑products and criteria for excluding insignificant processes.
• Impact assessment & interpretation: Use of CO2 equivalents (CO2e), treatment of fossil vs biogenic carbon, land use/change, and carbon sequestration considerations.
• Communication: Requirements for reporting CFP results and producer details to enable credible, comparable footprint claims.
• Practical examples: Informative annexes include example data collection and LCA modelling for aquaculture, seabass, fish meal, fish oil, and co‑product allocation.

Applications - who uses ISO 22948:2020 and why

• Seafood producers (fisheries and aquaculture) calculating product carbon footprints.
• LCA practitioners and environmental consultants producing CFP studies for finfish.
• Retailers, brand owners and supply‑chain managers benchmarking and reducing climate impact.
• Tool and database developers creating CFP calculators or seafood LCA databases.
• Policy makers, certification bodies and communications teams seeking standardized, transparent CFP information for consumers.

Practical uses include product-level footprinting, supply‑chain improvement, benchmarking across production systems, eco‑labeling support, and creating consumer-facing carbon information for seafood.

Related standards

• ISO 14067:2018 - Carbon footprint of products
• ISO 14040 / ISO 14044 - Life cycle assessment principles and requirements
• ISO 14026 - Communication of footprint information
• IPCC AR5 - GHG characterization and climate science foundations

Keywords: ISO 22948:2020, carbon footprint, seafood, finfish, CFP–PCR, LCA, aquaculture, fisheries, product category rules.