SIST-V ISO Guide 64:2011 PDF

Overview

ISO Guide 64:2008 - Guide for addressing environmental issues in product standards provides practical guidance for incorporating environmental considerations into product standards. Intended primarily for standards writers, project managers and technical committee convenors, the Guide promotes life-cycle thinking to reduce potential adverse environmental impacts across all stages of a product’s life-cycle (acquisition, production, use, end-of-life, and transportation). It encourages early evaluation of environmental aspects, involvement of environmental experts, and the development of sector-specific guidance.

Key topics and requirements

• Life-cycle thinking: Consider environmental aspects and impacts at all product life-cycle stages to avoid shifting burdens between stages.
• Environmental provisions: Guidance on drafting requirements, recommendations or statements in standards that address environmental issues.
• Systematic identification: Use of a structured approach and an environmental checklist (Clauses 5–6) to collect data and identify significant product environmental aspects and impacts.
• Stages and inputs/outputs: Focus areas include material acquisition, production, product use, end-of-life treatment, and cross-cutting processes such as transport and energy supply.
• Balancing priorities: Emphasizes that integrating environmental issues is complex and often requires trade-offs between environmental, technical and commercial considerations.
• Stakeholder involvement: Recommends involving environmental experts and considering current sector-specific guidance when drafting or revising standards.
• Scope limits: Does not separately address occupational health & safety or consumer safety unless closely related to environmental issues.

Practical applications and who uses it

• Standards writers and technical committees: To draft or revise product standards that include robust environmental provisions.
• Project managers / TC chairmen: To promote consistent application of environmental guidance during standards development.
• Environmental experts and consultants: To support identification of significant environmental aspects and to inform sector guides.
• Regulators and industry bodies: To align product standards with environmental objectives and life-cycle considerations without creating unnecessary trade barriers.
• Typical use cases: writing material/product specifications that reduce resource use, specifying end-of-life or recyclability criteria, and assessing environmental trade-offs between design choices.

Related standards

ISO Guide 64:2008 is consistent with and references life-cycle and environmental management publications such as ISO 14040 (LCA principles), ISO 14001 (environmental management) and related IEC/ISO guides. Annex A (sector guides) and Annex B (examples) provide further practical support for standards writers.

Keywords: ISO Guide 64:2008, environmental issues, product standards, life-cycle thinking, environmental provisions, standards writers, product life-cycle, environmental checklist.