Introduction

Communicating the environmental aspects and potential environmental impacts of products assists intended audiences (e.g. investors, purchasers, consumers) to make decisions on the selection and use of those products. The overall objective of providing information about the environmental aspects and environmental impacts of products (i.e. environmental statements) is to encourage the selection, purchase and use of those products that have the least adverse potential or actual environmental impact.

Suppliers that communicate the environmental aspects and environmental impacts of their products via environmental statements hope to influence the market in favour of their products. If the communication has this effect, the market share of those products can increase, and it is possible that other suppliers will respond by improving the environmental performance of their products. Ultimately this results in reduced environmental impact from that product category.

Suppliers that communicate the environmental aspects of their products via environmental statements also benefit at different levels within their organizations, both in the development of their products as well as in their environmental management and improvement of environmental performance.

The ISO 14020 family of standards provide principles and requirements for communicating environmental aspects and environmental impacts of products through environmental statements (e.g. self-declared environmental claims (see ISO 14021), ecolabels (see ISO 14024), environmental product declarations (EPDs) (see ISO 14025) and footprint communications (see ISO 14026)). This document is the core document in the ISO 14020 family of standards.

The intended structure of the ISO 14020 family of standards is illustrated in Figure 1 and summarized as follows:

— ISO 14020 : common terms and definitions, principles and general requirements for all environmental statements (e.g. self-declared environmental claims, ecolabels, EPDs and footprint communications) and associated programmes that enable the communication of environmental aspects and environmental impacts of products.
— ISO 14021 : requirements for environmental statements in the form of self-declared environmental claims.
— ISO 14024 : requirements for environmental statements in the form of environmental labels known as ecolabels.
— ISO 14025 : requirements for environmental statements in the form of EPDs.
— ISO 14026 : requirements for environmental statements in the form of footprint communications.
— ISO/TS 14027 : requirements for product category rules (PCR) that support the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a method to compile and evaluate information that is used as a basis for making environmental statements.
— ISO/TS 14029 : requirements for the mutual recognition of EPDs, footprint communications and associated programmes.

Figure 1 — Structure of the ISO 14020 family of standards

Further explanation on the types of environmental statement is given in Clause 5.

Fundamental to the communication of the environmental aspects or environmental impacts of products through the use of the ISO 14020 family of standards are the following understandings:

a) that an environmental statement is prepared or made about environmental aspect(s) or environmental impact(s) of a product by an identifiable responsible party;
b) that, in future, all environmental statements (including self-declared environmental claims) will be made within the context of an environmental statement programme (see Annex A as an example of a simple type of environmental statement programme for a self-declared environmental claim);
c) that an environmental statement programme is established by an identifiable programme owner or operator who:
1. 1) specifies the type of the environmental statement(s) (e.g. self-declared environmental claim, ecolabel, EPD, footprint communication) included in the environmental statement programme;
2. 2) specifies the requirements, criteria and methodology associated with the environmental statement programme and the environmental statement;
3. 3) where relevant, identifies how and by whom the environmental statement is to be assessed (e.g. through methods such as auditing, evaluation, examination, inspection, testing, validation or verification; and whether these assessment techniques result in the environmental statement being self-declared by the first party, or whether a second- or third-party assessment activity is required);
4. 4) confirms the format, media and type of information that is to be communicated with the environmental statement to the intended audiences (e.g. investors, purchasers, consumers);
5. 5) establishes the validity period of environmental statement(s) and any ongoing assessment requirements.

This document aims to ensure that, in future, environmental statements will be made within the context of an environmental statement programme or scheme. Environmental statement programmes can vary in complexity depending on the type of environmental statement being made (in some cases a simple internal process or procedure, in other cases an extensive set of programme rules).

All programmes specify:

— the product or the family of products that are to be covered;
— the specified requirements and criteria that must be demonstrated to support the environmental statement;
— the determination methodology to undertake the demonstration, including any necessary information, competencies and use of conformity assessment (e.g. testing, inspection, verification or certification activities).

BS EN ISO 14020:2023

Environmental statements and programmes for products. Principles and general requirements

Current

Published:

31 Jan 2023