ISO/DGuide 84.2

ISO/TMBG

Secretariat: ISO

Date: 2025-12-17

Guidelines for addressing climate change in standards

Lignes directrices pour la prise en compte des changements climatiques dans les normes

DIS stage

© ISO 2026

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.

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Contents

Foreword iv

Introduction vi

1 Scope 1

2 Normative references 1

3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms 1

3.1 Terms and definitions 1

3.2 Abbreviated terms 9

4 Understanding and responding to climate change 10

4.1 What is climate change? 10

4.2 Climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation 11

5 Addressing climate change in standards 12

5.1 General 12

5.2 Principles related to addressing climate change in standards 12

6 Planning the strategy 14

6.1 General 14

6.2 Issues to consider before establishing a committee 14

6.3 Strategic business plan 15

6.4 Review and revision of standards 15

7 Planning the content 16

7.1 Responsibilities 16

7.2 Understanding approaches to responding to climate change 17

7.3 Identifying climate change issues 20

8 Addressing climate change issues 23

8.1 General 23

8.2 Consider interrelations between adaptation and mitigation 24

8.3 Climate change mitigation of specific sources 24

8.4 Other mitigation approaches 29

8.5 Financing the transition to a low carbon economy 31

8.6 Carbon neutrality and net zero 32

8.7 Addressing climate change adaptation 33

8.8 Adaptation and mitigation in Management System Standards 40

8.9 Other aspects for consideration 42

Annex A (informative) Using systems thinking to set boundaries for climate change adaptation (reproduced from ISO 14090:2019, Annex A). 45

Annex B (informative) Background information on approaches for responding to climate change 49

Annex C (informative) Planetary boundary conditions 55

Annex D (informative) Climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation: Examples and supporting information 57

Bibliography 63

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by the ISO Technical Management Board Task Force on Climate Change Coordination.

This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO Guide 84:2020), which has been technically revised.

The main changes are as follows:

• Paris Agreement principles have been incorporated through guidance added in the Introduction on equity and common but differentiated responsibilities, with a new explanatory note referencing relevant international agreements;
• terminology has been aligned with international definitions: preference has been given to established ISO terminology, recognizing its basis in internationally accepted definitions;
• content in the Introduction and subclause 8.7 has been enhanced to address climate change adaptation alongside mitigation, in order to provide a more balanced focus on mitigation and adaptation strategies;
• guidance on low-carbon energy has been clarified through the revision of subclause 8.4.2 (title and content) to emphasize GHG emission reduction through low-carbon energy policies and strategies;
• the risk-based approach has been elaborated through expanded guidance in subclauses 5.1 and 7.2.4, and the addition of consideration of transition risks in product standards in subclause 8.7;
• guidance for inclusive stakeholder participation has been provided through the addition of text in the Introduction to promote consideration of diverse stakeholders and varying national circumstances;
• finance and implementation aspects have been addressed through the addition of references in the Introduction and subclause 8.5 to practical implementation support, including the ISO Global Relevance Policy and financing challenges.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

This document is intended for developers of ISO International Standards and other deliverables to encourage the inclusion of provisions in International Standards to address identified climate change impacts, risks and opportunities, taking into consideration the importance of allowing flexibility based on the local context, needs and challenges. This document aims to:

• enable committees working in standards development to determine if the standard under consideration should take into account all aspects, issues, impacts, risks and/or opportunities associated with climate change;
• provide standards developers with a systematic approach for addressing climate change impacts, risks and opportunities in a coherent and consistent manner, with regard to both new and revised standards, and in a manner relevant to the objective and scope of the standard being developed;
• promote consistency and compatibility to the extent practicable among standards that directly or indirectly address climate change and their wider uptake in support of sustainability.

In February 2024, the IAF/ISO Joint Communiqué on the addition of Climate Change considerations to Management Systems Standards highlighted new requirements to consider the effect of Climate Change when revising or developing new ISO Management Systems Standards (MSS).

This document supports ISO’s commitment to accelerate achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, the UN SDGs and the UN Call for Action on Adaptation and Resilience, as outlined in the September 2021 ISO London Declaration. The London Declaration commits ISO to developing processes to:

• enable the active consideration of climate science and associated transitions in the development of all new and revised International Standards and publications;
• facilitate the involvement of civil society and those most vulnerable to climate change in the development of International Standards and publications.

ISO will develop and publish an Action Plan and Measurement Framework detailing concrete actions and initiatives and a reporting mechanism to track progress.

NOTE 1 ISO Guide 82 is currently under revision. The future edition is intended to contain new guiding principles for consistently assessing climate impacts, risks and opportunities in both new and revised standards involving digital technologies.

NOTE 2 Standards developers are encouraged to consider the mandatory committee-specific policies in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, for the development of sector-specific environmental management standards and sector-specific environmental Management System Standards.

NOTE 3 References to the Paris Agreement, UN SDGs and the London Declaration are available in the Bibliography. These include several key principles such as the "Just Transition" and "Common and Differentiated Responsibilities", both of which are referenced in the 2016 Paris Agreement.

Figure 1 provides a schematic overview of this document as a process for addressing climate change in standards.

Figure 1 — Schematic overview of this document

The international community has expressed a commitment to strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change in the context of sustainable development, common but differentiated responsibilities, respective capabilities and different national circumstances, including:

1. holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1,5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this will require greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be significantly reduced in order to minimize negative climate change impacts;
2. increasing the ability to mitigate and achieve low greenhouse gas emissions development in the short term and to achieve net zero GHG emissions in the medium to long term in support of the Paris Agreement;
3. increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low GHG emissions development, in a manner that does not threaten food production as well as other global goals as SDGs on adaptation established under the Paris Agreement.

NOTE 4 The 2018 IPCC Special Report^[37] identifies the impacts of global warming of 1,5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global GHG emission pathways.

Climate change affects many regions of the world and engenders significant impacts, risks and opportunities due to changing weather patterns, rising sea levels and more extreme weather events. Rapidly expanding urban areas are recognized to be particularly vulnerable. Climate extremes affecting urban systems, such as power supplies, can lead to cascading failures in other utilities and services compromising the safety, health and well-being of the population. The potential consequences of such climate-related impacts, risks and opportunities include the disruption of different environmental, social and economic systems within national economies, affecting communities and organizations, as well as individuals, with the poorest and most vulnerable people expected to be affected the most.

NOTE 5 Climate change impacts can affect population health, safety and the health of workers in organizations. Extreme climate events can lead to injuries, disease and ill-health.

Action is needed, involving both climate change mitigation and adaptation, to limit the effects of climate change impacts and risks and to consider opportunities resulting from climate change, while also contributing to limiting the increase in the world’s average surface temperature. Against this challenging outlook, the scope, need and opportunity for action on climate change is extensive.

While the Paris Agreement aims to increase the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change, the development of standards which incorporate appropriate, climate-relevant actions, should enhance the ability of organizations to address climate change challenges. Similarly, standards writers should consider that diverse organizations exist within countries and that climate-relevant actions should be guided by the key Paris Agreement principle of “equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances”. Climate-relevant actions within standards can need to consider the relevant scientific and technical developments and disparities among various countries. Standards writers should act to facilitate positive action, i.e. to favour “preparing performance rather than prescriptive standards”, as stated in the ISO Global Relevance Policy.

Performance standards should also be preferred when providing guidance on the use of technology appropriate, accessible tools for measuring climate actions, such as for GHG monitoring and climate adaptation tracking, including community-based monitoring frameworks.

Climate change is acknowledged as a foremost challenge with regards to the goal of sustainable development, which encompasses any state of the global system in which the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Standards that take into consideration climate change adaptation or mitigation, or both, can contribute to the achievement of sustainability, either directly (where they specifically address sustainability issues such as climate change) or indirectly (where they relate to testing, products, procedures, services, terminology, management systems or assessment). It is recognized that both climate change mitigation (CCM) and climate change adaptation (CCA) are important for all processes related to a technology, activity or product (TAP). Although there are very important interactions between CCM and CCA, the two are distinct and are addressed individually within this document.

Standards developers are encouraged to consider climate change issues in their work at all stages in the standards development process. If climate change issues have not been considered, this can be a valid reason to start the revision of a standard. In addition, the significance or relevance of specific issues can have changed since the previous edition of a standard was drafted or reviewed. Whenever a new standard is drafted, or an existing standard is revised, all standards developers (including project leaders, convenors, committee chairs, committee managers and secretaries) are encouraged to actively promote the application of this document, and to involve experts who are knowledgeable in the subject.

When standards developers address climate change in different existing or new standards, the result can be an increased awareness of climate change issues among the user community across various market sectors. Through the application of this document, users of such standards will be better able to address climate change mitigation or adaptation, or both, in ways that many would not have expected or considered. Furthermore, with entirely new standards, users will realize that there are new opportunities for the market to respond to these issues in ways not previously considered.

NOTE 6 The definitions listed in Clause 3 of this document are primarily taken from the most relevant ISO documents.  There are many definitions also available within sources outlined in bibliography (notably IPCC and UNFCCC).

Guidelines for addressing climate change in standards

This document provides guidelines for standards developers on how to take account of climate change in the planning, drafting, revision and updating of ISO International Standards and other deliverables.

It outlines a framework and general principles that standards developers can use to develop their own approach to addressing climate change on a subject-specific basis.

It aims to enable standards developers to include climate change mitigation (CCM) and climate change adaptation (CCA) considerations in their standardization work. Considerations related to CCM consist primarily of approaches that seek to avoid, reduce or limit the release of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and/or to increase GHG removals where appropriate. Considerations related to CCA are intended to contribute to increasing preparedness and disaster risk reduction as well as impacting the resilience of organizations and their technologies, activities or products (TAPs).

There are no normative references in this document.

For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.

ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

• ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
• IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/

climate

statistical description of weather in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of at least 30 (thirty) years or a period of time required by relevant authorities

Note 1 to entry: The classical period for averaging these variables is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization.

Note 2 to entry: The relevant quantities are most often near-surface variables such as temperature, precipitation and wind.

[SOURCE: ISO 14090:2019, 3.4, modified — In the definition, "over a period of time ranging from months to thousands or millions of years" has been replaced with "over a period of at least 30 (thirty) years or a period of time required by relevant authorities".]

climate change

change in climate- (3.1.1) relevant quantities that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer

Note 1 to entry: Change in climate can be identified (e.g. by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties.

Note 2 to entry: Climate change can be due to natural processes, internal to the climate system, or external forces, such as modulations of the solar cycles, volcanic eruptions, and persistent anthropogenic (3.1.36) changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use (3.1.37).

[SOURCE: ISO 14090:2019, 3.5, modified — In the definition, "change in climate" has been replaced with "change in climate-relevant quantities". Note 1 to entry has been rephrased.]

climate change adaptation

CCA

process of adjustment to actual or expected climate (3.1.1) and its effects

Note 1 to entry: In human systems, adaptation seeks to moderate or avoid harm or exploit beneficial opportunities.

Note 2 to entry: In some natural systems, human intervention can facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effects.

[SOURCE: ISO 14090:2019, 3.1, modified — The preferred term “adaptation to climate change” has been replaced with "climate change adaptation".]

climate change mitigation

CCM

human intervention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (3.1.13) or enhance greenhouse gas removals (3.1.14)

[SOURCE: ISO 14080:2018, 3.1.2.1, modified — In the definition, “to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases (GHGs)” has been replaced with “to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or enhance greenhouse gas removals”.]

climate change impact

effect on natural or human systems as a result of being exposed to climate change (3.1.2)

Note 1 to entry: Climate change impacts can be adverse or beneficial.

[SOURCE: ISO 14090:2019, 3.8, modified — The preferred term and definition have been contextualized to directly refer to climate change: the preferred term “impact” has been replaced with “climate change impact”, the words “as a result of being exposed to climate change” have been added to the definition, and the original Note 1 to entry has been replaced.]

climate change risk

risk (3.1.7) of negative climate change impacts (3.1.5) that reflects the interaction among vulnerability (3.1.8), exposure (3.1.10) and hazard (3.1.11)

Note 1 to entry: A risk assessment can include the consideration of vulnerabilities, exposure and climate change (3.1.2) hazards, or the consideration of likelihoods (3.1.44) and consequences (3.1.43).

[SOURCE: ISO 14080:2018, 3.1.3.3, modified — The preferred term has been changed from “climate risk” to “climate change risk”, the words “potential of negative impacts of climate change” have been replaced with “risk of negative climate change impacts”, and the original Note 1 to entry has been replaced.]

risk

effect of uncertainty on objectives

Note 1 to entry: An effect is a deviation from the expected. It can be positive, negative or both, and can address, create or result in opportunities and threats.

Note 2 to entry: Objectives can have different aspects and categories, and can be applied at different levels.

Note 3 to entry: Risk is usually expressed in terms of risk sources (3.1.41), potential events (3.1.42), their consequences (3.1.43) and their likelihood (3.1.44).

[SOURCE: ISO 31000:2018, 3.1]

vulnerability

propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected by climate (3.1.1) variability or change (3.1.2)

Note 1 to entry: Vulnerability encompasses a variety of concepts and elements including sensitivity (3.1.9) or susceptibility to harm and lack of capacity to cope and adapt.

[SOURCE: ISO 14090:2019, 3.15, modified — The definition has been contextualized to directly refer to climate variability or change: the words “by climate variability or change” have been added to the definition.]

sensitivity

degree to which a system or species is affected, either adversely or beneficially, by climate (3.1.1) variability or change (3.1.2)

[SOURCE: ISO 14080:2018, 3.1.3.7, modified — Note 1 to entry has been removed.]

exposure

presence of people, livelihoods, species or ecosystems, environmental functions, services, resources, infrastructure, or economic, social or cultural assets in places and settings that could be adversely affected by climate (3.1.1) variability or change (3.1.2)

Note 1 to entry: Exposure can change over time, for example as a result of land use (3.1.37) change.

[SOURCE: ISO 14090:2019, 3.6, modified — The definition has been contextualized to directly refer to effect of climate change and climate variability: the word “affected” has been replaced with “adversely affected by climate variability or change” in the definition.]

hazard

potential source of injury or damage to the health of people, or damage to property or the environment

Note 1 to entry: The potential for harm can be in terms of loss of life, injury or other health impacts, as well as damage and loss to property, infrastructure, livelihoods, service provision, ecosystems and environmental resources.

Note 2 to entry: In this document, the term usually refers to climate-related physical events (3.1.42) or trends or their physical impacts.

Note 3 to entry: Hazard comprises slow-onset developments (e.g. rising temperatures over the long term) as well as rapidly developing climatic extremes (e.g. a heatwave or a landslide) or increased variability.

[SOURCE: ISO 14090:2019, 3.7, modified — In the definition, the word “harm” has been replaced with “injury or damage to the health of people, or damage to property or the environment”.]

greenhouse gas

GHG

gaseous constituent of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic (3.1.36), that absorbs and emits radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere, and clouds

[SOURCE: ISO 14050:2020, 3.9.1]

greenhouse gas emission

GHG emission

release of a greenhouse gas (3.1.12) into the atmosphere

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2018, 3.1.5]

greenhouse gas removal

GHG removal

withdrawal of a greenhouse gas (3.1.12) from the atmosphere

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2018, 3.1.6, modified — The words “by GHG sinks” have been removed from the definition.]

greenhouse gas source

GHG source

process (3.1.35) that releases a greenhouse gas (3.1.12) into the atmosphere

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2018, 3.1.2]

greenhouse gas sink

GHG sink

process (3.1.35) that removes a greenhouse gas (3.1.12) from the atmosphere

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2018, 3.1.3]

carbon dioxide capture and storage

carbon capture and storage

CCS

process (3.1.35) consisting of the separation of CO₂ from industrial and energy-related sources, transportation and injection into a geological formation, resulting in long-term isolation from the atmosphere

Note 1 to entry: CCS is often referred to as "carbon capture and storage". This terminology is not encouraged because it is inaccurate: the objective is the capture of carbon dioxide and not the capture of carbon. Tree plantation is another form of carbon capture that does not describe precisely the physical process of removing CO₂ from surrounding air which could include some CO₂ from industrial emission sources.

Note 2 to entry: The term "sequestration" is also used alternatively to "storage". The term "storage" is preferred since “sequestration” is more generic and can also refer to biological processes (absorption of carbon by living organisms).

Note 3 to entry: Long-term means the minimum period necessary for geological storage of CO₂ to be considered an effective and environmentally safe climate change mitigation (3.1.4) option.

[SOURCE: ISO 27917:2017, 3.1.1, modified — The admitted term “carbon capture and storage” has been added, in Note 1 to entry "removing CO2 from industrial emission sources" has been replaced with "removing CO₂ from surrounding air which could include some CO₂ from industrial emission sources", and Notes 4 and 5 to entry have been removed.]

carbon dioxide capture and utilization

CCU

process (3.1.35) of separating (capturing) CO₂ from an industrial or manufacturing process or from air, and converting it for use as material feedstock within another product system (3.1.30)

Note 1 to entry: CCU is sometimes referred to as CO₂ transformation, CO₂ conversion, CO₂ recycling or CO₂ upcycling.

Note 2 to entry: Currently, the CO₂ that is captured is typically converted for use in creating fuels, chemicals or material feedstock or used directly for enhancing plant growth in horticulture or as a refrigerant in a liquid form.

greenhouse gas inventory

GHG inventory

list of greenhouse gas sources (3.1.15) and greenhouse gas sinks (3.1.16), and their quantified greenhouse gas emissions (3.1.13) and greenhouse gas removals (3.1.14)

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2018, 3.2.6]

greenhouse gas programme

GHG programme

voluntary or mandatory international, national or subnational system or scheme that registers, accounts or manages greenhouse gas emissions (3.1.13), greenhouse gas removals (3.1.14), greenhouse gas emission reductions (3.1.22) or greenhouse gas removal enhancements (3.1.23) outside the organization (3.1.40) or greenhouse gas project (3.1.21)

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2018, 3.2.8]

greenhouse gas project

GHG project

activity or activities that alter the conditions of a greenhouse gas baseline (3.1.24) and which cause greenhouse gas emission reductions (3.1.22) or greenhouse gas removal enhancements (3.1.23)

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2018, 3.2.7, modified — Note 1 to entry has been removed.]

greenhouse gas emission reduction

GHG emission reduction

quantified decrease in greenhouse gas emissions (3.1.13) between a baseline scenario (3.1.25) and the greenhouse gas project (3.1.21)

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-2:2019, 3.1.7]

greenhouse gas removal enhancement

GHG removal enhancement

quantified increase in greenhouse gas removals (3.1.14) between a baseline scenario (3.1.25) and the greenhouse gas project (3.1.21)

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-2:2019, 3.1.8]

greenhouse gas baseline

GHG baseline

quantitative reference(s) of greenhouse gas emissions (3.1.13) and/or greenhouse gas removals (3.1.14) that would have occurred in the absence of a greenhouse gas project (3.1.21) and that provides the baseline scenario (3.1.25) for comparison with project greenhouse gas emissions and/or greenhouse gas removals

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-2:2019, 3.2.5]

baseline scenario

hypothetical reference case that best represents the conditions most likely to occur in the absence of a proposed greenhouse gas project (3.1.21)

[SOURCE: ISO 14064-2:2019, 3.2.6]

life cycle

consecutive and interlinked stages related to a product (3.1.29), from raw material acquisition or generation from natural resources to end-of-life treatment

[SOURCE: ISO 14067:2018, 3.1.4.2, modified — Notes to entry have been removed.]

life cycle assessment

LCA

compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product system (3.1.30) throughout its life cycle (3.1.26)

[SOURCE: ISO 14040:2006, 3.2]

life cycle inventory analysis

LCI

phase of life cycle assessment (3.1.27) involving the compilation and quantification of inputs and outputs for a product (3.1.29) throughout its life cycle (3.1.26)

[SOURCE: ISO 14040:2006, 3.3]

product

goods or service

[SOURCE: ISO 14067:2018, 3.1.3.1, modified — Notes to entry have been removed.]

product system

collection of unit processes (3.1.31) with elementary flows and product flows, performing one or more defined functions and which models the life cycle (3.1.26) of a product (3.1.29)

[SOURCE: ISO 14067:2018, 3.1.3.2, modified — Note 1 to entry has been removed.]

unit process

smallest element considered in the life cycle inventory analysis (3.1.28) for which input and output data are quantified

[SOURCE: ISO 14040:2006, 3.34]

carbon footprint of a product

CFP

sum of greenhouse gas emissions (3.1.13) and greenhouse gas removals (3.1.14) in a product system (3.1.30), expressed as CO₂ equivalents (3.1.34) and based on a life cycle assessment (3.1.27) using the single impact category of climate change (3.1.2)

[SOURCE: ISO 14067:2018, 3.1.1.1, modified — Notes to entry have been removed.]

partial carbon footprint of a product

partial CFP

sum of greenhouse gas emissions (3.1.13) and greenhouse gas removals (3.1.14) of one or more selected process(es) (3.1.35) in a product system (3.1.30), expressed as CO₂ equivalents (3.1.34) and based on the selected stages or processes within the life cycle (3.1.26)

[SOURCE: ISO 14067:2018, 3.1.1.2, modified — Notes to entry have been removed.]

CO₂ equivalent

carbon dioxide equivalent

unit for comparing the radiative forcing of a greenhouse gas (3.1.12) to that of carbon dioxide

[SOURCE: ISO 14067:2018, 3.1.2.2, modified — The third preferred term and Notes to entry have been removed. The order of the first and second preferred terms has been inversed.]

process

set of interrelated or interacting activities that transforms inputs into outputs

[SOURCE: ISO 14067:2018, 3.1.3.5]

anthropogenic

resulting from or caused by human activity

land use

human use or management of land within the relevant boundary

Note 1 to entry: Typically, the relevant boundary is the product system (3.1.30) under study.

[SOURCE: ISO 14067:2018, 3.1.7.4, modified — The abbreviated term “LU” has been removed and the original Notes to entry have been replaced with the new Note 1 to entry.]

standards developer

individual or group taking part in the development of a standard

[SOURCE: ISO Guide 82:2019, 3.5]

interested party

stakeholder

person or organization (3.1.40) that can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision or activity

EXAMPLE Customers, communities, suppliers, regulators, non-governmental organizations, investors and employees.

[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2015, 3.1.6, modified — The additional preferred term “stakeholder” has been added, and Note 1 to entry has been deleted.]

organization

person or group of people that has its own functions with responsibilities, authorities and relationships to achieve its objectives

Note 1 to entry: The concept of organization includes, but is not limited to sole-trader, company, corporation, firm, enterprise, authority, partnership, charity or institution, or part or combination thereof, whether incorporated or not, public or private.

[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2015, 3.1.4]

risk source

element which alone or in combination has the potential to give rise to risk (3.1.7)

[SOURCE: ISO 31000:2018, 3.4]

event

occurrence or change of a particular set of circumstances

[SOURCE: ISO 31000:2018, 3.5, modified — Notes to entry have been removed.]

consequence

outcome of an event (3.1.42) affecting objectives

[SOURCE: ISO 31000:2018, 3.6, modified — Notes to entry have been removed.]

likelihood

chance of something happening

[SOURCE: ISO 31000:2018, 3.7, modified — Notes to entry have been removed.]

carbon neutral

condition in which, during a specified period of time, the carbon footprint has been reduced as a result of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions or GHG removal enhancements and, if greater than zero, is then counterbalanced by offsetting

[SOURCE: ISO 14068-1:2023, 3.1.1, modified — Notes to entry have been removed.]

carbon neutrality

state of being carbon neutral (3.1.45)

Note 1 to entry: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) distinguishes between carbon neutrality, a condition in which CO₂ emissions are balanced by CO₂ removals, and greenhouse gas (GHG) neutrality, in which all GHG emissions are balanced by GHG removals. The definition of carbon neutrality in this document is equivalent to the IPCC definition of GHG neutrality.

[SOURCE: ISO 14068-1:2023, 3.1.2.]

net zero

net zero GHG

condition in which “human-caused” residual greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by human-led removals over a specified period and within specified boundaries

Note 1 to entry: Human-led removals include ecosystem restoration, direct air carbon capture and storage, reforestation and afforestation, enhanced weathering, biochar and other effective methods.

Note 2 to entry: The word “human-caused” is intended to be understood as synonymous with the word “anthropogenic” in IPCC definitions.

[SOURCE: IPCC AR6 Working Group III Annex 1, definition of “net zero greenhouse gas emissions”, modified.]^[43]

avoided greenhouse gas emission

avoided GHG emission

potential effect on greenhouse gas emission that occurs outside the boundaries of the organization, but arising through the use of its products or services, outside Scope 1 emissions, Scope 2 emissions and Scope 3 emissions

[SOURCE: IWA 42:2002, 3.2.6]

Climate change is defined as the change in the state of the climate that can be identified by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. It is leading to a large-scale, long-term shift in the planet's weather patterns and average temperatures. Both natural processes and human activity can cause climate change.

Human activities over the past two centuries have significantly increased the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere, mainly (but not exclusively) in the form of carbon dioxide, both by modifying the ability of ecosystems to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and by emitting it directly, e.g. by burning fossil fuels and manufacturing goods with a high intensity of carbon such as concrete. Other human-caused GHGs are include methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and ozone (O₃). In this document, the term “Carbon” refers to/equals all greenhouse gases unless otherwise specified. Methane emitted, for example by organic waste, is a significant contributor to climate change. The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, and are accompanied by sea level rise, a strong decline in Arctic sea ice, and other climate-related changes. The average global surface temperature for the period 2011–2020 has reached approximately 1,1°C above temperatures for the period 1850–1900.^[40] Much of this warming has occurred since 1975. Anthropogenic influence on the climate system is clear, and recent emissions of GHGs are the highest in history.

Although there is natural variability in the Earth's climate, current climate change is well above historical variability. Natural factors that can contribute to interannual variability include aerosols and phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña (which cause warming and cooling of the Pacific Ocean surface). There is now an underlying trend of global warming, and a wide scientific consensus that this is due to the increase in GHGs being emitted by human activities.

The scientific consensus on climate change is now transferring into a growing number of political and economic frameworks. A foremost example, but not the only one, is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement,^[34] which has a long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. A further aim is to limit the increase to 1,5 °C, as this would significantly reduce climate change risks and climate change impacts. A further focus is the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognizing that this will take longer for developing countries. There is wide understanding that such transitions cannot be achieved by governments alone and that so called “non-state actors” will also be instrumental. This is important context for this document, which seeks to assist standards developers and users to contribute to and benefit from this transition by incorporating climate change considerations into a wide range of future standards.

One important aspect here is that atmospheric emissions are now so high, and the global warming trajectory is so severe, that some continued level of warming and climate change is widely seen as unavoidable. Environmental limits (sometimes referred to as planetary boundaries; see Annex C) are arguably already being exceeded on climate change with GHG emissions at an all-time high.

A source of potential climate change-related impacts and conflicts is occurring as a consequence of transgressing the planetary boundaries. Anthropogenic pressures on the Earth's system have reached a scale where the risk of abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. In reaction to this finding, the scientific community has proposed a new approach to global sustainability in which planetary boundaries within which humanity can operate safely are defined.

Two approaches or processes to address climate change in standards are separately outlined in this document. These are climate change mitigation (CCM) and climate change adaptation (CCA).

Climate change mitigation (CCM) consists primarily of approaches that seek to avoid, reduce or limit the release of GHG emissions that contribute to anthropogenic climate change, including actions that will increase the removal of GHG from the atmosphere (e.g. CCU activities such as carbon sequestration through woodland creation, conservation and wider land management practices). The ideal is to pursue a strategic approach, whereby overall emissions are quantified and reduced, assisting a transition towards a low or net zero carbon economy (See Clause 8). CCM activities are addressed in ISO 14064-1:2018, Clause 7 and ISO 14068-1:2023, Clause 10.

A range of direct or indirect mitigation actions are possible, sometimes presented within a hierarchy of avoiding emissions where possible (e.g. virtual meetings rather than travel), reducing emissions (e.g. through effective energy management and energy efficiency actions), substitution (e.g. using a low carbon product) and counterbalancing of residual emissions (e.g. carbon offsetting). Standards developers can consider, amend and incorporate new requirements and context (as appropriate) to help their standards to support GHG mitigation. Systems thinking (see 7.2.2) and life cycle considerations (see 7.2.3) can help standards developers to scope how the direct and indirect use of their standard can lead to GHG emissions.

Climate change adaptation (CCA) represents adjustments in ecological, social or economic systems in response to actual or expected climatic triggers or their effects or climate change impacts, risks and opportunities, with a subsequent improvement in resilience. CCA is equally as important as CCM. When drafting CCA provisions, standards developers should take into account both shorter and longer term weather-related climate change impacts, risks and opportunities associated with trends in monthly and seasonal averages, rising sea level, and changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events, such as unusual storms or floods.

NOTE Climate change impacts can affect population health, safety and the health of workers in organizations. Extreme climate events can lead to injuries, disease and ill-health.

While it is necessary to continue to mitigate climate change through the measurement and management of GHGs, it is also now recognized that the impacts of climate change are already observable, and more changes are expected. Measures to adapt to the current and expected future climate are also required. Although their stated objective can differ, adaptation and mitigation actions should, where possible, be carried out in concert with one another, especially to enhance co-benefits.

CCM and CCA are interrelated (see 8.2). For ease of use, this document addresses issues related to CCM and CCA separately. Mitigation involves having knowledge about the identification and quantification of sources of GHG emissions (and removals) and the different means of reducing (and increasing) those flows to (and from) the atmosphere. Adaptation involves having knowledge about vulnerabilities to climate change and the potential for future global and local climate projections that can be used to identify potential risks and opportunities when making decisions and developing responses to these impacts. Mitigation and adaptation involve complementary approaches, with adaptation focusing on addressing immediate and localized vulnerabilities, particularly in regions most affected by climate risks, while mitigation addresses long-term global GHG emission reductions

Standards developers should identify any policies applicable to the organization involved that address relevant aspects and potential climate change hazards, impacts, risks and opportunities at all stages of the life cycle of a product or during the testing process. In the absence of an applicable policy, the standards developers should consider addressing such issues according to considerations established by their committee. In addition, standards developers should consider a risk-based approach (see 7.2.4) when taking into account and responding to climate change.

NOTE In this document, unless otherwise stated, the term “committee” includes technical committees (TC), project committees (PC) and subcommittees (SC).

Depending on the nature of the relevant climate change impacts, risks and opportunities identified and the scope of the standard, standards developers should decide if such provisions need to be included in a standard as requirements, recommendations or informative statements, considering principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR). Existing information related to climate change, including information that has already been the subject of standardization, can be used to identify and evaluate relevant and significant issues. A preliminary scoping exercise should also be carried out to determine the relevance and significance of the various issues. Further details are provided in Clause 8.

The application of appropriate principles is fundamental in ensuring that significant climate change impacts, risks and opportunities are considered when developing standards. These principles are the basis for, and will guide the application of, future requirements and guidance in the context of climate change.

Standards development is an interactive process of drafts and reviews taking into account science (including the latest research), best practice, practicality, technical rigour, consensus and market implementation. Standards developers should be diligent in checking summaries of internationally accepted climate change research, such as the IPCC Assessment Reports,^[38]-[40] data and information from national meteorological services, and other sources of relevance to their TAPs.

Standards development relies on clear and concise concepts, terms and definitions. Standards should be understandable and unambiguous.

Care should be taken in the translation of language and interpretation of potential meanings across cultural, technical, regulatory and legal domains. This attention is especially important when addressing specific climate change issues. As the taxonomies and lexicons of climate change are evolving differently around the world, standards developers need to be aware of these differences.

EXAMPLE The use of terms such as “zero carbon” can have different meanings depending on the jurisdiction, policy objectives, governmental perspectives and sector.

Standards development is designed for the widest audience possible. Developing countries and minority voices should be encouraged to contribute by facilitating participation and eliminating barriers as much as possible.

EXAMPLE 1 Virtual standards development approaches such as online meetings can be used to encourage wider participation.

EXAMPLE 2 Capacity and technology building approaches, such as webinars, workshops or twinning partnerships between ISO member bodies can help experts to overcome challenges and limitations to participate in the development of standards.

When identifying relevant and significant climate change issues, standards developers should be aware of and, where possible, incorporate perspectives and develop consensus from a variety of countries and regions. It is important to recognize that developing countries, which are typically underrepresented in standards development, are expected to be impacted disproportionally by climate change. For this reason, their perspective related to climate change issues is important.

Inclusive involvement of all stakeholders can ensure their perspectives shape climate change considerations.

Systems thinking often requires a committee to look outside its own area of expertise, and it should liaise with other relevant committees when doing so.

Standards development is a transparent process relative to decision-making and activities. Standards developers should present information in a manner that is open and comprehensive when they consider different climate change issues relative to the context of a particular standard and its provisions (if any). Any inherent limitations to the standard should be clearly communicated to the intended users. In the context of climate change issues, the justification of relevance and significance is critical.

Standards development decisions are made with fairness and equity among all international participants where no party dominates or guides the process. The ISO standards development process has evolved with this in mind.

Addressing climate change can result in many differences of opinion and even controversy. To be effective, standards developers should understand and embrace ISO’s standards development process.

NOTE The concept of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) related to equity and specific national circumstances is acknowledged as an important consideration under the Paris Agreement.

Certain materials, technologies, products and services perform better in relation to future climate risks (mitigation and/or adaptation). This difference in performance should be acknowledged by standards developers. Such improved performance should be promoted in standards.

NOTE "Technologies" also include digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Ledger Technology, which can either alleviate or exacerbate climate risks, depending on their design and deployment.

Standards developers should consider the dynamics of climate change, including the uncertainties, over the short and long term and the consequence of climate change and its social, environmental and economic impacts for the subject of their standards.

NOTE Further information on timescales and future considerations is given in Clause B.7.

Climate change concepts (adaptation, mitigation and adaptation-mitigation) can be addressed either within an existing committee or by establishing a new committee, as applicable to a particular TAP.

NOTE Consideration of climate change is expected to occur primarily within the existing ISO committee structure.

Existing or new TCs can choose to establish a new SC, a new Working Group (WG), or simply adopt a committee policy on climate change (e.g. recognizing and recommending use of this document). This is to ensure that any new work item undertaken within a committee work programme includes the consideration of these climate change concepts and whether they are to be addressed within the scope of the document, as applicable.

The consideration of climate change, as applicable to a particular TAP, should also be addressed within a TC’s strategic business plan.

Existing committees should include the review and discussion of the different aspects of climate change, as applicable to their respective TAP. Following the publication of this document, this can occur at their next plenary meetings or via committee forums, as convenient. TCs should also consider updating their strategic business plans within 18 months after the publication of this document.

Regardless of the approach (if any) chosen to address climate change within a particular document, the guidelines in 6.2 should be followed for the initial planning of this work.

Regardless of the approach (if any) chosen to address climate change in the TC strategic business plan, the guidelines in 6.3 should be followed for planning and execution of this work.

Guidance for review and revision of existing documents to address climate change is provided in 6.4.

Climate change should be taken into account during the formation of committees and in subsequent phases of the development process of standards.

This enables climate change to be integrated into the scope, structure and work plan of a committee from the start, as well as promoting awareness of climate change amongst the committee’s leadership and participants, and clarifying that climate change considerations will be an integral part of the committee’s work. The considerations that should be taken into account at this stage include the following.

1. Scope: Has climate change been taken into account in a manner appropriate to the subject matter of the committee?
2. Structure: How will climate change be addressed through the structure of the committee? Options include:

• including climate change as a discrete issue to be dealt with by a committee;
• creating a task force on climate change;
• integrating climate change into the efforts of each committee or WG;
• a combination of these options.

1. Participation: Will the committee have the appropriate participation (consistent with and taking into account the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, and guidance on participation), in terms of both diversity of stakeholders and expertise, to effectively address climate change issues? What measures can be taken to address any shortcomings?

When a committee is created, the documentation should include a description of how each of these questions has been addressed. It is recommended that existing committees also go through this process and update their scope, structure and participation processes accordingly. These same concepts can be applied to the formation of one or more SCs within a TC.

ISO requires each TC to prepare a strategic business plan for its field of activity within 18 months of its creation. The strategic business plan is reviewed by the ISO Technical Management Board (TMB).

NOTE PCs and SCs are not required to prepare a strategic business plan.

As outlined in this document, each strategic business plan should include a climate change planning component that describes how the TC intends to address climate change in its work. TCs currently in existence should update their strategic business plans to include climate change considerations.

The climate change component(s) of the strategic business plan should be appropriate to the TC’s field of work, given that climate change issues, particularly as they relate to whether the TC will consider adaptation, mitigation or both, can be more directly implicated in some areas of standardization than in others. The climate change plan should include:

• defined processes describing how climate change will be taken into account in the selection of new work items, including the setting of the scope of such work items;
• programmes for ensuring that TC participants are aware of climate change and how it applies to standards development, including the guidance provided in this document;
• a description of how the work of the TC will be reviewed with respect to the identification of relevant general principles and approaches related to climate change, and how particular adaptation and/or mitigation issues can emerge in the context of the standard being developed.

The strategic business plan should identify relevant climate change issues that can be applicable to all or most of the TC’s work. The strategic business plan should be updated regularly. Alternatively, relevant climate change issues can be identified at SC or WG level, or on a document-by-document basis, or by a combination of these approaches, as appropriate (e.g. a TC-wide evaluation of climate change issues can be fine-tuned at both SC and WG levels).

The value of the climate change component of the strategic business plan is in its implementation in the standards development process itself. Central to the success of the plan are the processes to verify that relevant climate change issues are being identified and addressed in the documents being produced.

All ISO standards are required to undergo regular systematic reviews. If a standard has not previously addressed climate change adequately, this can be used as an argument for proposing a revision and it should be considered by the committee conducting the systematic review and the experts in the national mirror committees when making a decision on whether to revise the standard or not. Committees and experts should bear in mind that the relevance or significance of specific climate change issues can have changed since the previous edition of a standard was drafted or reviewed.

When revising an existing standard, the WG can have an advantage based on their previous experience in the implementation of the standard. The WG should consider any requirements for mitigation and adaptation in each of the relevant clauses that can be impacted by climate change. The WG should consider involving new experts who have the appropriate expertise in mitigation and adaptation. The development of a new standard provides the opportunity for the WG to consider climate change impacts, risks and opportunities, and incorporate them at the New Work Item Proposal (NWIP) stage. One approach to identify appropriate interventions is through the use of flow charts and decision trees.

The flow chart in Figure 2 indicates a logical sequence for the development of provisions for CCA and CCM for new and existing standards, and provides some guidance on questions for consideration.

Figure 2 — Development sequences for new and existing standards

After determining the general strategy under the strategic business plan for addressing climate change within the committee work, agreement should be reached on how it would be applied in the context of a specific standardization project. Unlike strategic planning, which is usually carried out at TC/PC level, this task is usually performed within the WG responsible for developing the technical content for a particular standard.

Addressing climate change in standards is an iterative exercise in order to reflect new changes and trends as they develop. A number of approaches are outlined and described in the following subclauses. These are described so that standards developers can understand the range of approaches they can consider and use when addressing CCM and CCA. In many cases, standards developers can draw on elements of all approaches outlined:

• systems approach;
• life cycle approach;
• risk-based approach; and
• precautionary approach.

Systems thinking suggests that, when considering a certain climate change issue within a given TAP, the related sub-systems (which can also be TAPs) should also be considered, because they are all interconnected and interdependent.

Systems thinking can be useful where the standardization subject is operating within a dynamic wider system and where there are multiple direct and indirect interactions.

An overview of interconnections and interdependencies, derived from an understanding of the overall system, can help standards developers to scope and focus their considerations on priority sub-systems.

For example, a systemic approach can be used to evaluate climate-related sub-systems, which can affect the performance of a TAP and the interactions with that TAP. Standards developers should therefore identify whether their standardization subject interfaces with any climate influenced TAPs and consider steps to make sure that their subject does not constrain action at these interfaces. This can include consideration of the supply chain and other processes within the system such as the wider value chain associated with the subject.

When developing standards for adaptation purposes, it can be helpful for standards developers to follow a systems thinking approach. Annex A contains a more detailed discussion, including examples of systems mapping for using systems thinking to set boundaries for climate change.

NOTE Annex A is reproduced from ISO 14090:2019, Annex A.

As outlined in ISO Guide 82:2019, Clause 7, systems thinking encourages the internalization of costs. Economic costs are often externalized in the form of environmental and social impacts, for which the monetary costs are not necessarily known. Similarly, by including appropriate provisions directly within the text, standards developers can also encourage the users of the standards to apply systems thinking in the application of the standard. For more information on the systems approach, see Clause A.2.

Life cycle thinking examines all stages of the life cycle of a particular activity or product in order to identify the widest range of relevant climate change issues.

A life cycle approach can be useful for approaches to CCA and CCM where the standardization subject has multi-stage interactions. From a purely climate change standpoint, an example of the range of issues related to the life cycle of manufactured equipment can include the supply chain (e.g. GHG emissions during sourcing and transporting) and GHG emissions resulting from the manufacturing stage, as well as the impact resulting from its distribution and operation during the use stage of the equipment. The end-of-life stage can involve consideration of issues related to designing for disassembly, which can impact the ability to minimize GHG emissions during recovery and reuse or recycle of materials. The life cycle approach can also be used to address economic and social aspects and their climate change impacts, risks and opportunities (e.g. as assessed in life cycle costing and social life cycle assessments). For more information on the life cycle approach, see Clause B.3.

Figure 3 shows how the life cycle stages of goods, services, testing, and infrastructure and buildings compare.

NOTE 1 Material and product life cycles can form part of the life cycle of services as well as buildings and infrastructure.

NOTE 2 Testing can take place in different stages of a material or product life cycle.

NOTE 3 Adapted from CEN/CENELEC Guide 32:2016, Figure 2.^[31]

Figure 3 — Life cycle stages

Figure 4 shows examples of the climate drivers, climate change impacts and consequences for life cycle stages as it relates to the particular object of consideration. The list of climate change implications is not exhaustive.

Key

NOTE Adapted from CEN/CENELEC Guide 32:2016, Figure 3.^[31]

Figure 4 — Climate drivers, climate change impacts and consequences for life cycle stages

The risk-based approach is not the same as a conventional risk assessment (e.g. based on ISO 31000), which uses statistical probabilities to evaluate the risk, because climate change risks are very particular in nature and their short- or long-term probability is hard to be determined in advance. Nevertheless, the risk-based approach uses elements of conventional risk assessment. In comparison, risk management is a comprehensive approach to identifying, analyzing, evaluating, treating, monitoring and communicating risks across an organization. It involves evaluating the severity of risks and determining the appropriate actions to manage or mitigate them.

The risk-based approach involves identifying impacts (e.g. evaluating the nature and significance of risks and vulnerabilities) and then managing those risks in accordance with climate change criteria and other considerations that are determined to be applicable to the situation. Risk management actions can include eliminating the risk entirely (e.g. by not undertaking the activity), decreasing the risk associated with the activity (e.g. by modifying the activity), mitigating the consequences of the activity, accepting some or all of the risk, or a combination of these approaches.

For risk-based analysis, it is necessary to identify and evaluate all relevant risks. For the risk assessment, both the probability and the expected extent of impacts should be quantified as far as possible. Currently, the probability of climate change impacts (e.g. severe weather events) is mostly based on computational modelling. In the context of risk management, the extent to which some impacts are still acceptable for the affected communities and businesses should be examined. Standards developers should refer to latest IPCC climate trajectories to assess and analyze risks and their potential impact.

This can provide information on the necessary measures for risk mitigation with different adaptation options. Individuals and organizations have different objectives and attitudes to risk (how much risk they are prepared to accept) so in many cases it is not appropriate to standardize the outcome of a risk assessment, especially in an organization. However, at the level of the product, the main objective should be seen as fit for purpose and a risk-based approach can provide clarity on adaptation relevant for the product development. For more information on the risk-based approach, see Clause B.4.

NOTE While following a risk-based approach, it is important to consider potential for missed opportunities.

Risk management is a comprehensive approach to identifying, analyzing, evaluating, treating, monitoring and communicating risks across an organization. It involves evaluating the severity of risks and determining the appropriate actions to manage or mitigate them.

The risk-based approach is workable if the risks are well known and quantifiable in a credible way. The precautionary approach deals with risks with poorly known outcomes and poorly known probability, making this traditional approach problematic. The precautionary approach suggests that, where uncertainties in climate change projections and/or adverse impacts have been identified, the lack of full scientific certainty is not used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to help prevent or reduce environmental degradation or damage to human health. While the precautionary approach can provide a basis for acting in the absence of scientific certainty, available scientific information should be relied upon, and efforts should be made to identify and close gaps in the relevant scientific knowledge.

Examples of precautionary robust adaptation options for extreme weather events (e.g. storms, floods, droughts) include the development of early warning systems, land use controls in vulnerable areas, developing insurance and compensation arrangements, modifying building codes and setting up international cost sharing mechanisms. For more information on the precautionary approach, see Clause B.5.

With reference to the approaches and principles outlined in 7.2 (approaches) and 5.2 (principles), standards developers should identify those that are considered relevant and significant for the subject area for which a standard is being drafted. Many sources of information about responses to climate change can be useful in this process. These sources include GHG inventories at the organizational level, climate-related financial risk reporting, studies on climate change risks, trends, scenarios and/or projections, legal requirements, product declarations, sustainability reports, impact assessment reports, published peer-reviewed scientific studies and the results of stakeholder consultations.

Climate change issues can also be identified by considering the latest science of climate change from the latest IPCC Assessment reports or the evolving scientific insights into the planetary boundaries.

Responses to climate change are typically discussed in terms of mitigation of climate change and adaptation to the effects of climate change and their global, regional and local challenges. Interactions between mitigation requirements to reach the goals set out in the UNFCCC Paris Agreement^[34] and appropriate adaptation strategies are therefore very important. Adaptation strategies could consider the differentiated capacities and responsibilities of developed and developing countries to ensure equity and effectiveness. A broad number of potential issues can arise, including the following:

1. climate change impacts, risks and opportunities on organizations, including communities, cities, countries and regions;
2. climate change impacts, risks and opportunities related to the activities performed by an organization;
3. climate change impacts, risks and opportunities related to the development, deployment or utilization of technologies;
4. climate change impacts, risks and opportunities related to the production and supply chain, use, end-of-life of products, taking into account a life cycle approach;
5. financing to support mitigation of climate change impacts, risks and opportunities or fund adaptation measures;
6. the rate and intensity of climate change (as measured in terms of radiative forcing on the Earth’s surface), both in terms of:
7. global warming as an average value around the Earth, and
8. global warming in localized hotspots;
9. the severity of weather events associated with climate change.

Table 1 can be used to make a preliminary assessment as to whether a document addresses climate change issues. The list of climate change issues in column A is not exhaustive.

NOTE Table B.1 provides an example of Table 1 for the preliminary scoping of climate change issues/topics related to a sustainable events standard.

Table 1 — Preliminary scoping of climate change (CC) issues/topics related to the standard

Not all climate change issues are relevant to all types of standards. In order to identify which climate change issues are relevant, standards developers should consider such issues in the context of the subject and scope of the standard, its intended users, and the overall goal of the standard.

To determine relevance, standards developers should:

• understand and discuss the scope of the specific standard, and identify the relevant climate change impacts, risks and opportunities;
• identify and, where appropriate, engage relevant stakeholders and experts;
• identify the ways in which the standard, depending on its content, can either positively or negatively affect CCM or CCA.

It is important to consider the timing of any climate change impacts, risks and opportunities, so standards developers should identify both the issues that arise from the day-to-day use or application of the organization’s or technology’s climate change impacts, risks and opportunities, and the issues that arise only occasionally under very specific circumstances.

When relevant climate change issues have been identified, standards developers should examine these issues and develop criteria for deciding whether any of them have any significance for the standard intended. The significance of an issue that has been identified as relevant according to the scope of a standard is related to the potential magnitude of its climate change impacts, risks and opportunities and whether the climate change impact, risk or opportunity is positive or negative (see 7.3.2 and 8.2), direct or specific, or indirect and cumulative. A consideration is the vulnerability of the subject (e.g. individual person, group of persons, flora, fauna) to any potential climate change threat. The significance of an issue can vary, independently of how relevant it is.

When determining level of significance, standards developers can use criteria drawn from topics such as:

• the direct and indirect climate change impact, risk and opportunities on organizations, including communities, cities, countries and regions;
• the impact of an organization on climate or climate change;
• the exceedance of regulatory or voluntary norms or science-based targets;
• planetary boundaries; and
• the concerns of stakeholders/interested parties.

NOTE The London Declaration includes a principle of Inclusive participation as follows: to facilitate the involvement of civil society and those most vulnerable to climate change in the development of International Standards and publications.

When the relevant and significant climate change issues have been identified, standards developers need to decide whether and how to provide guidance or requirements within the standard, according to the scope of the standard.

Standards developers are also encouraged to introduce and/or apply existing methods and standards for quantifying GHG emissions and removals and assessing climate change impacts, risks and opportunities, where appropriate.

If such provisions are included directly in a standard, it is more likely that using the standard will effectively address any negative climate change impact, risk and opportunity, as well as enhancing any beneficial climate change impact, risk and opportunity.

There can be several appropriate ways to address these issues. The resources and capabilities to implement particular solutions can vary considerably.

Climate change experts recognize that both mitigation and adaptation are needed to tackle climate change and its impacts, risks and opportunities. Simply stated, even if all GHG emissions due to human activities are reduced significantly from now on, climate change will still occur because of historical GHG emissions.

Mitigation and adaptation approaches differ in many respects. For example, there is a focus on different target groups. This implies that decision criteria, parameters and reporting are different for adaptation than for mitigation.

As a result, it is helpful to refer to a conceptualized approach of interrelationships between mitigation and adaptation, where there are synergies on one hand and trade-offs on the other hand.

Adaptation measures being considered in a new or revised standard can result in more GHG emissions, and mitigation measures can result in unintended effects on climate change resilience and adaptation.

Four types of interrelationships can be identified:

• adaptation actions that have positive and negative implications for mitigation;
• mitigation actions that have positive and negative implications for adaptation;
• decisions that include trade-offs or synergies between mitigation and adaptation;
• processes that have positive and negative implications for both mitigation and adaptation.

Regarding this typology, the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report^[34] (Chapter 18, pp. 745-777) provides a broad framework for looking at the potential synergies and/or trade-offs. The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report^[39] (Chapter 1, p. 184) builds on these interrelationships. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report^[40] uses the concept of climate resilient development to inform co-ordinated implementation of mitigation and adaptation solutions to support sustainable development for all.

Avoiding conflicts and building synergies between mitigation and adaptation approaches is of great importance, both for the selection of options regarding action and for the prioritization of measures to adapt to climate change impacts, risks and opportunities.

Standards developers should be aware of the significant gap between present levels of mitigation activity and the levels of mitigation needed to ensure that anthropogenic emission levels are brought within acceptable planetary boundaries.

CCM is a shared challenge and responsibility of all countries and organizations. Present levels of GHG emissions are not sustainable and are already leading to levels of global warming that jeopardize human health and safety, biodiversity, and the integrity of the built environment. Standards developers have a role to play in facilitating the transition to the low carbon economy that is needed to achieve international goals for limiting global warming to acceptable levels within planetary boundaries.

Standards should promote avoidance of GHG emissions, and reductions in GHG emissions wherever possible. After avoidance, promoting energy management and continually improving energy efficiency should be the goal for the use of fuels, electricity, and heating and cooling. Further, substitution of high global warming potential (GWP) industrial gases and refrigerants should be pursued, and also increasing the use of low carbon energy. Finally, where avoidance, reduction and substitution strategies are not feasible, standards developers should take into account options for counterbalancing for GHG emissions. Counterbalancing should be viewed not as an end in itself but rather as a means to incentivize the most readily achievable emission reductions, while giving additional time to emitters that require longer timeframes for transitioning to a low carbon economy. Working through a GHG hierarchy approach [e.g. as described in ISO 14068-1:2023, 4.4 (Hierarchy approach), 5.2 (Carbon neutrality management hierarchy) and 10.1 (GHG emission reductions)], as shown in Figure 5 can help standards developers to consider the standard’s potential to mitigate these emissions. The guidance in 8.3.2 to 8.3.11 primarily addresses managing and reducing GHG emissions from GHG sources. However, standards developers should also consider GHG removals and the potential for increased use of negative emission technologies in the years to come.

Figure 5 — Mitigation hierarchy approach for incorporating GHG management into new and revised standards

Strategies to avoid or reduce GHG emissions due to combustion of fuels include reducing demand in order to use less, improving combustion efficiency of engines and turbines, substituting more fuel-efficient combustion units, and switching to lower GHG-emitting fuels or to electricity from sustainable sources

NOTE Fossil fuels include coal, petroleum-based products such as gasoline, diesel, aviation jet fuel (kerosene), and natural gas. The primary GHG generated from the oxidation of the fuel is carbon dioxide (CO₂). In addition, smaller amounts of combustion by-products are also produced. These include methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O).

Standards developers should consider baseline data associated with the GHG emissions of the organization, project, process, supply chain, product or technology that is the subject of standardization. These data should typically be based on a life cycle perspective, i.e. emissions associated with the production, distribution, use, and end-of-life of the energy components under consideration. Standards developers should consider using performance metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of energy performance improvement initiatives. Standards developers should also consider using performance metrics to measure the effectiveness of CO₂ capture and fugitive emissions reductions where appropriate. Encouraging the collection, analysis and disclosure/reporting of data can highlight decreases in GHG emissions and assist organizations, trade associations, and national governments in demonstrating conformity with nationally determined contributions or voluntary science-based targets aimed at CCM.

Standards developers should encourage best practices in the maintenance of equipment that uses industrial gases, in order to prevent avoidable leakage and venting of refrigerants to the atmosphere. Many countries have adopted regulations concerning the production, use and reclaiming of industrial gases, as well as the servicing of equipment that use them. Recycling programmes for refrigerants in gaseous and liquid forms and for solid foams produced from industrial gases can be either mandatory or voluntary. Standards developers should be informed about applicable regulations, voluntary emission reduction programmes, product stewardship schemes and carbon offset programmes that encourage adherence to best practices for avoiding or reducing emissions from these GHG sources.

The utilization of fluorinated industrial gases contributes about the same amount of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions to the global inventory of greenhouse gases as the global aviation industry. Industrial gases include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases used as refrigerants and in the manufacture of insulating foams are regulated under the Montreal Protocol,^[40] which established specific target dates by which the production and use of CFCs need to be phased out. Where similar performance metrics can be achieved, standards developers should encourage the substitution of lower GWP industrial gases for higher GWP gases.

NOTE Some CFCs are not included in GHG inventories so far as they are classified under the Montreal Protocol as “ozone depleting substances”, and for this reason are being phased out.

Some industries generate GHG emissions from industrial processes as well as from combustion of fuels. These process emissions derive from the transformation of raw materials into manufactured products. Standards developers should remain open to specifying or accommodating less carbon-intensive products or tools used to mitigate emissions (e.g. 8.4.3) where the opportunity to do so arises.

EXAMPLE Glass is made from a mix of raw materials that includes carbonates, and these release CO₂ during the glass manufacturing process. Likewise, the manufacture of cement releases CO₂ when a calcination reaction occurs in the cement kiln. Some pulp and paper facilities use calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) or sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃) in their processes, and these materials release CO₂ during lime kiln and chemical recovery operations. Steel manufacturing releases CO₂ during the processing of carbonaceous material in ovens and furnaces.

Agriculture, forestry and crop farming contribute nearly a quarter of global GHG emissions. This category includes CO₂ emissions due to deforestation, CH₄ released during cultivation of certain crops, such as rice, and N₂O released due to excess application of fertilizers to field crops. Sustainable forest management including reforestation and afforestation can increase carbon sequestration. The introduction of best management practices on agricultural land, such as no-till or low-till cultivation, increases soil carbon. The use of monitored soil data in micro grids can result in a reduction of N₂O emissions by allowing the application of the precise amount of nitrogen-based fertilizers that growing crops need.

The elements in the FAO and Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture^[46] emphasizes the importance of agriculture and food security in the climate change agenda.

Livestock operations can be a source of methane emissions, particularly in large dairy operations and in concentrated animal feedlot operations. Standards developers should be aware of the various existing strategies to mitigate GHG emissions from livestock operations such as the choice of animal species/breed, the choice of feed types, feeding management, or manure management. Regarding manure management, standards developers should be aware that available bio-digester technologies allow for the capture of CH₄ from livestock operations. This gas (also referred to as biogas or bio-methane) can be used as a fuel for electricity generation or other uses such as for cooking or heating, vehicle fuel, and pipeline gas. Use of bio-digester gases can also reduce methane emissions and contribute to a reduction in the use of fossil fuels. This contributes to reductions in GHG emissions. Bio-digester-produced CH₄ (bio-methane) can qualify for carbon credits under various regulatory or voluntary GHG programmes.

NOTE 1 While the use of animal manure as a soil amendment can be beneficial for a small operator with few animals and a sufficient amount of cultivated farmland, larger operators typically manage livestock manure as a waste. In typical large operations, liquid and solid wastes are flushed into a basin or lagoon where anaerobic conditions develop. These conditions result in the generation of CH₄ that, without controls, is vented to the atmosphere.

NOTE 2 In some jurisdictions, air quality regulations have begun to address this GHG emission source. However, in the majority of countries, GHG emissions from livestock operations remain a significant contributor of GHGs at the national level.

The largest source of GHG emissions from waste management derive from landfill operations associated with the disposal of household (sanitary) and industrial (technical) waste.

NOTE Both streams of waste (household and industrial) include organic materials that decompose over time. Solid wastes disposed in a landfill are covered with soil and become anaerobic. Under these conditions, CH₄ is generated and, in the absence of collection systems, is vented to the atmosphere.

Standards developers should be aware of the variety of waste management practice and their respective performance with regard to climate change. For instance, the improvement of collection and early sorting of waste is likely to considerably increase the proportion of material being reused, recycled and recovered and thereby decrease the amount of landfilled wastes and their related emissions. Regarding the residual proportion of waste being landfilled, standards developers should be aware that existing technologies permit the collection and valorization of CH₄ from landfill operations. This gas can be flared to convert higher GWP CH₄ to lower GWP CO₂, used as a fuel for electricity generation or other local needs, or upgraded to pipeline quality natural gas. The use of this landfill gas (also referred to as "biogas" or "bio-methane" after upgrading) helps mitigate methane emissions and provides an alternative energy source in many cases. Landfill gas–produced CH₄ (bio-methane) can qualify for carbon credits under various regulatory or voluntary GHG programmes.

Standards developers should be aware that CO₂ emissions from the combustion of biomass are sometimes considered carbon neutral, on the basis that CO₂ released from sustainably managed biomass is part of the natural carbon cycle and serves as an alternative energy source. Similarly, emissions of CO₂ from fermentation, such as in brewing or in the conversion of lignocellulose to sugars, are not considered to be anthropogenic emissions. This accounting convention does not apply to combustion by-products such as CH₄ or N₂O. Standards developers can consult ISO documents on the subject of GHG accounting (e.g. ISO 14060-1, ISO 14060-2, ISO 14060-3) or regulatory frameworks for accounting rules that apply in various jurisdictions.

NOTE ISO 14067:2018, Annex E, provides guidance on quantifying GHG emissions and removals for agricultural and forestry products.

Road transportation fuel combustion accounts for approximately 25 % of global GHG emissions.^[38] Strategies for reducing road transport emissions include:

• improving vehicle fuel efficiency;
• changing mode, behaviour patterns and efficiency of transport use;
• network and logistics planning;
• electrification of vehicles;
• use of renewable compressed or liquid biomethane, biofuels or synthetic fuels as transport fuel; and
• use of hydrogen fuel cells with renewable hydrogen.

Additionally, circular economy practices for vehicles can provide lower carbon options for existing fleets.

NOTE Renewable hydrogen is hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water, using renewable electricity.

The aviation sector contributes approximately 3 % of global GHG emissions. Industry initiatives to reduce emissions, or to achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020, include improvement of jet engine fuel efficiency, reduction of fuel consumption from flight operations improvements, and increased use of low-carbon and sustainable aviation fuel. Substitution of aviation by train travel or substitution of displacement of persons by electronic means of transport are other means for reducing climate impacts from aviation.

The maritime shipping sector contributes approximately 2,5 % of global GHG emissions. Industry initiatives to reduce emissions from this sector include “slow steaming” to improve fuel efficiency per tonne/kilometre, switching to low sulfur fuels to reduce emissions of black carbon, and replacement of high GWP refrigerants with low GWP refrigerants.

NOTE Reduction of sulfur emissions can result in the enhancement of global warming because of the cooling (masking) effect of sulphate particles. However, not reducing sulfur can have other environmental impacts.

Energy management is a central element in achieving significant GHG emission reductions. While both goals, economic efficiency and CCM, are important, the standards developer’s attention is drawn to the role of energy efficiency and energy management as a crucial approach in meeting climate goals. In this context, it is possible that simply monetizing GHG emissions reductions does not actually result in the full level of efficiency that is both attainable and cost-effective without additional governance instruments. Policies are already in place to drive energy efficiency in some areas, however more developments in energy efficiency and energy performance improvements are expected.

NOTE 1 As an example, Article 8 of the European Energy Efficiency Directive^[49] includes a requirement for large enterprises to identify energy savings. ISO 50001 and ISO 14001 are both referenced as compliance options in the directive.

NOTE 2 ISO 14007 and ISO 14008 provide information on concepts on monetization.

NOTE 3 ISO 50006 details the concept of energy performance and methodologies used to demonstrate energy performance improvement.

Wind, solar and other renewable energy sources are steadily increasing their share in energy consumption across the world and this trend is driving down GHG emissions from electricity generation, the heating and cooling of buildings, and transport. Renewables have become a major contributor to the energy transition. Increased deployment of low-carbon energy in combination with activating energy efficiency potentials is contributing to emissions reductions and will be essential if global temperature rise is to be limited. Standards developers should take into account low-carbon energy technologies as a continuing trend for lowering GHG emissions. Renewable energy encompasses multiple low carbon technologies including alternative fuels. Many renewable energy technologies are now competitive with fossil fuel-based alternatives in some regions, driven by regulation and technology development with improvement in efficiency and a decrease in costs. However, regional and sectoral limitations still impact their competitiveness on a global scale. Opportunities exist to facilitate and incentivize the adoption of low-carbon energy technologies in an environment of changing policies, standards and market and regulatory frameworks. Challenges remain to ensure system reliability and security of supply while increasing the role of low-carbon energy technologies, such as renewables and nuclear. This is supported by accelerating energy storage solutions and coordination of electricity supply systems. For example, industry, transport and the building sectors sometimes need to use more low-carbon energy. In these sectors, low-carbon sources including increased renewable or nuclear electricity supply, but also solar thermal, geothermal energy and bioenergy, need to play important roles.

EXAMPLE The European Renewable Energy Directive^[50] set a 10 % target for renewable energy use in the transport sector by 2020.

Standards developers should take global low-carbon energy policies, frameworks, and targets into consideration whenever a new standard is drafted or an existing standard is revised.

Switching from higher carbon emitting fuels, such as coal and heavy fuel oil, to lower carbon fossil fuels such as natural gas and petroleum distillates is another approach for GHG emission reduction. In order to achieve net environmental benefits, the substitution of natural gas for higher GHG emitting fuels should be accompanied by controlling CH₄ emissions during the extraction, transportation and storage of natural gas.

Electrification and sector coupling involve replacing fossil fuel-based systems with electricity-powered alternatives, such as electric vehicles and heat pumps, powered by renewable energy. This approach also promotes the integration of energy, transport, and industrial sectors, enabling synergies that accelerate decarbonization and improve overall system efficiency.

Circular economy practices focus on minimizing waste and maximizing resource efficiency by encouraging recycling, reuse and waste-to-energy solutions. By integrating life cycle assessments into production and consumption patterns, these practices reduce greenhouse gas emissions across supply chains and promote sustainable development.

Resource efficiency, policies and measures are expected to substantially develop in the coming years, particularly in respect to the development of the circular economy. Typical resource efficiency measures include ensuring that products and materials are long-lasting, light-weight, can be reused, repaired, dismantled, remanufactured, recycled, etc., which can contribute to significant GHG emission reduction.

Standards developers should monitor the development of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology and possible other long-term carbon sequestration through natural processes for improvements so that existing fossil fuel combustion facilities and process industries can implement CCS when investments become more economically feasible or when implementation or retrofitting is required by regulation. Standards developers should take into consideration the level of maturity of CCS technologies and the potential of other carbon sequestrations before introducing any specific provisions in their standards development.

NOTE 1 CCS is a technology designed to strip CO₂ emissions from the emissions discharge of industrial facilities (capture), such as power generating, cement manufacturing, steel manufacturing and chemical plants, and to direct the concentrated CO₂ gases to storage in underground geologic formations. CCS is a promising, if not yet fully tested or economically feasible, control technology that permits power generating operators to reduce the CO₂ emissions of their facilities without substituting low-carbon energy sources for fossil fuels. In the early stage of its implementation, CCS has only proven economical where the injected CO₂ presented the additional economic benefit of enhancing oil recovery from aging oil fields. CCS combined with other processes can be considered as a Negative Emission Technology (NET). A number of NETs are emerging, including bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies.

Standards developers should also consider carbon dioxide capture and utilization (CCU) in addition to CCS. CO₂, as a source of carbon, has the potential to be used in the manufacture of fuels, carbonates, polymers and chemicals. Due to its inherent potential, CCU is considered a complementary alternative to geological CO₂ storage and should be taken into consideration by standards developers according to technology maturity.

NOTE 2 CCU can capture carbon emissions to the atmosphere while reducing the consumption of the original feedstock and avoiding the emission of other substances associated to them. Enhanced oil and gas recovery (EOR, EGR), as well as CO₂ mineralization, can result in permanent storage, while in the other utilization cases, CO₂ is emitted later in the product chain, i.e. when the CO₂-based product is consumed.

NOTE 3 The technology of carbon dioxide capture, utilization (or use) and storage (CCUS) includes the concept that isolation from the atmosphere can be associated with a beneficial outcome. Except for CCUS in concrete, CCUS is included in the definition of CCS to the extent that long-term sequestration of the CO₂ occurs through storage within formations.

Many GHG emission avoidance or reduction strategies make economic sense on their own merits. The cost of renewable energy production, photovoltaics and windmill components has generally decreased over time, making many renewable energy projects more economically viable. However, further cost reductions are still needed, and the financing required for transitioning to a low-carbon economy remains a significant challenge. While standards developers typically do not specify financing mechanisms, they cannot be indifferent to the financial and other economic implications of the standards and best technological or non-technological (e.g. behaviour change) practices that they define. Standards developers are advised to consider risks on the efficiencies of renewable energy technologies, and risks and opportunities arising from market demand and technology availability while addressing climate change in standards. It is necessary to shift funding measures to low-carbon fuels and high-efficiency equipment or systems to reduce GHG emissions.

NOTE An OECD study from 2015 estimated at USD 93 trillion the cost of replacing and adding to the built environment such that world targets of constraining average global warming to 2 °C or less by 2030 (e.g. to the UNFCCC Paris Agreement^[34] aspirational goal of 1,5 °C) is achieved. The scale of investments needed far outstrip the financing ability of governments. This means that private capital will need to play a significant role.

Authorities can consider stimulating GHG mitigation activities and best practices by offering tax incentives. These practices are highly variable among jurisdictions and are subject to discontinuation at any time. Standards developers are not generally encouraged to define performance metrics in either new standards or revisions to existing standards based on the assumption that tax incentives will be available or remain available over time in any one or a number of jurisdictions.

Green debt instruments have been identified by many in the investment community as a means for financing the transition to a low carbon economy.

Green bonds are labelled as such by their issuer who agrees in the bond’s official offering statement to follow certain green bond principles or to adhere to a green bond standard. Green bonds represent an opportunity to channel investment into the more sustainable infrastructure needed to support the transition to a low carbon economy.

The issuer of a green bond pledges to spend the money raised by the debt issuance on projects with environmental benefits. Labelling a bond “green” is intended to generate more investor interest and make environmentally beneficial projects easier for investors to find and support. The green bond market has grown rapidly, but investor demand for green bonds in early years outstripped supply. Labelled green bonds do not necessarily lower the cost of capital for issuers, but it is possible that issuers will receive a reputational benefit. Interest rates for the debt are determined by the credit worthiness of the issuer, just as in non-green-labelled bonds.

Green loans come in two forms. Specialized green loans resemble green bonds because borrowers agree to use the proceeds for projects, activities and assets that produce environmental benefits, and to disclose expected and realized impacts. Standardized green loans are emitted by banks and other institutions to borrowers who do not have the resources to assess the eligibility of a proposed project, asset or activity themselves, e.g. solar panel roof installations, or to report on its impacts. In standardized green loans, the lender assumes responsibility for determining eligibility and reporting on impacts.

NOTE The ISO 14030 series provides additional information related to green debt instruments.

Developing a “GHG project” is one way of covering the additional cost of reducing GHG emissions. A GHG project is developed using ISO 14064-2 or the standard, methodology or protocol of a specific GHG programme.

NOTE The purpose of developing a GHG project using an approved methodology is to demonstrate that GHG emission reductions or removal enhancements are real, quantifiable, permanent, additional, verifiable, enforceable, and (optionally) consistent with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.^[48] This demonstration is achieved through the validation and verification of the project activity, and subsequent issuance of “offset credits”. Offset credits have monetary value and can be freely traded on carbon markets, used in compliance mechanisms established to cap GHG emissions, or purchased and retired on a voluntary basis.

Standards developers should be aware of the existence of offset credit trading markets, as the availability and value of offset credits can make specifying a best practice economically feasible for users of a standard. The economic benefit can be limited in time, however, as it is possible that offset projects will only be eligible for crediting until such time as the technology or practice utilized in the project becomes commonplace. Since standards have the effect of raising common practice to new levels, standards developers should understand it is possible that the benefits of this form of carbon finance will only extend to a certain number of “early adopters.”

The Paris Agreement states the importance of achieving a global balance between human-caused emissions by sources and human-led removals by sinks in the second half of the 21^st century, taking into account varying capabilities in different parts of the world, on the basis of equity, and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty. The achievement of carbon neutrality by organizations and products involves actions that reduce GHG emissions and enhance GHG removals, and can help support countries in fulfilling their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) consider that carbon neutrality and net zero GHG emissions are related concepts. On a global scale, these terms are equivalent, and both refer to the condition in which anthropogenic CO₂/GHG emissions are balanced by anthropogenic CO₂/GHG removals.

At the sub-global scale, the terms "net zero GHG emissions" and "carbon neutrality/GHG neutrality" both include emissions and removals within and beyond the direct control of the reporting entity and usually assessed over a life cycle.

IWA 42 provides details about net zero aligned organizations and ISO 14068-1 requirements for carbon neutrality in organizations or products. Net zero is often a target set for a future date where only residual GHG emissions that are not technically or economically feasible to eliminate remain.  Organizations can claim to be net zero-aligned if they are on a verifiable pathway towards net zero. Carbon neutrality similarly demands action to be taken towards reaching net zero, but additionally permits unabated GHG emissions to be counterbalanced through the use of carbon credits to enable a claim to be made about the entity’s current status.

NOTE IWA 42 is currently being developed into a full ISO Standard (ISO 14060:—^[1]1)), setting out requirements for organizations that seek to become net-zero aligned.

Standards developers should enable a more consistent approach for deliverables by aligning with the concepts of carbon neutrality, net zero, or both in ISO’s deliverables. Standards addressing carbon neutrality, net zero, or both should focus on prioritizing the reduction of direct and indirect GHG emissions and enhancing GHG removals. Offsetting complements these efforts and can be used, ensuring carbon footprints are managed effectively based on organizational-strategies. Avoided GHG emissions, for example through the use of goods or services to reduce emissions outside the value chain, do not directly contribute to carbon neutrality, net zero, or both, for either organizations or products, but they also have a role to play in the strategy of organizations in supporting the global objective of carbon neutrality. Avoided GHG emissions reflect the efforts of organizations to provide low-carbon products or solutions.

EXAMPLE An organization sells a low energy LED light bulb. This product is still responsible for emissions in the value chain during its use phase, but has avoided emissions compared to the alternative of using a fluorescent or filament light bulb.

Standards focusing on CCA aim to help organizations cope with the range, scale and uncertainty of the future diverse challenges resulting from climate change. Procedural standards can, for example, guide companies on how to identify and manage multiple climate change risks, and on how to integrate this work into existing risk management processes. Adaptation-related standards help to identify priority adaptation measures, to implement measures to reduce vulnerability and to increase adaptive capacity and resilience. Adaptation considerations should not be limited to extreme weather events but should also address risks related to slow-onset climate change effects, such as drought, sea-level rise and permafrost thawing, as well as abnormal seasonal variability. They will ensure that an organization or a company is sensitive to climate change risks and does not contribute to increased vulnerability to climate change. The applicability of such standards is established during the social and environmental screening and categorization process. Standards developers should keep in mind that the requirements of ISO adaptation standards apply to all projects that have development outcomes that can be threatened by climate change, or can contribute to increased exposure and/or vulnerability to climate change as well as to projects that can produce significant GHG emissions.

NOTE In this context, adaptive capacity refers to the ability of systems, institutions, humans and other organisms to adjust to potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to respond to consequences.

Depending on the type of standard (e.g. product standard, process standard) that is being developed, standards developers can need to take particular considerations into account when incorporating specific provisions into the standard to address CCA issues.

Where CCA has been identified as relevant and significant, standards developers should take into account that the preferred adaptation action in each situation can be defined following the analysis of multiple climate change scenarios and time horizons outcomes, and by assessing the cost-benefit of each action.

Adaptation actions for addressing climate change can involve:

• policy and planning for governance policies, including emergency response, health, safety and environment (HSE), occupational risks, compliance management and energy efficiency;
• policy and planning for new projects, including the design criteria, approvals and supply chain;
• policy and planning for existing projects, covering rehabilitation, renovation, retro-fitting, relocation, modification and physical safeguards;
• policy and planning for technological actions, covering early warning systems, monitoring and prediction systems;
• the alteration of operations or maintenance regimes;
• capacity building and knowledge development.

When action is required for adaptation, standards developers should adopt a systematic process for the identification and evaluation of options, in order to plan the most appropriate adaptation actions. Numerous policies, planning documents, guidelines and requirements exist and can be used for reference. However, there are different sources of climate change data and information. Individuals and organizations will need to identify for themselves the best available, authoritative and credible data and information that they can use, including projections into the future.

Development of adaptation plans should move from concepts to intended actions. Climate change presents a host of risks that will require adaptation-related actions. A “one size fits all” climate adaptation standard is inappropriate because adaptation is very context-specific. Standards developed following this document should be flexible enough to be applicable in different situations. What works for private sector organizations does not necessarily apply to governmental entities or to municipalities. Similarly, guidance at the organizational level does not necessarily apply to climate adaptation planning at the regional, national or international levels. Additionally, different planning approaches will probably be relevant in urban areas versus rural areas and, in some instances, planning in the least developed countries (LDCs) can need a different framework from that in developed countries.

The standard developer will also have to decide about the level of risk that would be acceptable, for example, to determine the appropriate return period of flood or probability of flood damage. As a general rule: the higher the consequences of damage, the higher the safety margin should be set.

In addition to ISO 14090 as a high-level adaptation framework standard, a suite of context-specific adaptation standards, including ISO 14093, are available to provide guidance on adaptation planning for organizations including local governments and communities and guidance on vulnerability, impacts and risk assessment. Reference should be made to these standards in order to help the identification of, or assess, any relevant impacts or aspects of the specific adaptation standards to the standard being developed.

It is important to recognize that implementing these adaptation standards can drive higher operational costs and require investments in climate resilience measures. These CCA factors can significantly influence an organization's business strategies, operational priorities and long-term profitability.

When considering the incorporation of climate change adaptation, standards developers can:

• adopt integrated approaches: adaptation components should be embedded into the core policies, planning, steps and practices, of the standard;
• prioritize the most vulnerable: standards developers should identify and prioritize people, places and infrastructure that are most vulnerable to climate change (see ISO 14091);
• use best-available science: adaptation measures should result from considerations based on the best‐available scientific understanding of relevant climate change impacts, risks and opportunities, and also vulnerabilities;

NOTE 1 As climate change science is continuously progressing, it is important that standards developers always use the most current information in order to develop appropriate adaptation actions. Advice on where an organization can source historical and future climate data, and how this can be used, can be found at national and international climate data centres, e.g. national regulatory authorities, state and local agencies, universities, national weather service providers. Information can also be obtained from numerous sources including scientific reports, relevant climate change impact assessments, governmental and intergovernmental publications and databases.

• build strong partnerships: adaptation requires coordination across multiple sectors and scales and should build on the existing efforts and knowledge of a wide range of public and private stakeholders who are involved in the application of the standard, as well as experts in climate change (described in Note 1) who can advise on how to use and interpret climate data and information;
• apply ecosystem‐based approaches: where standards are related to ecosystems, then adaptation measures should, where relevant, take into account strategies to increase ecosystem resilience and protect critical ecosystem services;
• maximize mutual benefits: the standard should encourage the use of relevant strategies that complement or directly support other related climate or environmental initiatives, such as efforts to improve disaster preparedness, promote sustainable resource management, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions including the development of cost‐effective technologies.

NOTE 2 Additional CCA principles are provided in ISO 14090.

There are a variety of different adaptation measures which can be adopted by organizations at different levels of their implementation of a standard. These range from strategic and management responses to specific technological approaches. There can also be economic and legislative considerations which need to be taken into account. These measures and considerations should be taken into account for any type of standard, irrespective of whether they are process standards, product standards or Management Systems Standards. These three categories of standards involve or are related to a TAP.

The screening process in Figure 6 provides a guide on appropriate measures to be considered depending on the standard being developed. Recent and historical data inform trajectories which could be used for decision making. The screening process in Figure 6 can be used as part of stage 0, 1 and 2 in the flow-chart sequence for the development of any standard (see Figure 2). Annex D provides additional examples of questions that can be considered for revision of standards with regards to CCA.

Figure 6 — Screening process: Assessing the need for climate change adaptation provisions in standards

Process standards, and standards specifying measurements and definitions, can directly or indirectly govern or affect physical or social processes. Consideration should be given to the nature of such underlying processes, their consequences, and impacts, risks and opportunities from or towards climate change. These can include, but are not limited to:

• the climate change impacts, risks and opportunities and their consequences on the process or production of the materials needed to implement the standard;
• the potential for cost saving by improving adaptation procedures, measurement and definitions through standardization;
• the potential for facilitating the development of technologies that promote new industries and employment, or that provide beneficial services or similar economic benefits (and any resulting benefits for CCA).
• Impacts of climate change have been observed to affect, for example,
• ecosystems;
• water distribution: river flooding and reduction in water availability;
• coastal systems;
• food system;
• temperature-related mortality;
• waterborne diseases;
• vector-borne diseases;
• economic impacts;
• supply chain (material sourcing, processing or production);
• social conflict;
• displacement and migration.

Climate change issues for products

Product standards can have many different CCA issues. Standards developers should consider the different climate change issues on the TAP, and how the scope and application of the standard can be affected by climate change over the life cycle of the standard.

Examples include assessing the sensitivity of the following to climate impacts:

• the resources used and the costs;
• the supply chain;
• the nature and distribution of adaptation action benefits that can result from the use of the products;
• the end-of-life stage.

Incorporating climate change adaptation at design stage

The measures for adaptation are often related to changes in the design of the product in all stages of its life cycle, including in the design process itself. Design changes should consider the effect of climate and weather factors, as well as extremes and potentially new hazards that have not been experienced previously, on the exposure or operating conditions for products and systems. Design changes can potentially have economic impacts that can be considered.

Product standards typically should:

• consider sensitivity/vulnerability of materials to weather and climatic conditions under different scenarios and time horizons;
• take into account extreme end use conditions using appropriate calculations;
• consider material composition or structure to adapt to the potential changes in operating conditions with regards to product use, location, expected lifetime and criticality to the system for other potential actions;
• include testing in relation to projected changed end use conditions or new hazards (interfaces to testing standards);
• consider increasing maintenance to achieve the planned life of products and as a result of the changed end use conditions (interfaces to service standards); and
• recommend the testing, frequency of testing and evaluation method after the product has undergone exposure to an extreme weather event in order to ensure the safety of any continued use of the product within its intended lifetime.

Incorporating adaptation in the product life cycle

General

This subclause describes how to integrate provisions regarding effects of climate change. It covers each life cycle stage and provides examples of climate change impacts, risks and opportunities and CCA provisions.

Standards developers should seek to avoid unintended consequences where adaptation measures can result in other impacts, for example, increased GHG emissions.

Acquisition

Climate change and climate change transition impacts on the acquisition of raw materials include:

• supplier disruption due to weather events, in particular where suppliers are in vulnerable locations;
• raw material production affected by climate change (e.g. agricultural products);
• material shortages as demand exceeds supply due to the transition to low-carbon energy.

Production

Climate change impacts on production processes include:

• impacts on staff comfort or health and safety due to severe weather and its impacts;
• impacts on climate, weather or temperature sensitive production processes, such as those reliant on cooling, water use or energy supply;
• impacts on outdoor activities that are weather dependent.

Service provision

Climate change impacts on service provision include:

• impacts on staff or customer comfort or health and safety due to excessively high temperatures or inclement weather;
• impacts on staff or customer travel due to extreme weather events;
• impacts on climate-, weather- or temperature-sensitive equipment or consumables, such as those reliant on cooling, water use or energy supply;
• impacts on outdoor activities that are weather dependent.

These impacts can lead to either a disruption, where service provision ceases entirely or to a change in the quality, cost and availability of the service provided. If resources such as equipment or premises require longer planning horizons, the future climate conditions, including slow-onset climate change effects, should be taken into account. This can even involve the relocation of a service facility. Other considerations include use of adaptation technology, early emergency response and predictive maintenance.

Use

Climate change impacts on the use stage include:

• impacts on the effectiveness of a product that is climate- or weather-sensitive;
• impacts on users leading to changing requirements of products, especially for users in vulnerable locations or those with vulnerable supply chains;
• impacts on users leading to changing requirements of products due to climate change transition risks such as changes in the customers' demand of the product or due to variable cost, availability or regulations;
• impacts on maintenance requirements.

End-of-life

Climate change impacts on a product at the end of its life include:

• some disposal or reprocessing activities can be weather- or temperature-sensitive;
• reusability can be affected by increased weather-related wear and tear;

Transportation

Transportation needs to be considered at all stages of the life cycle.

Climate change impacts to transportation include:

• weather events cause disruption to transport infrastructure, leading to delays, in particular if travelling over long distances or through affected regions;
• product is damaged or degraded during transport due to temperature or humidity.

The health and safety of workers is affected by the effects of climate change as well as the mitigation and adaptation actions to climate change. In consequence, standards developers should consider:

— the impact of actions taken to mitigate climate change on the health and safety of workers;

— the impact of climate change adaptation actions on the health and safety of workers.

The current standards adopted for health and safety management should be revised and, if needed, adequately reviewed.

Regarding the approaches to apply when revising and reviewing standards, the following items should be considered.

• Systems approach: consider the interactions between interventions on systems and subsystems and safety and health of workers. Synergies can also arise between H&S and other actions.
• Life cycle approach: consider among the consequences those affecting the safety and health of workers. Also, the actions taken to safeguard the safety and health of workers can impact on each of the life-cycle stages.

EXAMPLE 1 The use of a new material that is less affected by extreme temperatures can pose new health risks to workers applying this material.

EXAMPLE 2 Reducing work during the hottest part of the day can influence the production stage.

• Risk-based approach: a risk-based analysis can benefit from the risk assessment performed in H&S management, complementing and enriching the global approach. See ISO 45001 for more details.
• Precautionary approach: H&S can benefit from early warning systems providing information on early signs of climate change effects.

Climate change mitigation will often provide an overall positive effect on the health and safety of workers as well as on the community. However, the actions taken to mitigate climate change can pose new risks or increase the existing ones to workers involved in these actions.

EXAMPLE 3 Choices of new species for livestock which produce lower GHG emissions can be safer or riskier for farmers.

The impact of these actions on H&S need to be considered in the decision-making process.

The integration of climate change effects in the health and safety standards and the health and safety effects in other standards can offer synergies.

Management System Standards (MSS) can provide a tool for mitigation considerations and also for CCA.

ISO 14001 identifies a two-way relationship between organizations and the environment, i.e. the organization needs to consider environmental conditions being affected by or capable of affecting the organization (see ISO 14001:2015, 4.1). Organizations should address their impacts on the environment, including their contribution to climate change (mitigation), but should also consider resilience and adapting to our changing world (e.g. impacts on the organization from the changing climate). This combination of stewardship responsibility along with organizational response and resilience, is a principle that can be increasingly integrated into organizational management systems (not just environmental management systems).

The ISO/IEC Directives Part 1 was amended to include a requirement to determine whether climate change is a relevant issue and to consider whether relevant interested parties have requirements related to climate change.

The direct and indirect effects of climate change upon organizations range from carbon taxation to severe weather impacts. Organizations should address these impacts on their activities strategically and operationally. Many organizations have a form of MSS. Such systems form a ready opportunity to start, renew or continue their journey towards climate action.

For organizations which apply MSSs, the system can be used to help them address climate change impacts, risks and opportunities, for example through processes governed by the management system. Management systems can provide a framework for making decisions on activities of workers, the additional stakeholders involved, and the systematic strategies for identifying and managing climate change and related sustainability issues.

All ISO MSSs are based on the same high-level structure, identical core text, and common terms and definitions. This common structure allows for climate change issues to be addressed in many MSSs (not just environmental MSSs, such as ISO 14001). The subjects of relevant clauses include the following.

• The context of the organization, which determines why the organization is here: as part of the answer to this question, the organization can identify internal and external issues (such as climate change) that can impact its intended outcomes, as well as all interested parties and their requirements. It also needs to document its scope and set the boundaries of the management system — all in line with the business objectives.

NOTE 1 The clause is subdivided as follows: understanding the organization and its context; understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties; determining the scope of the specific management system; the specific management system.

• Planning, which brings risk-based thinking to the front, and again climate change will be relevant in many MSSs. Once the organization has highlighted risks and opportunities, it needs to stipulate how these will be addressed through planning. The planning phase looks at what risks are addressed, by whom, how and when (and can include risks and dependencies related to climate change). This proactive approach replaces preventative action and reduces the need for corrective actions later on. Particular focus is also placed on the objectives of the management system. These should be measurable, monitored, communicated, aligned to the policy of the management system and updated when needed.

NOTE 2 The clause is subdivided as follows: actions to address risks and opportunities; the specific management system objectives and planning to achieve them.

CCM and CCA interactions will increasingly be relevant to MSSs, andrevisions should consider such climate change interactions and dependencies to ensure the MSS is both relevant and future-proof.

While the high-level structure cannot be changed in the development of an MSS, subclauses and discipline-specific text can be added. In this way, further climate change considerations can also be addressed. Figure 7 provides an illustration for integrating CCM and CCA considerations into a new and revised MSS. In addition, Clause D.1 provides examples of how MSS clauses (e.g. in ISO 14001) can be used to address climate change.

NOTE 3 Management systems are typically characterized by the “Plan-Do-Check-Act” (PDCA) model.

Figure 7 — Possible intervention points for considering climate actions in a Management System Standard

Product, sectoral and energy management standards can support organizational inventories of GHG emissions. Standards developers should consider the effect of the standard on the quantification of GHG emissions.

GHG emissions quantification can also be performed at the organizational level. Most organizations who report do so annually, often in a company “sustainability report” or through another disclosure method such as via a reporting portal operated by a third party. GHG emissions reporting at the organizational level is performed within an organizational boundary and a defined operational boundary.

ISO 14064-1 describes principles, requirements and guidelines for the quantification and reporting of GHG emissions of an organization, which include:

• direct emissions, which are those that issue from combustion of fossil fuels, industrial processes, and fugitive sources;
• indirect emissions, which occur when an organization imports electricity, steam, heat or cooling from a source outside its operational boundaries, usually by purchase. These emissions are “indirect” because the reporting organization is not directly responsible for generating them. Instead, they are the final user of the energy that has been generated by a provider, such as a utility company, that lies outside the organization’s operational boundaries;
• indirect emissions associated with the organization’s supply chain (upstream emissions), and emissions associated with the use and end-of-life phases of an organization’s products (downstream emissions).

NOTE These are sometimes referred to respectively as Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions.

GHG “projects” are activities that cause GHG emission reductions or GHG removal enhancements compared to a specified GHG baseline beyond business as usual. A GHG project is typically distinguished from conservation efforts that an organization can undertake to reduce its GHG emissions, such as by taking steps not to waste energy or to recycle paper, glass and aluminium. GHG projects are formalized emission reduction/or removal enhancement activities that are closely monitored and compared to a hypothetical alternative baseline scenario. When pursued in accordance with a defined methodology or protocol, GHG projects can generate emission reductions that are recognized by a third party and can be monetized through the issuance and sale of verified emission reduction units. A GHG project targeting GHG “removal enhancement” is a GHG project that increases the amount of CO₂ removed from the atmosphere, such as through enhanced forestry management or reforestation and carbon mineralization.

NOTE ISO 14064-2 describes the project related quantification, monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removal enhancements.

It is sometimes useful to quantify the total amount of GHG emissions and removals associated with a specific good or service (e.g. an event). The sum total of such values is normally referred to as a “carbon footprint of a product” (CFP). Standards developers considering per-unit-of-product GHG emissions and removals should recognize that values of the CFP can vary depending upon the quantification approach used and the applied system boundary of the CFP study. A partial CFP results when the system boundary does not include the entire life cycle of the product (or service) system under study. Knowledge of CFPs and partial CFPs provides a basis for reducing the carbon intensity of a product in all or some stages of its life cycle.

In some cases, the CFP can be based on secondary data from industry averages, while in other cases, the CFP can be localized to and based upon a specific manufacturing or processing site, and is consequently constructed with primary data based on the unit processes from that site.

Both approaches have legitimate purposes. The former can be utilized when the goal of the quantification of the CFP is to set a benchmark for evaluating relative performance. Standards developers or the users of standards can want to know what the “average” CFP is within a “sector”, so that users of a particular product standard can subsequently evaluate the CFP for any particular supplier’s product in that context. On the other hand, a standards writer or standards user can want to know that the GHG emissions attributable to the CFP have been localized to a particular production process or manufacturer of a product. This approach is particularly useful when evaluating the claim of any particular supplier for comparative purposes, and calls for the evaluation of site-specific data. CFP product category rules have an important role in facilitating the comparability of CFPs.

Such claims related to the carbon footprint of a product that attempt to localize the CFP to a particular manufacturing production process can use secondary industry average data for some portion of upstream emissions and for emissions associated with the use stage and the end-of-life stage of the life cycle of the product system studied. This suggests that it is most likely that only a partial CFP that is based on “gate-to-gate” emissions at a particular manufacturing location can actually be based solely on primary data.

NOTE 1 ISO 14067 describes principles, requirements and guidelines for the quantification and reporting of the carbon footprint of a product (CFP).

NOTE 2 ISO 14026 describes principles, requirements and guidelines for footprint communications for products addressing areas of concern relating to the environment.

Verification can play an important role in monitoring and evaluating GHG mitigation actions. Verification can be performed by a first party, a second party or a third party. ISO 14064-3 is widely used as a methodological approach to determine, with reasonable or limited assurance, the accuracy of quantified GHG information and data.

Standards developers should note that monitoring and evaluation is also of relevance to CCA.

Standards developers should take into account the requirements of ISO/IEC 17007 when drafting normative documents suitable for use in conformity assessment.

1. 
   (informative)
   
   Using systems thinking to set boundaries for climate change adaptation (reproduced from ISO 14090:2019, Annex A).
   1. Systems thinking — The concept

Systems thinking is about understanding the complex, nonlinear and interconnected system in which an organization operates. Many large organizations are complex, adaptive systems in themselves, meaning that the elements that make up an organization (for example, emergency response, transport pool, supply chain, finance, procurement teams) have a complex set of interactions that are dynamic and so do not always interact in the same or a consistent way. Organizations require techniques for managing these interactions effectively.

• 1. Systems thinking — Benefits

System thinking makes an organization adaptive in nature so that it responds according to the needs or circumstances at the time. It can help users to consider the full set of interactions and interdependencies affecting their organization, including influences within and from outside the context within which the organization operates. The approach can be used to set boundaries around adaptation activity such that the organization filters out elements less relevant to its activities, products and services while still understanding the importance of these elements. The organization will be left with tasks within a defined boundary, or scope, which results in a manageable set of adaptation activities.

Systems thinking can help to identify positive and negative feedback loops that can attenuate or exacerbate the impacts of change. Similarly, systems thinking can help to identify unintended consequences of decisions or actions before they are implemented.

In other words, organizations can use systems thinking to identify, define and refine those activities that really matter and can be controlled by interventions. In this way, manageable boundaries can be set which make adaptation more achievable.

• 1. Interconnections, dependencies and interdependencies

Thinking about interconnected relationships in a system is crucial for understanding how an organization can potentially intervene in the system to influence the sustainable management of resources in its portfolio of activities, products and services (see Figure A.1). For example, in the case of services, this can include identifying all the interdependencies involved in bringing the service to customers, as well as the ways in which the changes in climate will impact service delivery over time.

NOTE Dependencies are one-way interconnections, meaning that organization A depends upon a product or service from organization B, but not the other way around; whereas interdependencies are two-way interconnections, meaning that organizations A and B depend upon each other. An example of the latter would be how an electricity power station depends upon rail transport for its supply of biomass, and the rail transport system depends upon electricity for its control and traction systems.

Key

Figure A.1 — Systems concept showing a general systems concept with interventions highlighted

• 1. Mapping and identifying boundaries and sub-systems

Figure A.1 shows how eight organizations A to H are interconnected by relationships and have key actors or interested parties. A boundary has been drawn around the whole system showing external factors as outside of the boundary. An intervention is depicted between organizations G and E that would have come about through an adaptation plan.

Figure A.2 takes systems thinking to a more granular level. It depicts a filtered system that encompasses organizations G and E as a sub-system. This is a sub-system of the system shown in Figure A.1, however, it is a system in its own right. It has its own external factors and so (inter) dependencies on external organizations shown by arrows; arrow a from organization C from Figure A.1, arrow b from organization D in Figure A.1, arrow c from organization B and arrow d from organization H. The dotted area Y is an intervention between an actor within organization E called z and G.

This is an example of how a large system of systems (see Figure A.1) can be reduced further to a smaller system of systems (see Figure A.2).

Key

Figure A.2 — System of systems concept showing a filtered system based upon Organizations E and G

Hence, the sub-system in Figure A.2 has a boundary and can be looked at as a quasi-independent grouping that could be examined (for example, for its influence on adaptation) on its own; however, users of this map will recognize that decisions, or climate and weather-related impacts, in this sub-system can impact other sub-systems because of the (inter) dependencies apparent shown by arrows a and d.

• 1. Practical examples for Figure A.2

Table A.1 shows some broad examples explaining the systems mapping that organizations might make, based on the map in Figure A.2. Each example is not meant as an exhaustive set of explanations covering every aspect shown in Figure A.2 and is offered merely to show how the concept might be used. The systems map ordinarily needs to be drawn bespoke for every organization’s situation; the map used here is idealized.

Table A.1 — Example of how the systems map from Figure A.2 can potentially be used by some organizations

1. 
   (informative)
   
   Background information on approaches for responding to climate change
   1. General

There are many components to consider in the phenomenon of climate change. Focusing solely on technology, markets and policy in climate mitigation strategies is incomplete without including human and social factors, which can be a major driver for technology adoption, policy adoption and market creation.

A broad perception is needed to facilitate the development of realistic, substantive standards at each level. A polycentric approach allows a committee to develop more tailored provisions to address the various climate change issues.

• 1. Systems thinking approach

The effects of climate change are real. They influence many complex relationships inside and outside an organization regarding production processes, products and services susceptible to changes in the various climate stressors.

The potential threats posed by a changing climate cannot be combatted on only one front — they should be dealt with more holistically, with an organized approach that considers all of the relevant ramifications. In this case, where the standardization subject is operating within a dynamic wider system and where there are multiple direct and indirect interactions, the approach of systems thinking can be useful.

An overview of interconnections and interdependencies, derived from an understanding of the overall system, can help standards developers to scope and focus their considerations on priority sub-systems. This kind of thinking helps to cope with the challenge that the primary threats from climate change are in the future, but these causes stem from present, past, and future actions. Standardized solutions reducing the adverse climate change impacts and risks should consider both present and future actions; and can generally be grouped as mitigation or adaptation strategies. A mitigation strategy involves reducing GHGs through their prevention as emissions or removal from the atmosphere.

For many practical considerations, it is appropriate to develop a suite of system components that will efficiently meet the needs for considering the climate-related issues.

Systems thinking views a problem not in isolation but as part of a larger system or context. Feedback is a key concept in systems thinking and corresponds to the ISO requirements to conduct a systematic review after a specific time using the standards.

• 1. Life cycle approach

As awareness about climate change increases and concerns grow, investors are demanding more transparency, and consumers are seeking greater clarity and accountability regarding climate change issues. For example, companies are increasingly receiving requests from stakeholders to measure and disclose their corporate GHG inventories, and these requests often include a company’s products and supply chain emissions. Companies need to be able to understand and manage their product-related GHG risks if they are to ensure long-term success in a competitive business environment and be prepared for any future product-related programmes and policies.

Using the life cycle approach to address climate change in standards does not mean conducting or following a complete life cycle assessment. ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 are the primary ISO standards providing requirements and guidelines for the compilation and evaluation of inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle.

In this document, adopting a life cycle approach means applying “life cycle thinking”. For example, for CCA issues, life cycle assessment is not an appropriate approach. However, the life cycle perspective can help to ensure all relevant aspects of a process, service or product are considered. Applying life cycle thinking is about product sustainability, operational for businesses that are aiming for continuous improvement. These are businesses that are striving towards reducing their footprints and minimizing their environmental and socio-economic burdens while maximizing economic and social values.

• 1. Risk-based approach

Coping with climate change involves making decisions in the face of uncertainty. There are uncertainties relating to the rate and geographical distribution of changes in climate variables and there are modelling uncertainties. Most importantly, however, there are uncertainties relating to how climate change will translate into climate change impacts, risks and opportunities related to materials, processes and systems and what the consequences of these impacts, risks and opportunities will mean for society. The use of a risk-based approach to adaptation allows for uncertainties to be acknowledged and embraced in the decision-making process and for climate change risks to be considered alongside and on an equal footing with other risks that are routinely managed.

Climate change risks are very particular in nature. In many cases, little can be said about their short- or long-term probability, and climate adaptation costs would increase substantially if the probabilities were determined first. In such cases, a conventional risk assessment (e.g. based on ISO 31000), which uses statistical probabilities, will not be able to draw a clear picture of the risks an organization faces due to climate change. For this reason, various approaches have been developed and partly tested in practice to assess climate change risks in particular. One solution is the use of climate impact chains that have proven in practice to be an effective instrument. By being based on a highly participatory process, they provide an opportunity to discuss in detail all relevant risk factors. In addition, they lend themselves to both a further quantitative analysis where feasible and required and a qualitative analysis in other cases.

• 1. Precautionary approach

By placing a greater emphasis on direct measures to systematically monitor observable effects, a precautionary approach offers a way to be more responsive to harm when the first signals of it manifest themselves in the real world, however ambiguous these first signals can be. By an active search for early warnings, one can hope to significantly reduce society’s exposure to uncertainty and ignorance. For the case of the thermohaline circulation (THC), scientists have shown that a monitoring system to detect changes in THC in time to be useful for climate policy is possible by increasingly frequent observations. They argue that the benefits of such an improved ocean observation system would considerably exceed the costs^[48].

NOTE The IPCC Assessment Reports^[34-36] constitute a respected and peer-reviewed source of information.

Other strategies that can help in anticipating surprises include focusing on the underlying principles of surprise, which is what happens in surprise theory and systematic “thinking the unthinkable”, by imagining unlikely and undesirable future events or future states of the environment.

• 1. Identifying climate change issues

In Table B.1 is an adaptation of Table 1 for use as a preliminary assessment as to whether a document addresses climate change issues. It has been filled in with data as an example for ISO 20121 addressing sustainable events.

Table B.1 — Example of Table 1 for the preliminary scoping of climate change (CC) issues/topics related to a sustainable events standard

• 1. Timescales and future considerations

Standards developers should consider dynamics over the short, medium and long term and the consequences of climate change and its social, environmental and economic impacts for the subject of their standards. Standards developers should take into consideration changes in future climate, legal requirements, forthcoming low carbon economy challenges and CCA challenges.

The physical science is clear that atmospheric GHG emissions are at critical levels, therefore increasing the significance of further emissions within the short term (over the next decade). This has implications for policy makers to escalate policies and action for both mitigation and adaptation. Reference is sometimes made to the diminishing “carbon budgets” available.

Many of the implications are estimated in the IPCC Special Report.^[41] This report maps out four pathways if global warming is to be restricted to 1.5 °C, with different combinations of land use and technological change. Reforestation is essential to all, as are shifts to electric transport systems and greater adoption of carbon dioxide capture technology. Carbon pollution would need to be cut by 45 % by 2030 — compared with a 20 % cut under the 2 °C pathway — and come down to zero by 2050, compared with 2075 for 2 °C. Standards developers should consider this timescale dynamic and its associated social and economic implications. As an example, the IPCC estimate that carbon prices will need to be three to four times higher than for a 2 °C target (noting that overall costs of delaying policy intervention would be significantly higher longer term).

• 1. Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

The Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) initiative by the G20 Financial Stability Board has developed recommendations and guidance for voluntary climate-related financial disclosures that can provide decision-useful information to lenders, insurers, and investors. The TCFD members include both users and preparers of disclosures from across the G20 constituency covering a broad range of economic sectors and financial markets. TCFD was replaced by IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). The following are central within the TCFD recommended approach to assessing risk and to related organizational disclosures.

• Scenario analysis: A method to help understand the future and to help inform actions that can enhance resilience and flexibility to the future state. Use of scenario analysis for assessing climate-related risks and opportunities and their potential implications is an increasing activity. Its outcomes will be of interest to standards developers.
• Transition risks relating to the mitigation agenda: These are risks that organizations (and users of standards) will all face as economies transition towards low and zero carbon futures states. For example, these can include constraints on emissions, imposition of carbon tax, water restrictions, land use restrictions or incentives, and market demand and supply shifts.
• Physical risks relating to the adaptation agenda: These include disruption of operations, supply chains, damage and destruction of property.
• New opportunities relating to both adaptation and mitigation, for example opportunities from weather and climatic changes at the local level (e.g. introducing new crops at local level) access to new markets and new technology associated with economic transitions (e.g. CCS technology).

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) announced the completion of the TCFD's work in July 2023, and the group was disbanded in October 2023. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards were noted as the culmination of the group's work.

As TCFD recommendations are fully incorporated into the ISSB Standards, any companies applying IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures will logically meet the TCFD recommendations.

Companies are permitted to continue using the TCFD recommendations if they so wish. These recommendations provide an entry point for companies transitioning to the use of ISSB Standards.

1. 
   (informative)
   
   Planetary boundary conditions

The concept of planetary boundaries describes a framework within which humanity needs to live in order to continue to develop and thrive for generations to come. Climate change, freshwater consumption, land use change and loss of biodiversity are examples of planetary boundaries. Crossing these boundaries can generate irreversible environmental changes, while respecting them significantly reduces risks. Planetary boundaries can be broken down in order to select measures that can be addressed at a regional, community or organizational level, while taking into account the specific situation. Climate change issues (CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere <0,035 % and/or a maximum change of +1 W m⁻² in radiative forcing) are explicitly identified as a planetary boundary. Within this background, the concept of planetary boundaries represents a useful approach to reducing risks. Developers of standards related to climate change can make use of this approach. They can take the concept of planetary boundaries as a basis for considering the interrelationships between adaptation and mitigation. To derive synergies or avoid trade-offs (in the meaning of goal conflicts) from this concept helps to develop a useful standard on CCA. Figure C.1 presents the planet boundaries as described by the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

Key

SOURCE Reference [52], reproduced with permission of the authors.

Figure C.1 — Planetary boundaries

1. 
   (informative)
   
   Climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation: Examples and supporting information
   1. Climate change and ISO 14001 environmental management systems

Figure D.1 schematically sets out the link between key clauses in the planning phase of ISO 14001 and CCM and CCA. It is intended to help users of ISO 14001 to show how they can address climate change challenges through their management system.

ISO 14001 deals with the need to adapt to any change in environmental conditions and include matters such as the need to adapt to other environmental consequences that are not due to climate change, for example loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity.

Figure D.1 — Link between key clauses in the planning phase of ISO 14001:2015 and CCM and CCA

• 1. Climate change risks from the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report^[40] emphasizes that the risk of climate change impacts can be usefully understood as resulting from dynamic interactions among climate-related hazards, the exposure and vulnerability of affected human and ecological systems, and also responses. The determinants of risk can all vary and change through space and time in response to socioeconomic development and decision making. See Figure D.2.

SOURCE Reference [40], reproduced with permission of the authors.

Figure D.2 — Climate change risks

• 1. Climate change adaptation checklists
     1. General

The lists provided in this annex are not intended to be exhaustive lists of considerations and are only examples of what should be analysed. The standards developer should seek further expertise on CCA issues related to the standard being developed.

NOTE All tables/considerations in this annex are taken from CEN/CENELEC Guide 32:2016, with some minor modifications.

• • 1. Direct and indirect climate change impacts

The questions in Table D.1 can be used to check if the standard under development is affected by climate change impacts.

Table D.1 — Considerations for direct climate change impacts

If the answer is Yes to any of the above questions, then CCA considerations are likely to be relevant to the development of the standard.

If the answer is No to the above questions, then the questions in Table D.2 should be used to evaluate if there can be indirect impacts of climate change on the standard.

Table D.2 — Considerations for indirect climate change impacts

If the answer is Yes to any of the above questions, then CCA considerations can be relevant to the development of the standard.

Any decision should be documented and an explicit reason should be provided, e.g. is this required or can it be omitted?

If the answer is No to all of the above questions, then CCA considerations are not likely to be relevant to the development of the standard.

• • 1. Examples of climate change adaptation provisions

Tables D.3 to D.8 provide examples of climate change considerations for every stage of the product life cycle.

Table D.3 — Acquisition stage related examples

Table D.4 — Production stage related examples

Table D.5 — Service provision related examples

Table D.6 — Use stage related examples

Table D.7 — End-of-Life stage related examples

Table D.8 — Transportation stage related examples

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[4] ISO 14026, Environmental labels and declarations — Principles, requirements and guidelines for communication of footprint information

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1. 1) Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: ISO/CD 14060:2025. ↑

2. ²⁾ Available at: https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/annguid_e.pdf ↑

3. ³⁾ Available at: https://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/cancun_adaptation_framework/application/pdf/naptechguidelines_eng_high__res.pdf ↑

4. ⁴⁾ Available at: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement ↑

5. ⁵⁾ Available at: https://unfccc.int/adaptation/workstreams/national_adaptation_programmes_of_action/items/7279.php ↑

6. ⁶⁾ Available at: https://www.un-gsp.org/sites/default/files/documentos/handbook_on_va_0.pdf ↑

7. ⁷⁾ Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar4/wg2/ ↑

8. 8) Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg2/ ↑

9. ⁹⁾ Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/ ↑

10. 10) Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ ↑

11. ¹¹⁾ Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/2006-ipcc-guidelines-for-national-greenhouse-gas-inventories/ ↑

12. ¹²⁾ Available at: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/ ↑

13. ¹³⁾ Available at: https://www.wmo.int/gfcs/ ↑

14. ¹⁴⁾ Available at: https://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/ccl/faq/faq_doc_en.html ↑

15. ¹⁵⁾ Available at: https://www.fao.org/climate-change/our-work/what-we-do/koronivia/en/ ↑

16. ¹⁶⁾ Available at: https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVII-2-a&chapter=27&lang=en ↑

17. ¹⁷⁾ Available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs ↑

18. ¹⁸⁾ Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/energy-efficiency/targets-directive-and-rules/energy-efficiency-directive_en ↑

19. ¹⁹⁾ Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/renewable-energy/renewable-energy-directive_en ↑

20. ²⁰⁾ Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/energy-efficiency/targets-directive-and-rules/energy-efficiency-directive_en ↑