Over the last months the international ISO Standard has been working on a specification for principles, requirements and guidelines for quantifying and reporting the carbon footprint of products. Initial draft versions of the ISO 14067 standard guidelines proposed an objection to the market-based framework (ie. reporting through tracking mechanisms such as the Guarantee of Origin) for purchased electricity. This would have resulted in conflicting guidance to other well known existing standard frameworks, notably the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 2 Guidance.
A recent meeting on the development of the ISO 14067 standard, which took place in Milan late January 2018, decided however to maintain the market-based method for purchased electricity. To a large extend, the requirements from the ISO 14067 standard on the market-boundaries for the market-based method could appear to be in line with international best-practices. Sources at the meeting reported that the text will require that the electricity, “is produced within the country, or within the market boundaries where consumption occurs if connected to the grid”.
RECS International has proposed a more inclusive market-boundary definition in its Renewables Good Practice guidance document but will consider alignment with ISO if the final text is approved. Members of RECS International can expect a member’s-only briefing on this topic in the coming weeks.
For any questions regarding the ISO developments, please contact the secretariat at secretariat@recs.org