IGPN - International Green Purchasing Network

November 18, 2008

ISO updates guide to greening product standards

The international organization for Standardization (ISO) has updated its guide (ISO Guide 64: 2008 Guide for addressing environmental issues in product standard).

The guide is intended for product standard drafters. Moreover, the drafters would be encouraged to understand environmental aspects and impacts related to products, and to determine which impacts can be addressed within product standards.

The purposes are:

・ To outline the relationship between the provisions in product standards and the environmental aspects and
impacts of the product
・ To assist in drafting or revising provisions in product standards in order to reduce potential adverse
environmental impacts at different stages of the entire product life-cycle
・ To emphasize that taking into account environmental issues in product standards is a complex process
and requires balancing competing priorities
・ To recommend the use of life-cycle thinking when defining environmental provisions for a product for which
a standard is being drafted
・ To promote the future development of relevant sector guides for addressing environmental issues in product
standards by standards writers, consistent with the principles and approaches of ISO Guide 64:2008

The guide recommends carrying out a lifecycle evaluation of a product early on in the standard development, whether it’s a new standard or a revision, in order to determine how it can be altered to reduce negative impacts.

In order to take account of the diversity of products and their specific environmental impacts, as well as the need for relevant environmental knowledge, it is useful for standards writers to involve environmental experts in the work.

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