Overview
ISO/TS 14072:2014 - Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Requirements and guidelines for organizational life cycle assessment - extends ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 by explaining how to apply Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods at the organizational level (OLCA). It defines the reporting unit, system boundary options (cradle-to-grave, cradle-to-gate, etc.), consolidation approaches (operational control, financial control, equity share), and specific guidance on Life Cycle Inventory (LCI), Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), interpretation and reporting. The Technical Specification is intended for any organization interested in assessing its overall environmental performance using an LCA perspective.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Organizational LCA (OLCA): Compilation and evaluation of inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts for an organization or part of it, replacing the product functional unit with a reporting unit.
- Goal and scope: Must state intended application (e.g., performance tracking), reasons, audience and a declaration that results are not for public comparative assertions.
- System boundaries: Guidance to model upstream and downstream supply chains; include or justify exclusions (use and end-of-life stages, where applicable).
- Consolidation methodology: Choose and document one approach - operational control, financial control, or equity share - to set organizational boundaries.
- LCI, LCIA and interpretation: Specific considerations when compiling inventory data, performing impact assessment, and interpreting organizational-level results.
- Reporting limitations: Not intended for comparative public ranking of organizations; reporting requirements and limitations are specified.
- Normative and informative annexes: Include application examples, inventory calculation procedures, converting financial to physical flows, allocation rules and reporting applicability to ISO 14044.
Practical applications and who uses it
ISO/TS 14072 is practical for:
- Sustainability managers and LCA practitioners conducting organizational footprinting or performance tracking.
- Corporate reporting teams preparing environmental reports or footprint disclosures (while observing the standard’s limitations on public comparative assertions).
- Supply chain and procurement managers seeking greater transparency in upstream/downstream impacts.
- Environmental consultants and auditors who support OLCA studies and data consolidation.
Typical uses:
- Identifying environmental hotspots across an organization’s activities.
- Tracking multi-criteria environmental performance over time.
- Informing strategic decisions to reduce lifecycle impacts and minimize burden shifting.
- Improving supply-chain management and transparency.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO/TS 14072, Organizational LCA, OLCA, life cycle assessment, ISO 14040, ISO 14044, environmental management, reporting unit, system boundary, LCI, LCIA, performance tracking.
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