Life cycle assessment · product standards
Life cycle assessment and product standards: which edition, which job
Life cycle assessment rests on two ISO standards, ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, and every product-level claim — a carbon footprint, an EPD, a water footprint, a carbon neutral label — builds on them through its own standard.
Three of those standards changed edition, status or review stage in 2025–26, and the most-cited EPD standard, ISO 14025:2006, is withdrawn.
This page states only what each owner publishes openly; ISO clause text is paywalled and is not quoted.
Status register
Every product standard here, with its edition
Each row is read from the owner’s own catalogue record.
“Confirmed” means ISO reviewed the edition and kept it; “to be revised” means a successor is in development.
| Standard | Current edition | Status | Does |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 14040 | 2006, Edition 2; Amd 1:2020 | Confirmed 2022 | LCA principles and framework |
| ISO 14044 | 2006, Edition 1; Amd 1:2017, Amd 2:2020 | Confirmed 2022 | LCA requirements and guidelines |
| ISO 14067 | 2018, Edition 1 | To be revised (90.92); ISO/WD 14067.2, no date | Product carbon footprint, climate only |
| PAS 2050 | 2011 (superseded the 2008 edition) | In BSI’s catalogue | Life cycle GHG emissions of goods and services |
| GHG Protocol Product Standard | Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard | In force; ISO joint working group named February 2026 | Product-level GHG inventory |
| ISO 14025 | 2026, Edition 2 | Published June 2026; 2006 edition withdrawn | EPD programmes and EPDs |
| EN 15804 | 2012+A2:2019/AC:2021 | In force; BSI shows “Current, Under Review” | Core rules for construction-product EPDs |
| ISO 14046 | 2014, Edition 1 | Review closed 5 March 2026; outcome not published | Water footprint |
| ISO 14068 | 2026 (ISO lists it under publication) | ISO 14068-1:2023 withdrawn 11 September 2026 | Carbon neutrality of organisations and products |
Foundations
ISO 14040 and 14044: the LCA pair
A life cycle assessment follows four phases: defining the goal and scope, the inventory analysis, the impact assessment, and interpretation, with reporting and critical review alongside.
ISO 14040:2006 describes those phases as principles and a framework, and its abstract says it does not describe the LCA technique in detail or specify methods for the individual phases.
ISO 14044:2006 supplies the requirements and guidelines for carrying the assessment out.
Both replaced the same four earlier standards — ISO 14040:1997, 14041:1998, 14042:2000 and 14043:2000 — and both were confirmed in ISO’s 2022 review.
They are not amended at the same rate: ISO 14040 has one amendment, from 2020, and ISO 14044 two, from 2017 and 2020.
The 2020 item for ISO 14040 is an amendment layered on the 2006 edition, so “ISO 14040:2020” is not a real citation; the amendment is named separately where it matters.
Other ISO documents call the pair “the ISO 14040 series”, meaning exactly these two.
| ISO 14040 | ISO 14044 | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Principles and framework | Requirements and guidelines |
| Edition | 2 (2006-07) | 1 (2006-07) |
| Pages | 20 | 46 |
| Amendments | One (2020) | Two (2017, 2020) |
| Last confirmed | 2022 | 2022 |
Product carbon footprint
ISO 14067, PAS 2050 and the GHG Protocol Product Standard
A product carbon footprint applies life cycle methods to one impact category, climate change, and three documents set rules for it.
ISO 14067:2018 specifies principles, requirements and guidelines for quantifying and reporting a product’s carbon footprint, consistent with ISO 14040 and 14044.
ISO’s 2018 news release records that it upgraded the 2013 technical specification, ISO/TS 14067, to a full International Standard.
Its abstract puts carbon offsetting, and communication of the footprint, outside its scope, and says it assesses no social, economic or other environmental impacts.
ISO reviewed and confirmed it in 2024 but now lists it at stage 90.92, “to be revised”, with a successor, ISO/WD 14067.2, at working-draft stage and no date given.
PAS 2050:2011 is BSI’s specification for the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services, published on 30 September 2011 and superseding the 2008 edition.
It applies to whole-life assessments and to cradle-to-gate ones, addresses only global warming, and does not set requirements for disclosing or communicating the result.
BSI’s preview says it builds on the life cycle methods in BS EN ISO 14040 and 14044, and it allows supplementary requirements for particular sectors or product categories.
The GHG Protocol’s Product Standard measures emissions across a product’s life — raw materials, manufacturing, transport, storage, use and disposal.
On 9 February 2026 the GHG Protocol named its members of a joint working group with ISO on an updated, harmonised product standard, so the two product families are converging, as the corporate ones are.
None of the three footprint standards sets the rules for saying a product is “low carbon” or “carbon neutral”.
Neutrality claims have their own standard, ISO 14068, and advertising rules sit in consumer law.
EPDs
ISO 14025 changed edition and title in 2026
An environmental product declaration reports a product’s life cycle impacts in a standard format, issued within an EPD programme.
For almost twenty years the governing standard was ISO 14025:2006, and much EPD programme documentation still names it.
ISO has withdrawn it: the current standard is ISO 14025:2026, Edition 2, published in June 2026, with a new title.
Its abstract says it specifies principles and requirements for EPD programmes and their EPDs, and specifies the use of ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 in developing EPDs.
The scope also widened: the 2026 abstract contemplates EPDs that include related social and economic aspects, language the 2006 scope did not carry.
ISO gives only the month; the Irish national standards body lists 24 June 2026 for the same document, and a later national adoption date elsewhere is that body’s own.
| Withdrawn | Current | |
|---|---|---|
| Designation | ISO 14025:2006 | ISO 14025:2026 |
| Title | Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental declarations — Principles and procedures | Environmental statements and programmes for products — Environmental product declarations (EPDs) |
| Edition | 1 | 2 (published 2026-06) |
| Pages | — | 40 |
Construction EPDs
EN 15804: one label, three documents
| Document | BSI publication | Status |
|---|---|---|
| EN 15804:2012 (the base standard) | 2012 | Current only until 28 February 2014, per BSI |
| EN 15804:2012+A2:2019 (before the corrigendum) | 31 July 2020 | Withdrawn 15 September 2021 |
| EN 15804:2012+A2:2019/AC:2021 | 30 September 2021, as BS EN 15804:2012+A2:2019 | In force; “Current, Under Review” |
EN 15804 provides the core product category rules for Type III environmental declarations for any construction product or construction service.
Its scope clause says it defines the indicators to declare, the life cycle stages and processes to include, the rules for scenarios and for the underlying inventory and impact assessment, and the conditions under which products can be compared on EPD information.
The version in force carries the /AC:2021 suffix, from a corrigendum effective on 18 August 2021, and a citation without it names a withdrawn text.
EN 15804 is a European standard from CEN; it applies in the UK because BSI remains a CEN member and republishes it unchanged as a British Standard, not because any UK department wrote it.
Construction products also meet the UK’s buildings and procurement rules, which our page on UK sustainability reporting by sector covers.
Water footprint
ISO 14046: unchanged text, reopened review
ISO 14046:2014 sets principles, requirements and guidelines for a water footprint of products, processes and organisations, based on life cycle assessment.
Its abstract puts communication of results, for example as labels or declarations, outside its scope.
The 2014 text carries no amendment, and ISO’s banner still says it was last reviewed and confirmed in 2020.
The record’s dated log tells the rest: a second systematic review opened on 15 October 2025 and closed on 5 March 2026, and the stage now reads “Close of review”.
The text is in force today, but the review’s outcome — confirm, revise or withdraw — had not been published when the record was last read.
Product claims
Carbon neutral products: ISO 14068:2026
A claim that a product is carbon neutral is governed by a different standard from its footprint.
ISO 14068 applies to organisations and to products, including buildings and events, and not to territories.
ISO withdrew the 2023 edition, ISO 14068-1:2023, on 11 September 2026; the 2026 edition’s foreword calls itself a minor revision whose changes are the title and the removal of the part number.
The UKAS migration bulletin records that product emissions are quantified under ISO 14067 and that a first claim cannot rest entirely on offsets.
The 2026 edition also includes an informative annex comparing ISO’s quantification standards with the GHG Protocol’s.
In EU consumer marketing, a claim based on offsetting that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive greenhouse gas impact has been on the blacklist since member states applied Directive (EU) 2024/825 from 27 September 2026.
The UK has no such rule; the standards, the UK law and the claim wording are covered on our page on PAS 2060 and ISO 14068.
Picker
Which standard does your job need?
Most product-standard mistakes are a right standard used for the wrong job.
A footprint standard used to justify a neutrality claim, an EPD citing a withdrawn edition, or a full LCA described as if ISO 14040 alone set the method.
The picker takes the job first and returns the standard, its status and what it does not do.
Where the output feeds a corporate inventory rather than a product claim, the governing rules are corporate ones, set out on our carbon accounting page.
What are you trying to produce?
Use: ISO 14067:2018; or PAS 2050:2011 from BSI; or the GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Standard. Each covers one impact category, global warming.
Status: ISO 14067:2018 is current but at stage 90.92, “to be revised”, with ISO/WD 14067.2 at working-draft stage and no date. GHG Protocol and ISO formed a joint working group in February 2026 on a harmonised product standard.
What it does not do: ISO 14067 puts carbon offsetting and communication of the footprint outside its scope; PAS 2050 sets no disclosure requirements.
ISO record 71206 — Bible [417]; BSI Knowledge, PAS 2050:2011; GHG Protocol Product Standard page
From each standard’s public catalogue record; ISO clause text is paywalled and is not quoted.
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From product to company
How product footprints feed scope 3
A product footprint and a company inventory answer different questions, and the GHG Protocol keeps them in separate standards.
The Product Standard page puts it plainly: the Scope 3 Standard accounts for emissions at the corporate level, the Product Standard at the level of the individual product.
The two meet in category 1, purchased goods and services, where the scope 3 calculation guidance ranks a supplier-specific method first: collecting product-level cradle-to-gate inventory data from suppliers.
The guidance adds that companies need not always use the most specific method first, and the hybrid, average-data and spend-based methods sit below it.
A supplier’s ISO 14067 or PAS 2050 footprint is therefore the best data a buyer can get for category 1, and the data-quality step UK SRS rewards; our pages on scope 3 emissions and UK SRS scope 3 reporting explain where it goes.
Life cycle and product claims also sit in the environmental pillar of a company’s wider ESG reporting, described on the ESG pillars.
Test yourself
Six citation claims, true or false
Every statement on the panel is a citation we see in live product documentation.
The pattern in the false ones is an edition that has moved on, or a number read as a different standard.
Each answer names the catalogue record that settles it.
Product standards: true or false?
“ISO 14040:2020” is the current life cycle assessment standard.
An EPD issued in 2027 should cite ISO 14025:2006.
ISO 14067 covers offsetting a product’s footprint.
PAS 2050 can be used for a cradle-to-gate footprint.
A construction EPD citing “EN 15804:2012+A2:2019” names the version in force.
ISO 14068 and ISO 14067 are the same standard renumbered.
0 of 6 answered.
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Frequently asked
Product standards, answered
What is ISO 14040?
ISO 14040:2006 is the international standard describing the principles and framework for life cycle assessment: goal and scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment, interpretation, reporting and critical review.
It is Edition 2, published in July 2006, last reviewed and confirmed in 2022, with one amendment published in 2020. It does not specify methods for the individual phases.
What is the difference between ISO 14040 and ISO 14044?
ISO 14040 describes the principles and framework for LCA; ISO 14044 specifies the requirements and guidelines for carrying one out.
Both were published in July 2006 and confirmed in 2022, but ISO 14040 has one amendment and ISO 14044 two.
Other ISO documents call the pair “the ISO 14040 series”.
Is ISO 14025:2006 still the standard for EPDs?
No. ISO 14025:2006 is withdrawn.
The current standard is ISO 14025:2026, Edition 2, published in June 2026, titled Environmental statements and programmes for products — Environmental product declarations (EPDs).
It specifies the use of ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 in developing EPDs.
What is ISO 14067?
ISO 14067:2018 sets principles, requirements and guidelines for quantifying and reporting the carbon footprint of a product, consistent with ISO 14040 and 14044.
It covers climate change only, and puts carbon offsetting and communication of the footprint outside its scope.
ISO lists it as “to be revised”, with a successor at working-draft stage and no date.
What is PAS 2050?
PAS 2050:2011 is BSI’s specification for assessing the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services, published on 30 September 2011 and superseding PAS 2050:2008.
It covers whole-life and cradle-to-gate assessments, addresses only global warming, and sets no requirements for disclosing or communicating the result.
What is the GHG Protocol Product Standard?
The GHG Protocol’s Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard measures the greenhouse gas emissions of a single product across its life cycle, from raw materials to disposal.
It works at product level where the Scope 3 Standard works at company level.
In February 2026 the GHG Protocol named its members of a joint working group with ISO on a harmonised product standard.
What is the current version of EN 15804?
EN 15804:2012+A2:2019/AC:2021, a corrigendum effective 18 August 2021, published by BSI as BS EN 15804:2012+A2:2019.
A citation without the /AC:2021 suffix names a withdrawn edition. It is a CEN standard, not a UK-authored one.
Is ISO 14046 still current?
The 2014 text is unchanged and in force with no amendment, but ISO opened a second systematic review on 15 October 2025 and closed it on 5 March 2026, and had not published the outcome when last checked.
Can a product be certified carbon neutral?
A product can be verified against ISO 14068:2026, which applies to products as well as organisations; ISO itself certifies nobody.
Its footprint is quantified to ISO 14067, reductions come before offsetting, and a first claim cannot rest entirely on offsets.
PAS 2060 has been withdrawn since the end of 2025.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- ISOISO 14040:2006 — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework (catalogue record)
Edition 2, confirmed 2022, one amendment.
- ISOISO 14040:2006/Amd 1:2020
The amendment, not a new edition.
- ISOISO 14044:2006 — Life cycle assessment — Requirements and guidelines (catalogue record)
Edition 1, confirmed 2022, two amendments.
- ISOISO 14044:2006/Amd 1:2017 and Amd 2:2020
The two amendments.
- ISOISO 14025:2026 — Environmental product declarations (catalogue record)
Edition 2, published 2026-06; the 2006 edition withdrawn.
- ISOISO 14067:2018 — Carbon footprint of products (catalogue record)
Stage 90.92, to be revised; successor at working draft, no date.
- ISOISO 14046:2014 — Water footprint (catalogue record)
Unchanged text; second systematic review closed 5 March 2026.
- ISOISO 14068 — Carbon neutrality (catalogue record, 2026 edition)
Applies to products and organisations, not territories.
- BSIBS EN 15804:2012+A2:2019 (identical to EN 15804:2012+A2:2019/AC:2021)
The construction-product EPD core rules in force.
- CEN (via SIA)EN 15804:2012+A2:2019/AC:2021 corrigendum (August 2021)
Effective 18 August 2021.
- BSIPAS 2050:2011 — Assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services
Scope, cradle-to-gate option, global warming only.
- GHG ProtocolProduct Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard
Product-level accounting; the joint ISO working group of February 2026.
- GHG ProtocolTechnical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions
The supplier-specific method that uses product footprints.
- UKASTechnical bulletin: ISO 14068-1:2023 migration from PAS 2060 (30 July 2024)
Product emissions quantified to ISO 14067 for a carbon neutrality claim.