Overview
EN ISO 14019-1:2026, Sustainability information - Part 1: General principles and requirements for validation and verification, establishes a harmonized international framework for validating and verifying declared sustainability information. Developed jointly by ISO and CEN, this standard responds to increasing demands from regulators, investors, and stakeholders for credible, transparent, and comparable information on environmental, social, governance (ESG), and other sustainability matters. EN ISO 14019-1:2026 is applicable to both quantitative and qualitative data, supporting organizations and verification bodies in ensuring the integrity and reliability of sustainability disclosures.
Key Topics
- General Principles for Validation and Verification: The standard presents foundational principles such as impartiality, competence, integrity, evidence-based approaches, fair presentation, confidentiality, due professional care, and consistency of documentation.
- Scope of Sustainability Information: Addresses both historical (verification) and future-oriented (validation) sustainability claims, covering environmental, social, governance, and other material sustainability matters.
- Declared vs. Disclosed Information: Differentiates between information produced and controlled by the organization (declared) and information shared externally (disclosed), emphasizing both internal and external reporting contexts.
- Specified Requirements and Criteria: Defines the need for clear benchmarks and reference points-such as regulations, codes, standards, or program-specific criteria-against which sustainability claims are validated or verified.
- Validation/Verification Processes: Provides a process-oriented approach, including programme requirements, evidence collection, reporting formats, and deliverables such as assurance opinions or factual findings.
- Applicability: Designed for use by validation/verification bodies operating in line with ISO/IEC 17029 and supporting various conformity assessment schemes.
Applications
EN ISO 14019-1:2026 can be implemented by a diverse range of organizations and stakeholders, including:
- Validation/Verification Bodies: To structure and standardize their assurance services for sustainability-related claims, ensuring processes meet global best practices.
- Companies and Organizations: As the foundation for preparing sustainability information and engaging independent validation or verification, enabling increased confidence for stakeholders, investors, and regulators.
- Regulatory Authorities: To underpin mandatory or voluntary assurance requirements in sustainability reporting, enhancing trust in publicly disclosed ESG information.
- Programme Owners and Scheme Developers: As a reference for developing sector-specific or cross-sectoral sustainability reporting validation and verification schemes.
- Supply Chain and Procurement Professionals: To confirm the reliability of sustainability claims within procurement and value chain decision-making.
Organizations benefit by:
- Enhancing transparency and credibility of their sustainability reports.
- Meeting investor, customer, and regulatory expectations for trustworthy ESG data.
- Facilitating market access and compliance where validation or verification is a prerequisite.
Related Standards
EN ISO 14019-1:2026 is part of a broader family of standards for sustainability information and conformity assessment:
- ISO 14019-2: Specific requirements for verification processes (forthcoming).
- ISO 14019-3: Specific requirements for validation processes (forthcoming).
- ISO 14019-4:2026: Principles and requirements for bodies validating and verifying sustainability information.
- ISO/IEC 17029: General principles and requirements for validation and verification bodies.
- ISO 14064 and ISO 14065 series: Standards on greenhouse gas quantification, reporting, validation and verification.
- Other ESG reporting standards: Such as GRI, SASB, and national/regional regulatory frameworks.
Adopting EN ISO 14019-1:2026 demonstrates commitment to best-practice sustainability assurance, supporting robust, consistent, and trusted sustainability information across sectors and geographies.