Overview
ISO Guide 84:2020 - Guidelines for addressing climate change in standards provides practical guidance to standards developers on incorporating climate change considerations into the planning, drafting, revision and updating of ISO standards and other deliverables. The guide presents a framework and general principles that enable the inclusion of both climate change mitigation (CCM) and adaptation to climate change (ACC) considerations so standards better support preparedness, disaster reduction, resilience and reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Key topics and technical focus
- Framework & principles: sets out core principles such as interactivity, clarity, stakeholder involvement, transparency, fairness/equity, performance orientation and future orientation for climate-aware standardization.
- Strategic planning: guidance on committee setup, strategic business plans, review and revision cycles to reflect climate risks and opportunities.
- Approaches to response: descriptions of systems thinking, life‑cycle approach, risk‑based and precautionary approaches for assessing climate impacts relevant to a standard’s scope.
- Identifying issues: methods to identify and prioritise relevant and significant climate change issues for products, processes or systems.
- Mitigation topics: treatment of typical GHG sources and mitigation measures including energy management and efficiency, renewable energy, fuel switching, resource management, carbon capture/use/storage and sector-specific sources (e.g., transport, industry, agriculture, waste).
- Adaptation topics: integrating ACC measures into product and process standards, and considerations for strengthening technology, activity and product (TAP) resilience.
- Management systems & measurement: how adaptation and mitigation can be reflected in management system standards, organizational GHG inventories, per‑product footprints, GHG project monitoring and verification.
- Financing and incentives: overview of financing options and policy incentives to support the low‑carbon transition.
Applications and who uses it
- Standards developers and ISO technical committees - to decide whether and how to address climate change in new or revised standards.
- Regulators and policy advisors - to align standards with climate resilience and mitigation objectives.
- Product and process designers, manufacturers and supply‑chain managers - for embedding ACC/CCM considerations into specifications and performance requirements.
- Conformity assessment bodies and sustainability practitioners - for defining measurement, verification and reporting expectations.
- Organizations planning adaptation and mitigation actions - to improve resilience and reduce GHG footprint through standards-aligned practices.
Related guidance
- Works alongside the ISO/IEC Directives and committee-specific policies for environmental and management system standards. It promotes consistency across standards that directly or indirectly address climate change.
Keywords: ISO Guide 84:2020, guidelines for addressing climate change in standards, climate change mitigation, adaptation to climate change, GHG emissions, life cycle approach, risk-based approach, standards developers, resilience.