ISO 14031-2021 PDF

Full title and description

ISO 14031:2021 — Environmental management — Environmental performance evaluation — Guidelines. This International Standard provides guidance for the design, selection and use of environmental performance evaluation (EPE) within an organization to support monitoring, measurement, analysis and reporting of environmental performance. It is intended to be applicable to any organization regardless of type, size, location or complexity and does not set performance levels or compliance requirements for environmental management systems.

Abstract

This standard gives guidelines for establishing and using environmental performance evaluation (EPE) programs, including principles for selecting environmental performance indicators (EPIs), data collection and management, analysis and interpretation of results, and communication and reporting of environmental performance. The guidance supports organizational commitments such as legal compliance, prevention of pollution and continual improvement, but does not prescribe specific methods for valuing or weighting impacts or set mandatory performance thresholds.

General information

• Status: Published.
• Publication date: March 2021.
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 13.020.10 (Environmental management).
• Edition / version: 3 (third edition, 2021).
• Number of pages: 44 pages.

Scope

ISO 14031:2021 provides generic guidance for designing and using environmental performance evaluation within organizations. It covers the selection and development of environmental performance indicators, the collection and handling of data, analysis and interpretation techniques, reporting and communication, and how EPE can be integrated with organizational management processes. It does not establish or require particular performance levels, nor is it intended to be used as a certification requirement for environmental management systems. Sector-specific methods and valuation approaches are outside its scope and may be used in conjunction with this document where needed.

Key topics and requirements

• Principles and objectives of environmental performance evaluation (EPE).
• Guidance on selecting, defining and using environmental performance indicators (EPIs) and performance measures (qualitative and quantitative).
• Data collection, quality considerations, systems for data management and record keeping.
• Methods for analysis, interpretation and trend assessment to support management decisions.
• Reporting, internal and external communication of environmental performance and use of results for continual improvement.
• Roles and responsibilities, integration with organizational processes and linkages to environmental management systems (e.g., ISO 14001).
• Considerations for boundary setting, life-cycle perspective and selection of relevant environmental aspects and conditions.

These topics and recommended practices are presented as guidance rather than prescriptive requirements.

Typical use and users

ISO 14031 is used by environmental and sustainability managers, compliance officers, consultants, corporate reporting teams, auditors and public-sector bodies to design and operate environmental performance evaluation systems. It is useful across industries and for organizations of all sizes that need to monitor, analyze and report environmental performance internally and to stakeholders, or that wish to align EPE activities with their environmental management systems and improvement objectives.

Related standards

ISO 14031 is part of the ISO 14000 family and is commonly used alongside ISO 14001 (Environmental management systems — Requirements with guidance for use), ISO 14040 / ISO 14044 (life cycle assessment standards) and ISO 14050 (environmental management — vocabulary). It is also complementary to guidance such as ISO 14006 (guidelines for incorporating ecodesign) when product-related considerations or life-cycle perspectives are relevant.

Keywords

Environmental performance evaluation, EPE, environmental performance indicators, EPIs, environmental indicators, performance measurement, environmental reporting, ISO 14031, environmental management, continual improvement, data quality, life-cycle perspective.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 14031:2021 provides guidelines for environmental performance evaluation (EPE) — how to select indicators, collect and manage data, analyse performance and report results to support environmental management and continual improvement.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers principles and methods for designing and using environmental performance indicators, data collection and quality, analysis and interpretation, reporting and communication, and the integration of EPE with organizational processes. It does not set numerical performance targets or certification criteria.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Environmental managers, sustainability and corporate reporting teams, consultants, auditors, regulators and public-sector organizations — essentially any organization seeking structured guidance on monitoring and reporting environmental performance.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: ISO 14031:2021 is the current (third) edition, published in March 2021. It supersedes the 2013 and 1999 editions. The ISO record shows the 2013 edition withdrawn and the 2021 edition published as the latest iteration. Users should check ISO or their national standards body for any review updates or amendments after 2021.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — ISO 14031 is part of the ISO 14000 family of environmental management standards and is commonly used together with ISO 14001 (EMS requirements), ISO 14040/14044 (life cycle assessment) and ISO 14050 (vocabulary).

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Environmental performance evaluation (EPE), environmental performance indicators (EPIs), indicators, monitoring, reporting, environmental management system, continual improvement, EPE framework.