New ISO Standard to Build Confidence in Global Carbon Market Last year ISO quietly added a new specification to its toolbox of standards for dealing with the evolving demands of climate change and for supporting carbon-footprint trading schemes.
The new standard, ISO 14066:2011 (Greenhouse gases—Competence requirements for greenhouse gas validation teams and verification teams), specifies the competence requisites that the personnel responsible for validation or verification activities must have. Specifically, ISO 14066 details the skills and knowledge that the auditing team personnel must possess, with focus on team rather than individual competency. ISO 14066, of course, does not impact such standards as ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 and the training associated with them (for instance, ISO 9001 training and ISO 27001 training), but its publication demonstrates the near-universal need for ISO standards in the modern world. ISO 14066 is intended to achieve consistency in the global carbon market and to build public confidence in greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting and other communications. ISO 14066 is part of a three-part standard series that started with ISO 14064, a standard for assessing GHG emission-reduction projects, followed by ISO 14065, which specifies accreditation requirements for organizations that validate or verify GHG emission claims.
“The accuracy of an organization’s GHG emissions claims is essential, considering the political and financial ramifications of each claim,” says Dr. Tod Delaney, convenor of the ISO working group responsible for ISO 14066. “If an organization publishes claims that are later discovered to be unreliable, it risks damages both financially and in terms of their reputation. This is why the competence of those assessing such claims is absolutely crucial.” ISO training providers such as ISOcampus.com provide such ISO training courses as ISO 22000 training, ISO 9001 training, ISO 14001 training, and ISO 27001 training to complement the newer international standards being developed to help industries cope with the demands of a planet that’s all too aware of the perils of global warming.