ISO 14064-1 guide
ISO 14064-1 vs ISO 14068-1: GHG inventory, carbon neutrality claim, and when you need both
How the GHG inventory standard and the carbon neutrality standard, now ISO 14068:2026, differ and connect: a side-by-side comparison, how the inventory feeds the claim, a decision table and the order to run both.
Key points
- ISO 14064-1 tells you how to quantify and report an organisation's greenhouse gas emissions and removals; ISO 14068-1, now published as ISO 14068:2026, tells you how to achieve and demonstrate carbon neutrality.
- The inventory is an input to the claim: ISO 14068 builds on ISO 14064-1 for an organisation's footprint and on ISO 14067 for a product, building or event.
- A verified inventory supports figures, not a neutrality statement; the claim adds a commitment, a management plan, real reductions, qualifying credits for what remains and a report.
- Both are verified under ISO 14064-3 by an independent verification body; neither leads to a certificate, and Sterling verifies neither.
ISO 14064-1 vs ISO 14068-1: the short answer
The two standards sit one after the other on the same road. ISO 14064-1 answers the question "what did we emit, and can a stranger reproduce the number?" ISO 14068 answers a different one: "having measured it, what have we done about it, and may we now call the subject carbon neutral?" The first produces a GHG inventory and a GHG report. The second produces a carbon neutrality report and a claim.
If all you need is credible emissions figures for a customer questionnaire, a lender, a disclosure platform or a reduction target, ISO 14064-1 is the standard. If you intend to call your organisation, a product, a building or an event carbon neutral, you need ISO 14068, and for an organisation that claim rests on an ISO 14064-1 inventory. Many organisations end up with both, in that order.
A note on the name: ISO 14068-1:2023 was replaced on 11 September 2026 by ISO 14068:2026, a minor revision that updated the title and removed the part number. Clause numbers below are those of the 2026 edition.
ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14068 side by side
| What is compared | ISO 14064-1:2018 (GHG inventory) | ISO 14068:2026 (carbon neutrality) |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | An organisation, within organisational and reporting boundaries you define | An organisation or a product, a term covering goods, services, buildings and events |
| What you end up with | A GHG inventory and a GHG report, with direct emissions and five categories of indirect emissions | A carbon neutrality report and a claim for one subject and one period |
| Main clauses | Principles, boundaries, quantification, mitigation activities, inventory quality management, reporting, the organisation's role in verification (clauses 4 to 10) | Principles, approach, commitment, subject and boundary, quantification, management plan, reductions and removal enhancements, offsetting, report, claims (clauses 4 to 13) |
| Carbon credits | Not what the standard is about; mitigation activities have their own clause, apart from the quantified emissions | Used only for the footprint left after reductions, with credits and crediting programmes meeting the criteria in clauses 11.2 and 11.3 |
| Who verifies | A verification body accredited under ISO/IEC 17029 with ISO 14065, working to ISO 14064-3, at limited or reasonable assurance | The same family of bodies and the same verification standard; confirm the body's accreditation covers carbon neutrality |
| Edition status | Confirmed in 2024; a revision is in preparation, and ISO and the GHG Protocol plan a consolidated corporate standard for publication in the fourth quarter of 2028 | Published 11 September 2026, replacing ISO 14068-1:2023; it also succeeds PAS 2060, which BSI withdrew on 1 December 2025 |
| Rhythm | One inventory per reporting year, verified again each year the figures are relied on | Each claim period quantified, the plan evaluated and revised, credits retired and the claim verified before it is renewed |
| Sterling's usual estimate to a first verified result | Three to six months | Four to nine months, shorter when a verified inventory already exists |
How the inventory feeds the claim
ISO 14068 says in its introduction that it is designed to build on the existing quantification, reporting and verification standards, naming ISO 14064-1, ISO 14064-3 and ISO 14067. In practice that means clause 8 of ISO 14068, the quantification of emissions and removals for the subject, is where an ISO 14064-1 inventory does its work for an organisation. Boundary, activity data, factors and base year all carry across, and every credit you retire is sized against that footprint.
What ISO 14068 adds on top
- A commitment to carbon neutrality for the named subject (clause 6).
- A carbon neutrality management plan with its ambition demonstrated, then evaluated and revised over time (clause 9).
- Reductions and removal enhancements actually achieved, with documented evidence (clause 10).
- Offsetting of the remaining footprint only, with credits and programmes checked against the standard's criteria (clause 11).
- A carbon neutrality report and claims made only in the way the standard allows (clauses 12 and 13).
The idea that holds these together is the hierarchy: reduce direct and indirect emissions and enhance removals first, offset only what is left, and expect the offsetting to shrink as the pathway continues. An ISO 14064-1 inventory has no such expectation; it reports what happened, whether emissions rose or fell. That is why an inventory, however well verified, cannot on its own carry a neutrality claim.
Which one do you need?
| Your situation | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A customer, lender or disclosure platform wants scope 1, 2 and 3 figures | ISO 14064-1 | They want traceable numbers; a neutrality claim answers a question they have not asked |
| You are setting a science-based target | ISO 14064-1, mapped to the GHG Protocol scopes | The SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard asks for an inventory in line with the GHG Protocol; ISO 14068 is not a target standard |
| The board wants to announce that the organisation is carbon neutral | Both, inventory first | The claim needs a quantified footprint before any plan, reduction or credit can be judged |
| A carbon neutral event, building or product | ISO 14068 with an ISO 14067 footprint | The subject is not an organisation, so the organisational inventory is not the basis |
| You hold a PAS 2060 declaration | ISO 14068 | PAS 2060 has been withdrawn; see Moving from PAS 2060 to ISO 14068 |
| You have credits in hand but no footprint | ISO 14064-1 now; no claim yet | Credits can only be sized and checked against a footprint, and credits acquired before any check may not meet the criteria |
| You sell to consumers in the EU and want an offset-based product claim | Legal review before anything else | Directive (EU) 2024/825 treats offset-based neutral claims about products as unfair, with national rules applying from 27 September 2026 |
For net zero rather than neutrality, the inventory is still step one; see Carbon neutral or net zero: what each claim requires.
Running both: order, timing and one evidence trail
When both are in scope, sequence them. Close the reporting year, build and verify the inventory, then use that verified footprint as the starting point for the claim period. Drafting claim wording or sourcing credits before the footprint exists creates rework and statements the evidence cannot support.
One boundary document, one factor library and one data calendar should serve both, so the verifier of the claim follows the same trail the verifier of the inventory tested. Whether one verification engagement can cover the inventory and the claim together is a question for the verification body and its accreditation scope; ask it at the quotation stage.
How Sterling runs an inventory and a claim together
One programme, from the first invoice to approved claim wording
Our expert and experienced consultants set the boundary, build the inventory and its evidence, then write the management plan, check every credit against the ISO 14068 criteria and prepare the report and claim, through Design™ with your team leading or Drive™ with us carrying the work. Effivity, used in 50+ countries, holds the records from the first workshop. We ensure successful verification for our clients; the independent verification body verifies and issues its statement.
Book a free discovery callWhat neither standard gives you
Neither standard is a certification. There is no certificate, no Stage 1 or Stage 2 and no surveillance cycle; there is a verification statement with an opinion, at an agreed level of assurance and materiality, for a stated period. An offer of a "carbon neutral certificate" in a few days, without a footprint, a plan or retirement records, is offering a logo.
Neither standard is a net zero standard either. ISO 14068 states that it does not address requirements for net zero at global or sub-global scale, and ISO 14064-1 simply measures. Neither makes a claim lawful in every market; consumer and advertising rules sit outside both, so claim wording deserves a legal read. For the credit side of the claim, see Carbon credits under ISO 14068: the criteria.
ISO 14064-1 vs ISO 14068-1: questions buyers ask
Do we need a verified ISO 14064-1 inventory before an ISO 14068 claim?
You need a quantified footprint for the subject, and for an organisation ISO 14068 builds on ISO 14064-1 to produce it. A separately verified inventory is not the only route, but it shortens the programme, because the verifier of the claim can start from figures that have already been tested.
Can one verification body verify both the inventory and the carbon neutrality claim?
It can, since both are verified to ISO 14064-3 by bodies accredited under ISO/IEC 17029 with ISO 14065. Confirm with the body that its accreditation scope covers carbon neutrality as well as organisational inventories, and that it is independent of whoever sold your credits or wrote your claim.
Does a carbon neutral product or event claim use ISO 14064-1?
No, a product, building or event footprint is quantified under ISO 14067, and ISO 14068 then applies to the claim. The boundary follows the subject's life cycle.
Which standard helps with CDP, SBTi or sustainability reporting?
ISO 14064-1 is the one that helps, because those frameworks ask for emissions by scope with a verification process behind them. Map the ISO categories to the GHG Protocol scopes, as described in ISO 14064-1 and the GHG Protocol: mapping categories to scopes; a neutrality claim does not replace that reporting.
How long does it take to go from an inventory to a verified carbon neutral claim?
Sterling's usual estimate is four to nine months to a first verified claim, at the shorter end when a verified inventory already exists. The claim covers a completed period, so the footprint, the plan, the reductions, the credit retirements and the report must all exist before verification.
Does the change from ISO 14068-1 to ISO 14068:2026 affect how the two standards fit together?
No, the relationship is unchanged, because ISO lists only the new title and the removal of the part number as changes. The claim still builds on an ISO 14064-1 inventory or an ISO 14067 footprint; only the reference in your report and claim moves to the 2026 edition.
More ISO 14064-1 guides
Every guide in the ISO 14064-1 series is written for one question and links back to the hub for the whole picture.
Keep exploring
Explore more about ISO 14064-1
Watch a video on how to implement ISO 14064-1 here.
Watch a video on ISO 14064-1 requirements here.
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