ISO Guide 64:2008 Seeks to Reduce Environmental Impacts of Products
November 5, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published an updated edition of its guide targeted at reducing the potential environmental impact of products by taking environmental aspects into account in product standards.
The newly published ISO Guide 64:2008 - Guide for addressing environmental issues in product standards is a tool for addressing these issues as well as a contribution to sustainable international trade, ISO said.
ISO Guide 64:2008 proposes a step-by-step approach, based on the principle of lifecycle analysis, to promote a reduction of potential adverse environmental impacts caused by products. Primarily intended for product standards writers, the guide seeks to:
- Outline the relationship between the provisions in product standards and the environmental aspects and impacts of the product.
- Assist in drafting or revising provisions in product standards in order to reduce potential adverse environmental impacts at different stages of the entire product lifecycle.
- Emphasize that taking into account environmental issues in product standards is a complex process and requires balancing competing priorities.
- Recommend the use of lifecycle analysis when defining environmental provisions for a product for which a standard is being drafted.
- Promote the future development of sector guides for addressing environmental issues in product standards by standards writers, consistent with the principles and approaches of this guide.
ISO said standards writers are not expected to become environmental experts, but by using the guide, they are encouraged to:
- Identify and understand basic environmental aspects and impacts related to the product under consideration.
- Determine when it is possible and when it is not possible to deal with an environmental issue through a product standard.
The implementation of ISO Guide 64:2008 will make standards writers aware of how it is possible to make an effective contribution to environmental improvement through a product standard and how to reduce potential adverse environmental impacts of products, ISO said.
Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).