By
Director of Climate Science & Impact
5 min read
ISO 14068-1 is an international standard for achieving and claiming carbon neutrality. Published by the International Organization for Standardization, it requires organisations to measure their greenhouse gas emissions, reduce them in line with climate science, and use high-integrity carbon credits to address unavoidable remaining emissions. It superseded PAS 2060 in 2025 and is now the leading framework for credible carbon neutrality claims.
Why carbon neutrality claims are under scrutiny
In recent years, claims of carbon neutrality have faced criticism. Concerns about greenwashing, inconsistent carbon credit quality, and companies relying heavily on offsetting without reducing their own emissions have all led to growing scepticism from regulators, NGOs, and the public.
As a result, many organisations moved away from older frameworks for carbon neutrality claims, either to rescind these claims altogether, or toward more rigorous approaches.
In 2025, the new ISO 14068-1 standard superseded the previous PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality. It provides clearer rules for measuring emissions, reducing them in line with climate science, and responsibly mitigating unavoidable emissions. The result is a more transparent and credible framework for organisations seeking to demonstrate carbon neutrality.
This article explains what ISO 14068-1 is, how it differs from PAS 2060, how to achieve it, and the role carbon offsetting plays within the standard.
Aligning with the Green Claims Code
The scrutiny surrounding environmental claims isn’t just a matter of public opinion; it is now a matter of regulatory compliance. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the Green Claims Code to protect consumers from misleading environmental claims.
If your business makes a claim about being "carbon neutral" or "eco-friendly," it must adhere to six core principles:
Be truthful and accurate: Claims must not mislead or overstate environmental benefits.
Be clear and unambiguous: Avoid vague terms like "green" or "sustainable" without explanation.
Not omit important information: You cannot cherry-pick good data while hiding significant environmental footprints.
Be fair and meaningful: Comparisons must be based on clear, up-to-date evidence.
Consider the full life cycle: Claims should reflect the total impact of a product or service, not just one small part of it.
Be substantiated: You must have robust, credible evidence to back up every claim you make.
The Green Claims Code makes it clear that "carbon neutral" claims are particularly high-risk. To comply, businesses must be transparent about whether they are actually reducing their own emissions or simply buying offsets. This is exactly where ISO 14068-1 comes in: by following this rigorous international standard, businesses can ensure their claims are substantiated, transparent, and fully aligned with the CMA’s requirements.
What is ISO 14068-1 carbon neutrality?
ISO 14068-1 is an international standard that sets out requirements and guidance for achieving and claiming carbon neutrality. It requires businesses to measure greenhouse gas emissions, reduce them in line with climate science, and use high-integrity carbon credits to address unavoidable emissions, with full transparency and verification.
Published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the framework provides a structured approach for organisations to measure greenhouse gas emissions, implement reduction strategies, and mitigate unavoidable emissions.
Unlike earlier frameworks, ISO 14068-1 places stronger emphasis on science-based emissions reductions before the use of carbon credits for offsetting. It also introduces clearer guidance on transparency, governance, and verification.
In practice, achieving carbon neutrality under ISO 14068-1 involves four core steps:
Measure emissions using recognised carbon accounting methods.
Reduce emissions through a structured decarbonisation plan.
Mitigate unavoidable emissions using high-integrity carbon credits.
Verify and disclose the methodology and results transparently.
This sequence reflects a broader shift in climate governance: carbon neutrality must be part of a credible emissions reduction strategy - not an end goal, and not a substitute for it. This is evident even in the name of the new ISO standard, which places carbon neutrality squarely as just one step on the ‘transition to net-zero’.
Why was PAS 2060 replaced?
The PAS 2060 standard was launched in 2010, and was the most widely-used framework for carbon neutrality claims. It was developed at a time when expectations around corporate climate claims were far less stringent than they are today. Many organisations used the framework to make carbon neutrality claims while relying heavily on carbon offsetting without demonstrating reductions in their own emissions.
ISO 14068-1 responds to these challenges by introducing:
Greater requirement for demonstrating emissions reduction across a broader coverage of emissions
Clearer governance and documentation requirements
Alignment with international climate frameworks
More rigorous guidance on making credible carbon neutrality claims
In 2025, the BSI withdrew PAS 2060, as it was formally superseded by the new, strengthened ISO 14068-1 standard for carbon neutrality. This meant that businesses previously certified against PAS 2060 would have to transition to the new standard to meet the requirements for carbon neutrality claims in the future.
As expectations around carbon neutrality claims have evolved, ISO 14068-1 sets a new benchmark for credible carbon neutrality certification aligned with climate science and regulatory scrutiny.
PAS 2060 and ISO 14068-1: Key differences
While both standards focus on carbon neutrality, ISO 14068-1 introduces several important improvements which strengthen the concept of ‘carbon neutrality’.
1. Stronger alignment with climate science
ISO 14068-1 reflects developments in climate policy and scientific understanding since PAS 2060 was launched in 2010, including two IPCC Assessment Reports (2014 and 2021) and the Paris Agreement (2015).
The new ISO standard encourages organisations to integrate neutrality claims within broader decarbonisation strategies which are aligned with global climate goals, and requires organisations to commit to a science-based approach which is responsive to the latest climate science.
2. Greater focus on emissions reduction
A central principle of ISO 14068-1 is that organisations must prioritise reducing emissions - and demonstrate that reductions have been achieved - before they can offset them. Offsetting is therefore intended to address emissions that cannot yet be eliminated, rather than acting as the primary method for achieving carbon neutrality.
3. Increased transparency
Within its section on carbon neutrality reporting, the new ISO 14068-1 standard requires more detailed documentation of emissions boundaries, calculation methods, climate strategies and carbon credit quality. This transparency strengthens the credibility of carbon neutrality claims because each claim is backed by detailed reporting.
4. Better integration with net-zero frameworks
ISO 14068-1 is complementary with other frameworks such as the Science-Based Targets initiative’s Corporate Net-Zero Standard, since it reframes carbon neutrality as a potential step on the pathway to net-zero. Together, these approaches encourage organisations to move beyond short-term neutrality claims toward long-term decarbonisation.
ISO 14068=1 replaced PAS 2060 as the leading carbon neutrality standard, introducing stricter requirements on emissions reduction, Scope 3 coverage and transparency.
PAS 2060 | ISO 14068-1 | |
|---|---|---|
Climate science | Launched in 2010, prior to the current climate science and policy landscape. | Responsive to the Paris Agreement (2015) and IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2021). Commits organisations to aligning with latest climate science. |
Boundaries | Emission boundary definitions were flexible and open to interpretation. Context regarding the parent company’s carbon footprint was optional. | Mandates alignment with ISO 14064-1 for organisational boundaries and ISO 14067 for product boundaries. Context regarding the parent company’s carbon footprint is mandatory. |
Scopes | Value chain (scope 3) emissions optional. | Mandates a thorough inventory of all upstream and downstream emissions across the value chain. |
Reductions | Offsetting could be used broadly; emissions reductions recommended but not required to make claims. | Emissions reductions must be prioritised and demonstrated before carbon credits can be used for offsetting. Historic reductions don’t count: organisation has to make a public commitment to carbon neutrality first, and then demonstrate reductions before claiming neutrality. |
Offsetting | Simple offsetting requirement for reconciling measured emissions. | Detailed instructions on timing, use, quality and reporting of carbon credit use for offsetting. Only high-integrity and verified credits are acceptable. |
Transparency & disclosures | Flexible reporting. Less prescriptive on boundaries, assumptions, and methodology. | Stronger transparency and governance including detailed documentation and disclosure required to meet neutrality. |
Ecologi ISO 14068 case study: KYOCERA Document Solutions
As part of this transition, Kyocera UK is expanding the scope and depth of its carbon accounting programme, including enhanced Scope 3 reporting, a renewed focus on operational emissions reductions, and the development of a high-integrity carbon credit strategy aligned to ISO 14068 requirements. ISO carbon neutrality is being treated as a key milestone within Kyocera's longer-term climate transition and decarbonisation strategy, supporting a structured pathway towards deeper emissions reductions over time.
This work reflects Kyocera's long-term commitment to credible climate leadership, with the business targeting ISO-aligned carbon neutrality certification from 2027 onwards and continuing to evolve its sustainability communications to be robust, responsible and meet our customers' needs.
The role of carbon credits in ISO 14068-1
Carbon credits remain part of the carbon neutrality process under ISO 14068-1, but their role is limited and clearly defined. The standard recognises that some emissions cannot yet be eliminated due to technological or operational constraints. In these cases, organisations must use high-integrity carbon credits to address ongoing emissions.
However, several key principles apply.
Offsetting must only follow reductions
Carbon neutrality under ISO 14068-1 can only be claimed once emissions reductions have been demonstrated, meaning it prioritises internal emissions reductions. Carbon credits can be used only after organisations have implemented credible mitigation strategies which have shown to produce reductions in their emissions.
Credit quality and recency matters
Organisations must ensure that carbon credits represent real, additional, measurable, permanent and certified climate benefits. This typically means using projects that meet recognised carbon standards and robust monitoring frameworks. The standard also instructs organisations to use only carbon credit ‘vintages’ of a maximum five years prior to the start of the period for which carbon neutrality is being claimed.
Offsetting must support broader climate action
When used responsibly, carbon credits can support projects that deliver measurable climate and environmental benefits, including nature restoration and carbon removal technologies.
Within ISO 14068-1, organisations have to report how the credits used for offsetting their emissions demonstrate contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as meeting specific risk mitigation and safeguarding measures.
Steps to achieving ISO 14068-1 carbon neutrality certification
Organisations seeking certification under ISO 14068-1 typically follow four structured steps.
1. Measure greenhouse gas emissions
Establish a comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory using recognised carbon accounting methods across Scope 1, 2 and 3. This includes identifying emissions sources across relevant operational boundaries and calculating a baseline footprint.
2. Implement emissions reduction measures
Organisations must develop and implement a clear decarbonisation plan. This may involve improving energy efficiency, transitioning to renewable energy, reducing supply chain emissions, and redesigning products or services through a structured carbon reduction plan.
3. Offset unabated emissions
Once emissions reductions have been implemented and evidenced by the company in order to demonstrate compliance with the mitigation hierarchy, organisations can use carbon credits to compensate for remaining emissions that cannot yet be eliminated.
4. Verify and communicate claims
ISO 14068-1 requires transparent documentation of the methods used to measure emissions, implement reductions, and neutralise residual impacts. Independent verification may be required to confirm that claims meet the standard. In the case that independent verification is needed, it can be completed by a climate solutions provider and typically takes a few weeks to months (cost varies).
In practice, achieving ISO 14068 requires robust carbon accounting, including full Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions measurement, alongside a structured carbon reduction plan and transparent reporting.
Need support achieving ISO 14068 certification?
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