ISO 14001 vs ISO 14064

ISO 14001 and ISO 14064 are often confused because they live under the same family of environmental standards. They serve different purposes:

• ISO 14001 is about the management system that controls environmental impact.
• ISO 14064 is about quantifying greenhouse gas emissions specifically.

You can implement both — and most companies pursuing serious climate accountability do.

What each one covers

	ISO 14001	ISO 14064
Purpose	Environmental management system	GHG quantification, monitoring, reporting, verification
Scope	All environmental impacts: waste, water, air, soil, biodiversity, compliance	Greenhouse gas emissions only
What it certifies	Your system manages environmental impact systematically	Your GHG numbers are accurate and verifiable
Structure	PDCA cycle, 10 clauses	3 parts (organisation, project, verification)
Auditor output	EMS certificate	Verification opinion on GHG inventory

The three parts of ISO 14064

Part	Focus	What it does
14064-1	Organisation level	Specifies requirements for designing and managing GHG inventories — the standard for corporate GHG accounting (often used alongside GHG Protocol)
14064-2	Project level	Quantifies emission reductions from specific projects (e.g. renewable energy installations, efficiency upgrades)
14064-3	Verification	Defines requirements for validating and verifying GHG assertions — used by third-party auditors

How they complement each other

Think of it this way:

• ISO 14001 provides the management framework — governance, procedures, responsibilities, continuous improvement.
• ISO 14064 provides the measurement rigour — precise GHG quantification within that management framework.

A company might:

1. Implement ISO 14001 to certify that environmental management is in place.
2. Apply ISO 14064-1 to structure its GHG inventory.
3. Engage an ISO 14064-3 verifier to assure the inventory.

Together, they signal both operational discipline (you manage environmental impact) and credible measurement (the numbers are audited).

When to use each

• You’re starting on environmental management: ISO 14001 first. It builds the system; the inventory comes inside it.
• You’re focused on a corporate carbon footprint: ISO 14064-1 — possibly without ISO 14001 if EMS isn’t the goal.
• You need a verified GHG inventory (e.g. for CDP, SBTi or assured disclosures): ISO 14064-3 verification.
• You need both system and measurement credibility (e.g. for CSRD assurance, EcoVadis Gold/Platinum, regulated supply chain): pursue both.

ISO 14001:2026 makes the link tighter

The 2026 revision expects auditable lifecycle data lineage — exactly what ISO 14064 provides. Companies that certify to ISO 14001 and apply ISO 14064 inventory practice have a much easier time at the 2026 audit, because the EMS already pulls from a verifiable carbon dataset.

Bottom line

These aren’t competing standards. Most companies that take climate seriously end up using both. Start with whichever gap you have today and add the other when its time comes.