Standards for Net Zero Management

ISO 14000:2015

International Standards play a crucial role in underpinning the global economy, creating trust on all aspects of international trade.

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has published many standards related to Climate Change. The word ‘ISO’ is derived from the ancient Greek word ísos, meaning equal or equivalent. By following an ISO, companies agree to define and report their activities according to an agreed set or rules for engagement. Never has this been more important than for the fight against Climate Change.

Without up-to-date International Standards, industry and other stakeholders will be unable to achieve what is necessary, and be able to be compared accurately and justly.

The Group of Standards called ISO 14000 is a set of standards created to help companies around the world reduce their (usually) adverse impact on the environment. They were introduced in 1996 and most recently revised in 2015. This latest evolution is therefore called: ISO 14001:2015.

ISO 14001:2015 is applicable to any organization, regardless of size, type and nature, and applies to the environmental aspects of its activities, products and services that the organization determines it can either control or influence considering a life cycle perspective. ISO 14001:2015 does not state specific environmental performance criteria

The latest ISO Survey has indicated that over 300,000 companies worldwide have registered for ISO 14001. Although participation is not mandatory, obtaining this certification can be considered a sign of a commitment to the environment, and it is possible that in the future mandatory reporting of Carbon Footprint reductions may be imposed on companies.

In anticipation of future mandatory requirements, those companies that have adopted standards and can be audited for ISO 14001 conformance will be well placed to

International Standard for Industrial Classification (ISIC)

Net Zero Matrix continue to build an Ecosystem for the reporting of Net Zero Target and Progress data. Through a unique multi-party validation system, companies who are already themselves ISO certified will have confidence in the data provided by other companies in the same ISIC Sector who are also themselves complaint with the ISO 14001 standard.

Portfolio

The above table shows the broad classification of Industrial Activity Sectors. By correctly identifying the Sector, Division and Class of a particular company, and by having a single integrated data ecosystem, it is possible to ensure that Validation is performed by other companies and other agencies who know and understand that activity.

International Securities Identification Number (ISIN)

The ISIN Organization provides management services related to International Securities Identification Numbers (ISIN). ISINs uniquely identify a security through a structure defined in ISO 6166. The ISIN code is a 12-character alpha-numerical code, and it is unique to that company.

By assigning this unique identifier to a particular Net Zero Target and the reported Carbon Footprint Reductions, it is possible to ensure that there is no overlap of reporting with other companies in a supply chain (double counting), or avoidance of reporting altogether (carbon offshoring).

There are three parts to an ISIN as exemplified by US-049580485-1 (the dashes don’t count, they are there to add clarity). The code can be broken down as follows:

  • A two-letter country code, drawn from a list (ISO 6166) prepared by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This code is assigned according to the location of a company’s head office.

  • A nine-digit numeric identifier, called the National Securities Identifying Number (NSIN), and assigned by each country or region. If a national number is composed of less than nine digits, it is padded with leading zeros to become a NSIN. The numeric identifier has no intrinsic meaning it is essentially a serial number.

  • A single check-digit. The digit is calculated based upon the preceding 11 characters/digits and uses a sum modulo 10 algorithm and helps ensure against counterfeit numbers.

The Net Zero Matrix Target and Progress Ecosystem uses the ISIN number where available to ensure accurate identification and assignment of Carbon Footprint data.