ISO 14064 vs ISO 14067 vs GHG Protocol: Which Standard Do You Need?
ISO 14064-1, 14064-3, ISO 14067, ISO 14083 and the GHG Protocol compared: what each covers, how ISO's six categories map to Scopes 1-3, and which to use when.
Akshit Tiwari
5 min read
Key takeaways
- The GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1 both cover a company's inventory. They are compatible: ISO's six categories regroup the same emissions as Scopes 1, 2 and 3.
- ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol Product Standard cover one product's footprint; PACT narrows them into one exchangeable method.
- ISO 14064-3 is the standard for validating and verifying GHG statements, the one a verifier or assurer works to.
- ISO 14083 covers transport chains, and the GLEC Framework is the guidance that implements it.
- ISO and the GHG Protocol announced a partnership in September 2025 to publish harmonised standards; a merged corporate standard is planned for late 2028.
Customers, investors, lenders and regulators ask for emissions "according to the GHG Protocol", "in line with ISO 14064" or "to ISO 14067", often in the same month. These are not competing answers to one question. Each standard answers a different question, and most companies end up using two or three of them on the same underlying data.
The standards at a glance
| Standard | Question it answers | Typical user |
|---|---|---|
| GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (2004), Scope 2 Guidance (2015), Scope 3 Standard (2011) | What are the company's total emissions, by Scope 1, 2 and 3? | Every company reporting an inventory; the basis of CSRD, BRSR, SB 253 and CDP |
| ISO 14064-1:2018 | The same, as an auditable international standard with six categories | Companies that want an ISO-referenced inventory, often for verification |
| ISO 14064-2:2019 | How much does a specific project reduce or remove? | Project developers, carbon-credit methodologies |
| ISO 14064-3:2019 | How is a GHG statement validated or verified? | Verifiers and assurance providers |
| ISO 14067:2018 and the GHG Protocol Product Standard (2011) | What is the footprint of one product? | Suppliers asked for product footprints, EPD and LCA work |
| PACT Methodology v3.0 (2025) | How is a cradle-to-gate product footprint calculated and exchanged consistently? | Suppliers answering customer PCF requests |
| ISO 14083:2023 with the GLEC Framework | What are the emissions of a transport chain or a shipment? | Carriers, freight forwarders, shippers |
GHG Protocol scopes vs ISO 14064-1 categories
ISO 14064-1:2018 replaced the old "direct / energy indirect / other indirect" split with six categories. The first two match Scopes 1 and 2. Categories 3 to 6 together cover what the GHG Protocol calls Scope 3, grouped differently.
| ISO 14064-1 category | What it covers | GHG Protocol |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Direct emissions and removals | Fuel burned on site and in owned vehicles, process and fugitive emissions | Scope 1 |
| 2. Indirect emissions from imported energy | Purchased electricity, heat, steam and cooling | Scope 2 |
| 3. Indirect emissions from transportation | Freight and people transport not in Category 1 | Mainly Scope 3 categories 4, 6, 7 and 9 |
| 4. Indirect emissions from products the organisation uses | Purchased goods and services, capital goods, disposal of waste, leased assets the organisation uses | Mainly Scope 3 categories 1, 2, 5 and 8 |
| 5. Indirect emissions from the use of the organisation's products | Use and end-of-life of sold products, leased assets downstream | Mainly Scope 3 categories 11, 12 and 13 |
| 6. Other indirect emissions | Anything not covered above | Remaining Scope 3 categories |
Product footprints: ISO 14067, the Product Standard and PACT
ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol Product Standard both describe how to calculate a product's life-cycle footprint, and both leave choices open: the system boundary, the allocation method, the data quality approach. That flexibility makes two suppliers' footprints hard to compare. PACT builds on both and fixes those choices: cradle-to-gate only, a set allocation order, and a required primary data share. See how to calculate a PCF under PACT v3 for a worked example.
Verification: ISO 14064-3
Whichever standard you calculate with, a verifier checks it against ISO 14064-3 (or an assurance standard built on similar principles, such as ISAE 3410 or, in India, SSAE 3000). It defines levels of assurance (limited or reasonable), materiality and the evidence the verifier must see. In practice that means each figure must trace back to its activity data, its emission factor with a named source, and the person who approved it.
Transport: ISO 14083 and GLEC
Transport emissions have their own standard, ISO 14083:2023, because allocating a truck's or a ship's emissions between many consignments needs rules of its own. The GLEC Framework implements it, and the EU's CountEmissionsEU regulation builds on it too. Our GLEC v3.2 and ISO 14083 guide works through a shipment.
What is changing
- ISO and the GHG Protocol are converging. On 9 September 2025 they announced a partnership to develop harmonised, co-branded standards across the ISO 1406x family and the GHG Protocol's corporate, Scope 2 and Scope 3 standards, plus a joint product standard. In July 2026 the GHG Protocol said a merged corporate standard aligned with ISO 14064-1 is planned for consultation in 2027 and publication in late 2028.
- Scope 2 is being revised. The GHG Protocol's consultation ran from October 2025 to January 2026 and proposed hourly matching for the market-based method. In July 2026 its board supported keeping two market-based methods, a stricter hourly one and the 2015 approach.
- ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14067 are both under revision, with working drafts in development.
- ISO 14068-1:2023 on carbon neutrality has been replaced by ISO 14068:2026, according to standards catalogues; check ISO's own listing before citing it.
None of this changes what you should do this year: calculate from activity data with sourced, versioned factors, and keep the trail. Standards change how figures are grouped and disclosed; good underlying records survive the change.
Which do you need?
- A company inventory for a regulator, investor or customer: GHG Protocol scopes, and ISO 14064-1 if an ISO reference or verification is asked for.
- A footprint for a product a customer buys: PACT if the request names it, otherwise ISO 14067 or the Product Standard.
- A figure an auditor will sign: whatever you calculated with, verified to ISO 14064-3 or the assurance standard your regulator names.
- Freight or shipment emissions: ISO 14083 with the GLEC Framework.
- EU CBAM embedded emissions: none of the above; CBAM has its own method in EU law. See how to calculate CBAM embedded emissions.
ZeroCarbon keeps one ledger of activity data, each record linked to its document and a versioned factor, and produces GHG Protocol inventories, ISO 14064-1 category views, PACT product footprints and CBAM files from it. The Scope 1, 2 and 3 guide covers the GHG Protocol in more depth, and you can request a workspace to see your own data in each format.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ISO 14064 and the GHG Protocol?+
Both set rules for a company's greenhouse-gas inventory and are compatible. The GHG Protocol groups emissions into Scopes 1, 2 and 3; ISO 14064-1:2018 uses six categories, where categories 1 and 2 match Scopes 1 and 2 and categories 3 to 6 cover Scope 3.
What is the difference between ISO 14064 and ISO 14067?+
ISO 14064-1 covers an organisation's total emissions; ISO 14067 covers the carbon footprint of a single product over its life cycle or part of it.
Which ISO standard is used to verify emissions?+
ISO 14064-3:2019 sets the requirements for validating and verifying greenhouse-gas statements, including levels of assurance and materiality.
Are ISO and the GHG Protocol merging?+
They announced a partnership in September 2025 to develop harmonised standards. The GHG Protocol has said a merged corporate standard aligned with ISO 14064-1 is planned for publication in late 2028.
Sources
- 1.ISO and GHG Protocol announce partnership · ISO
- 2.GHG Protocol announces ISO partnership to develop unified carbon accounting standards · Beveridge & Diamond
- 3.Scope 2 market-based method update: public consultation and current status · GHG Protocol
- 4.GHG Protocol Corporate Standard · GHG Protocol
- 5.Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard · GHG Protocol
- 6.Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard · GHG Protocol
- 7.ISO 14064-1:2018 (sample pages) · ISO, via iTeh Standards
- 8.GHG Protocol vs ISO 14064-1 · GLOCERT International
- 9.ISO 14064-1:2018 status · Genorma
- 10.ISO 14068-1:2023 status · Genorma
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Regulations change; check the primary source before acting.