# What does ISO 14068-1 require before a company can claim carbon neutrality?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/iso-14068-carbon-neutral-requirements

ISO 14068-1:2023 requires a defined subject and boundary, a quantified carbon footprint, a carbon neutrality management plan with reduction targets, cutting emissions before offsetting, offsetting only the residual with quality credits that are retired, and a claim that states the subject, period and how it was checked.

## The steps the standard sets out

1. Define the subject of the claim: the whole organisation, a site, a product or an event, and its boundary.
2. Quantify its carbon footprint using a recognised method, for example ISO 14064-1 for an organisation or ISO 14067 for a product, including significant Scope 3 emissions.
3. Write a carbon neutrality management plan: a commitment, reduction targets with dates, the actions to meet them, and how progress is tracked.
4. Reduce emissions first. Offsetting comes after the planned reductions, never instead of them.
5. Counterbalance the residual emissions for the period with carbon credits that are retired, and report them.
6. Make the claim with its qualifiers: subject, period, footprint, reductions achieved, credits used, and the type of check behind it.

## What the credits must meet

- Additional: the reduction or removal would not have happened without the credit revenue.
- Permanent, or with reversal risk managed for removals that could be released again.
- Not double counted, so the same tonne is not claimed by the host country or another buyer.
- Verified by an independent body under a recognised programme, and retired in a registry for your claim.
- The standard also expects a growing share of removals over time, in line with a transition to net zero.

## Is PAS 2060 still valid?

BSI has said ISO 14068-1 replaces PAS 2060 and set a transition period for claims already made under PAS 2060. New claims should be made under ISO 14068-1. If you hold a PAS 2060 claim, check BSI's notice for the date it stops being valid and plan the move before your next claim period.

## Claims to EU consumers need extra care

From 27 September 2026, Directive (EU) 2024/825 bans claims to consumers that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive climate impact when the claim rests on offsetting. An ISO 14068-1 claim about your company can still be made to business buyers, but do not put a carbon neutral label on goods sold to EU consumers on the strength of credits.

## How the claim is checked

The standard allows different levels of checking, from a self-declaration to independent third-party verification, and the claim must say which one applies. For an export buyer or a public claim, expect to be asked for third-party verification of both the footprint and the credits.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible builds the Scope 1 and 2 part of the footprint from fuel and electricity invoices, with each line traced to its document, and keeps Scope 3 lines as a separate evidence trail. It does not retire credits, write the management plan or verify a carbon neutral claim.

- [Net zero vs carbon neutral](https://senseible.earth/answers/net-zero-vs-carbon-neutral)
- [Can I call my export product carbon neutral?](https://senseible.earth/answers/can-i-call-my-export-product-carbon-neutral)
- [Greenwashing self-audit checklist](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/msme-greenwashing-self-audit-checklist-2026)
- [What to check before buying credits](https://senseible.earth/answers/what-to-check-before-buying-carbon-credits)

Sources: [ISO 14068-1:2023, Climate change management, Transition to net zero, Part 1: Carbon neutrality](https://www.iso.org), [Directive (EU) 2024/825, Empowering consumers for the green transition](https://eur-lex.europa.eu), [ICVCM Core Carbon Principles](https://icvcm.org)

Last reviewed 2026-10-15. Confirm the PAS 2060 withdrawal date in BSI's current notice before relying on an older claim.