Attributional and consequential interpretations of the ISO 14044

Documentation of state of discussion

This document summarizes the state of the discussions in the ISO TC207/SC5/TG1 drafting groups before the TG1 and SC5 meeting in Berlin where further progress on these issues were halted. It is provided here for historical documentation only.

The motivation for raising the discussion was that in practice, the ISO 14040 and 14044 are used for different goals and scopes (as outlined in Annex A.1 of ISO 14040), including some that were not originally foreseen when drafting the standard text. This has led to two different approaches to LCA (as mentioned in Annex A.2 of ISO 14040), which especially diverge in their interpretation of the requirements of ISO 14044. That the same requirement can be interpreted in two ways, and that these interpretations are not always clearly linked to the goal and scope of the assessments, has lead to the proliferation of guidelines that seek to promote their own interpretation of ISO 14044, with consequent unfortunate controversies that hamper the intended application of the standards.