How can you measure and manage your company’s environmental impact in a concrete way? How can you prove that the actions you take are truly effective and communicate them while avoiding the risk of greenwashing? These are increasingly relevant challenges for companies of all sectors and sizes.
In this context, certifications serve as a valuable tool to evaluate and improve environmental performance, provide verifiable evidence of results, and communicate sustainability efforts with credibility.
In this article, you will find an overview of the main certifications and some guidance to help you choose the one that best fits your company.
What are they and why obtain them?
Environmental certifications are voluntary tools that attest, through verification by an independent body, to the compliance of an organization, product or service with specific environmental requirements.
Obtaining a sustainability certification offers tangible advantages on several fronts:
- advantage in tenders and contracts: a certification can grant additional points or serve as an eligibility requirement;
- easier access to financing: more and more banks and investors integrate sustainability criteria into company evaluations, preferring those who adopt sustainable and certified practices;
- competitive advantage: a certification allows a company to differentiate itself from competitors and position itself as a sustainable business;
- reputation and credibility: certification by an independent body provides objective value to a company’s commitment and increases trust among clients and stakeholders.
What are the main environmental certifications?
Environmental certifications are not all the same: each one is designed for specific objectives. Below are 6 examples of the most common and relevant certifications.
ISO 14001: environmental management system
ISO 14001 is the international reference standard for implementing an effective environmental management system.
It helps companies identify, control, and reduce the environmental impacts resulting from their activities, such as energy and natural resource consumption, waste production, greenhouse gas emissions, and water discharges.
ISO 14001 is based on the principle of continuous improvement, structured according to the PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act) model. Companies plan objectives and actions to reduce environmental impacts, implement them through defined procedures, clear responsibilities, and adequate resources, and verify their effectiveness through monitoring and internal audits. In the final “Act” phase, identified issues are corrected and the environmental strategy is updated, ensuring that environmental management evolves over time in response to new needs and sustainability opportunities.
This certification is aimed at organizations of all sizes and sectors that want to manage their environmental impacts in a structured way and give credibility to their sustainability commitment.
ISO 14064: measurement of an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions
ISO 14064 provides guidelines for quantifying, managing, and reporting an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions.
This certification is useful for companies that want to start or have already started a decarbonization path based on concrete data. ISO 14064 enables companies to pinpoint their main sources of emissions, manage them more effectively, and communicate their climate impact in a clear and transparent way.
ISO 14067: product carbon footprint
ISO 14067 establishes the principles and methods for calculating the carbon footprint of a product throughout its life cycle, from raw material sourcing to final disposal.
This certification allows companies to identify the most impactful stages in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and to define targeted reduction strategies. It is also designed for those who want to communicate the reduced environmental impact of their products.
ISO 14068: pathway to carbon neutrality
ISO 14068 defines guidelines and requirements to achieve and demonstrate carbon neutrality. It helps organizations set short- and long-term emission reduction targets and offset residual emissions through certified credits.
This certification is useful for organizations that want to manage their greenhouse gas emissions and make their path toward carbon neutrality transparent and credible.
ISO 50001: efficient energy management
ISO 50001 defines the requirements for creating, maintaining, and improving an energy management system. It helps monitor consumption, identify waste, and progressively improve an organization’s energy efficiency.
It applies to companies of all sizes and sectors, especially those with significant energy consumption, that want to optimize resource use and strengthen their commitment to sustainability.
EU Ecolabel: environmental excellence of products
The EU Ecolabel is the official label of the European Union that certifies products and services with a reduced environmental impact throughout their entire life cycle. The evaluation of environmental performance is based on scientific criteria and considers aspects such as product durability, reusability or recyclability, and the reduction of packaging and non-sustainable materials.
For companies, obtaining the EU Ecolabel means demonstrating the ecological quality of their products and standing out in the market with a label recognized throughout the European Union.
How to choose the certification that best suits your company
Here is a summary of the main differences between the certifications to guide your choice:
- to adopt a systematic approach to environmental management: ISO 14001 is ideal if you want to integrate sustainability into business processes and start a cycle of continuous improvement in environmental performance;
- to measure greenhouse gas emissions: ISO 14064 allows you to quantify emissions at the organizational level, while ISO 14067 enables you to calculate the carbon footprint of products;
- to achieve carbon neutrality: ISO 14068 helps define emission reduction and offset goals and certify the achievement of net-zero emissions;
- to improve energy efficiency: ISO 50001 supports companies in monitoring consumption, reducing waste, and using energy more efficiently;
- to enhance sustainable products and services: the EU Ecolabel is a European Union label that certifies products and services with a reduced environmental impact.
Do you need support to identify the certification that best suits your goals? Would you like to know the concrete steps to obtain a specific certification? That’s what we’re here for.
Contact us to find out how we can guide you step by step on your sustainability journey.
Environmental certifications: which one is right for your company