EN ISO 14031:2013

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-november-2013
1DGRPHãþD
SIST EN ISO 14031:2002
5DYQDQMH]RNROMHP9UHGQRWHQMHXþLQNRYUDYQDQMD]RNROMHP6PHUQLFH,62

Environmental management - Environmental performance evaluation - Guidelines (ISO
14031:2013)
Umweltmanagement - Umweltleistungsbewertung - Leitlinien (ISO 14031:2013)
Management environnemental - Évaluation de la performance environnementale -
Lignes directrices (ISO 14031:2013)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 14031:2013
ICS:
13.020.10 Ravnanje z okoljem Environmental management
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD
EN ISO 14031
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
August 2013
ICS 13.020.10 Supersedes EN ISO 14031:1999
English Version
Environmental management - Environmental performance
evaluation - Guidelines (ISO 14031:2013)
Management environnemental - Évaluation de la Umweltmanagement - Umweltleistungsbewertung -
performance environnementale - Lignes directrices (ISO Leitlinien (ISO 14031:2013)
14031:2013)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 19 July 2013.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European
Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same
status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United
Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2013 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 14031:2013: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
Foreword .3
Annex ZA (informative) Relationship between this International Standard and the Essential
Requirements of EU Directive 765/2008/EC and 339/93/EEC .4

Foreword
This document (EN ISO 14031:2013) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207 "Environmental
management".
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical
text or by endorsement, at the latest by February 2014, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn
at the latest by February 2014.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN ISO 14031:1999.
This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the
European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of EU Directive(s).
For relationship with EU Directive, see informative Annex ZA, which is an integral part of this document.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following
countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 14031:2013 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 14031:2013 without any modification.
Annex ZA
(informative)
Relationship between this International Standard and the Essential
Requirements of EU Directive 765/2008/EC and 339/93/EEC
This European Standard has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the
European Free Trade Association to provide one means of conforming to Essential Requirements of the New Approach
Directive 765/2008/EC and 339/93/EEC.
Once this standard is cited in the Official Journal of the European Union under that Directive and has been implemented
as a national standard in at least one Member State, compliance with the normative clauses of this standard confers,
within the limits of the scope of this standard, a presumption of conformity with the relevant Essential Requirements of that
Directive and associated EFTA regulations.
WARNING: Other requirements and other EU Directives may be applicable to the products falling within the scope of this
standard.
INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 14031
Second edition
2013-08-01
Environmental management —
Environmental performance
evaluation — Guidelines
Management environnemental — Évaluation de la performance
environnementale — Lignes directrices
Reference number
ISO 14031:2013(E)
©
ISO 2013
ISO 14031:2013(E)
© ISO 2013
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior
written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of
the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail copyright@iso.org
Web www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

ISO 14031:2013(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Environmental performance evaluation . 3
4.1 General overview . 3
4.2 Planning EPE (Plan). 8
4.3 Using data and information (Do) .15
4.4 Reviewing and improving EPE (Act) .20
Annex A (informative) Supplemental guidance on EPE .22
Bibliography .37
ISO 14031:2013(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2. www.iso.org/directives
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any
patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on
the ISO list of patent declarations received. www.iso.org/patents
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 207, Environmental management, Subcommittee
SC4, Environmental performance evaluation.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 14031:1999), which has been
technically revised.
iv © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

ISO 14031:2013(E)
Introduction
Many organizations seek ways to understand, demonstrate and improve their environmental
performance. This can be achieved by effectively managing those elements of their activities, products
and services that can significantly impact the environment.
This International Standard sets out a process called environmental performance evaluation (EPE)
(see 3.10) which enables organizations to measure, evaluate and communicate their environmental
performance using key performance indicators (KPIs), based on reliable and verifiable information.
EPE is equally applicable to small and large enterprises and can be used to support an environmental
management system (EMS) (see 3.7), or used independently. An organization with an EMS in place can
assess its environmental performance against its environmental policy, objectives, targets and other
environmental performance objectives.
Data and information generated by EPE can be used by an organization to implement other environmental
management tools and techniques in a coherent, transparent and cost effective way, e.g. other standards
developed by ISO/TC 207 such as those relating to environmental management systems (ISO 14001,
ISO 14004, ISO 14005, ISO 14006), to environmental declarations (ISO 14025), to environmental labelling
(ISO 14024) and to life cycle assessment (ISO 14040, ISO 14044). A full list is given in the Bibliography.
This International Standard can also be used independently.
Environmental performance evaluation and environmental audits are complementary tools that can be
used to assess environmental performance and identify areas for improvement. The key aspects (and
differences) of these tools are the following:
— EPE is an ongoing process of collection and assessment of data and information to provide a current
evaluation of performance, as well as performance trends over time;
— environmental audits can be used to gather such data and information, either as part of EPE, or as part
of an environmental management system, to verify whether objectives and targets are being met;
— environmental management system audits are conducted periodically to verify conformity with
specifications and compliance with legal and other requirements (guidance on auditing an EMS is
provided in ISO 19011).
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 14031:2013(E)
Environmental management — Environmental
performance evaluation — Guidelines
1 Scope
This International Standard gives guidance on the design and use of environmental performance
evaluation (EPE) within an organization. It is applicable to all organizations, regardless of type, size,
location and complexity.
This International Standard does not establish environmental performance levels.
The guidance in this International Standard can be used to support an organization’s own approach
to EPE, including its commitments to compliance with legal and other requirements, the prevention of
pollution, and continual improvement.
NOTE This International Standard is a generic standard and does not include guidance on specific methods
for valuing or weighting different kinds of impacts in different kinds of sectors, disciplines, etc. Depending on the
nature of the organization’s activities, it is often necessary to refer to other sources for additional information and
guidance on sector-specific topics, different subject matters, or different scientific disciplines.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
benchmark
reference point against which comparisons can be made
Note 1 to entry: Benchmarking is the process for making a comparison.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 29155-1:2011, 2.1, modified]
3.2
combined indicator
indicator which includes information on more than one aspect
Note 1 to entry: A combined indicator may also be referred to as a composite indicator.
3.3
environment
surroundings in which an organization operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora,
fauna, humans, and their interrelation
Note 1 to entry: Surroundings in this context extend from within an organization to the global system.
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004, 3.5]
3.4
environmental aspect
element of an organization’s activities or products or services that can interact with the environment
Note 1 to entry: A significant environmental aspect has or can have a significant environmental impact.
ISO 14031:2013(E)
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004, 3.6]
3.5
environmental condition indicators
ECI
environmental performance indicators that provide information about the local, regional, national or
global condition of the environment
Note 1 to entry: “Regional” may refer to a state, a province, or a group of states within a country, or it may refer to a
group of countries or a continent, depending on the scale of the condition of the environment that the organization
chooses to consider.
3.6
environmental impact
any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an
organization’s environmental aspects
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004, 3.7]
3.7
environmental management system
EMS
part of an organization’s management system used to develop and implement its environmental policy
and manage its environmental aspects
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004, 3.8, modified]
3.8
environmental objective
overall environmental goal, consistent with the environmental policy, that an organization sets
itself to achieve
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004, 3.9]
3.9
environmental performance
measurable results of an organization’s management of its environmental aspects
Note 1 to entry: In the context of environmental management systems, results can be measured against the
organization’s environmental policy, environmental objectives, environmental targets and other environmental
performance requirements.
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004, 3.10]
3.10
environmental performance evaluation
EPE
process to facilitate management decisions regarding an organization’s environmental performance
by selecting indicators, collecting and analysing data, assessing information about environmental
performance, reporting and communicating, and periodically reviewing and improving this process
3.11
environmental performance indicator
EPI
indicator that provides information about an organization’s environmental performance
3.12
environmental policy
overall intentions and direction of an organization related to its environmental performance as formally
expressed by top management
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004, 3.11, modified]
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ISO 14031:2013(E)
3.13
environmental target
detailed performance requirement, applicable to the organization or parts thereof, that arises from the
environmental objectives and that needs to be set and met in order to achieve those objectives
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004, 3.12]
3.14
function
combination of processes, products or services that achieve a specific, predetermined end, usually on a
repetitive basis
3.15
indicator
measurable representation of the condition or status of operations, management, or conditions
3.16
interested party
individual or group concerned with or affected by the environmental performance of an organization
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004, 3.13]
3.17
key performance indicator
KPI
indicator of performance deemed by an organization to be significant and giving prominence and
attention to certain aspects
3.18
management performance indicator
MPI
environmental performance indicator that provides information about the management activities to
influence an organization’s environmental performance
3.19
operational performance indicator
OPI
environmental performance indicator that provides information about the environmental performance
of an organization’s operational process
3.20
organization
company, corporation, firm, enterprise, authority or institution, or part or combination thereof, whether
incorporated or not, public or private, that has its own functions and administration
Note 1 to entry: For organizations with more than one operating unit, a single operating unit may be defined as
an organization.
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004, 3.16]
4 Environmental performance evaluation
4.1 General overview
4.1.1 EPE process
Environmental performance evaluation (EPE) is a management process that uses key performance
indicators to compare an organization’s past and present environmental performance with its
ISO 14031:2013(E)
environmental objectives and targets. The information generated by EPE can help an organization to
do the following:
— identify its environmental aspects and determine which aspects it will treat as significant;
— set objectives and targets for improving environmental performance and assess performance
against these objectives and targets;
— identify opportunities for better management of its environmental aspects;
— identify trends in its environmental performance;
— review and improve efficiency and effectiveness;
— identify strategic opportunities;
— evaluate compliance or risk of non compliance with legal requirements and other requirements to
which the organization subscribes related to its environmental aspects;
— report and communicate environmental performance internally and externally.
Management commitment to EPE is essential and it should be part of the regular business functions and
activities of an organization. EPE should be appropriate to the size, location, and type of organization
and its needs and priorities.
Internally, EPE can help the organization to achieve its environmental performance objectives and
targets and also to enlist the involvement of an EMS. EPE can also be used to report and communicate
information on the organization’s environmental performance to external interested parties to
demonstrate its commitment to improvement.
EPE, as detailed in this International Standard, follows a “Plan-Do-Check-Act” (PDCA) management
model. The steps of this on-going process are as follows.
a) Plan
Preparing to implement performance evaluation:
— planning EPE;
— selecting indicators for EPE (the process of selecting indicators for objectives and targets may
include both choosing from existing indicators and developing new indicators).
b) Do
Managing data and information, which includes:
— collecting data relevant to the selected indicators (for guidance on data collection, see
ISO/TS 14033);
— analysing and converting data into information describing the organization’s environmental
performance;
— assessing information describing the organization’s environmental performance in comparison
with the organization’s environmental performance objectives;
— reporting and communicating information describing the organization’s environmental
performance.
c) Check and Act
Reviewing and improving EPE.
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ISO 14031:2013(E)
4.1.2 Indicators for EPE
4.1.2.1 General
This International Standard describes two categories of indicators for EPE.
Environmental condition indicators (ECIs) provide information about the condition of the environment
which could be impacted by the organization. This information can help an organization to better
understand the actual impact or potential impact of its environmental aspects (e.g. process emissions).
ECIs are often difficult to link directly to one organization’s operations unless they are the only source
emitting a particular pollutant. Care should be taken to account for any other sources or factors that
might have similar impacts on the environment. ECIs can be used (e.g. by regulators or other local
government agencies) to calculate condition baselines, monitor trends, establish permit limits for
pollutants, and create incentives.
Environmental performance indicators (EPIs) provide information related to the organization’s management
of its significant environmental aspects, and demonstrate the results of its environmental management
programmes. These may be KPIs that an organization chooses to use for general business purposes:
— management performance indicators (MPIs) provide information about management efforts to
influence the environmental performance of the organization’s management;
— operational performance indicators (OPIs) provide information about the environmental
performance of the organization’s operations.
Figure 1 illustrates the interrelationships among an organization’s management, operations, and the condition
of the environment, noting the type of indicator in brackets for EPE related to each of these elements.
ISO 14031:2013(E)
ENVIRONMENTAL CO NDITION INDICATORS
(ECIs)
ENVIRONMENTAL INTERESTED
ORGANIZATION
CONDITIONS PARTIES
MANAGEMENT PROCESSES
MPIs
OPERATIONAL PROCESSES
INPUTS OUTPUTS
INCOMING OUTGOING
OPIs
(Supply) (Delivery)
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
EPIs include MPIs and OPIs
Key
information flows
input and output flows related to the organization’s operations
decision flows
Figure 1 — Understanding the organization and its context
4.1.2.2 Relating EPE indicators to environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability
EPIs and ECIs can be used to demonstrate how an organization addresses the three pillars of sustainability
(social, economic and environmental) through the management of its significant environmental aspects.
MPIs can show improvements in the social dimension (e.g. indicators that show how training is being
done or will be done so as to improve certain environmental aspects) or in the economic dimension
(e.g. investments on new technologies so as to address environmental aspects and cost savings due to
improved environmental performance).
OPIs can be linked to the context of the environment (e.g. emission reductions, reduction in the use of
energy and water resources).
ECIs might not be linked directly with the organization’s processes, but in certain instances can be
linked to the success of its environmental management, which itself can reflect on all three dimensions
of sustainability, e.g.
— improved quality of water resources (environmental);
— improved quality of life - more people having access to drinking water (social);
— reduced costs for obtaining drinking water (economic).
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ISO 14031:2013(E)
The decisions and actions of an organization’s management are closely related to the performance of its
operations. Figure 2 provides an outline of EPE, with references to the numbers and titles of relevant
clauses in this International Standard. Annex A provides supplemental guidance to support EPE.
PLAN
4.1.1 a) Planning environmental performance evaluation
Selecting indicators for environmental
performance evaluation
DO
4.1.1 b) Managing data and information
Collecting data
Data
Analysing and converting data
Information
Assessing information
Results
Reporting and communicating
CHECK AND ACT
4.1.1 c) Reviewing and improving environmental
performance evaluation
NOTE References in this figure are to subclause 4.1.1. Annex A provides supplemental guidance.
Figure 2 — Outline of EPE (following PDCA model)
4.1.3 EPE principles
EPE principles for performance information include the following:
— relevance: performance information should be relevant to the organization’s efforts to manage its
environmental aspects;
— completeness: performance information should be complete to ensure that all factors will be addressed;
— consistency and accuracy: performance information should be consistent and accurate to allow
valid comparisons of past, present and future performance;
— transparency: performance information should be clear and transparent, so that the intended users
have access and understanding of performance data to make decisions with reasonable confidence.
ISO 14031:2013(E)
4.2 Planning EPE (Plan)
4.2.1 General guidance
4.2.1.1 General
Key performance indicators are selected by organizations as a means of presenting quan titative or
qualitative data or information in a more understandable and useful form. They help to convert relevant
data into concise information about management’s efforts to influence the environmental performance
of its operations or the condition of the environment. An organization should select a sufficient number
of relevant and understandable indicators to evaluate its environmental performance and reflect the
nature and scale of the organization’s operations, as well as their environmental impacts. The choice of
indicators for EPE will determine what data should be used. To facilitate this effort, organizations can
use data already available and collected by the organization or by others.
4.2.1.2 Applying EPE to those organizations with or without an EMS
An organization with an EMS in place should evaluate its environmental performance against its
environmental policy, objectives and targets, and applicable legal and other requirements. Whether it
has an EMS or not, an organization should plan EPE in conjunction with the setting of its environmental
performance goals, so that the selected indicators for EPE will be appropriate for describing the
organization’s environmental performance against these goals.
Practical Help Box 1
Examples of approaches to identify environmental aspects and their relative significance in the context of EPE:
— identify activities, products and services of the organization, the specific environmental aspects and the relative significance
associated with them, and the potential impacts related to significant environmental aspects;
— use information about the condition of the environment to identify activities, products and services of the organization that
may have an impact on specific conditions;
— analyse the organization’s existing data on material and energy inputs, discharges, waste and emissions and evaluate these
data in terms of risk;
— identify the views of interested parties and use this information to help establish the organization’s significant environmental
aspects;
— identify activities of the organization that are subject to environmental regulation or other requirements, for which data may
have been collected by the organization;
— consider the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, servicing, use, re-use, recycling and disposal of the organiza-
tion’s products, and their related environmental impacts;
— identify those activities of the organization having the most significant environmental costs or benefits, including outsourced
activities or processes.
4.2.2 Characteristics of EPE indicators
4.2.2.1 General overview
The information conveyed through indicators for EPE can be expressed as direct or relative measures or
as indexed information. Indicators for EPE may be aggregated or weighted, as appropriate, to the nature
of the information and its intended use. Aggregation and weighting should be done with care to ensure
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ISO 14031:2013(E)
verifiability, consistency, comparability and understanding. There should be a clear understanding of
assumptions made in the handling of data and its transformation into information and indicators for EPE.
Practical Help Box 2
Examples of data characteristics for EPE indicators:
— direct measures or calculations: basic data or information, such as tonnes of contaminant emitted;
— relative measures or calculations: data or information compared to or in relation to another parameter (e.g. production level,
time, location or background condition), such as tonnes of contaminant emitted per tonne of product manufactured, or tonnes of con-
taminant emitted per unit of sales turnover;
— indexed to a reference point: describing data or information converted to units or to a form which relates the information to a
chosen standard or baseline, such as contaminant emissions in the current year expressed as a percentage of those emissions in a base-
line year;
— aggregated: describing data or information of the same type, but from different sources, collected and expressed as a com-
bined value, such as total tonnes of a given contaminant emitted from production of a product in a given year, determined by summing
emissions from multiple facilities producing that product;
— weighted: describing data or information modified by applying a factor related to its significance.
4.2.2.2 Understanding relationships between different measures of performance
Indicators for EPE should be selected so that management has sufficient information to understand the effect
that any one environmental performance objective has on other elements of the organization’s operations.
Organizations may find it cost effective to select indicators derived from a common set of data, or to
use combined indicators which include information on more than one aspect. It is therefore important
to ensure that the information on different aspects of such an indicator can easily be extracted and
communicated to the intended audience.
Combined indicators (see 3.2) can include information on a group of aspects.
EXAMPLE From the indicator “litres of diesel/t-km” for transports, one can calculate data on emissions of
greenhouse gas (GHG) and other pollutants.
Practical Help Box 3
Example to illustrate an organization selecting several indicators for EPE derived from a common set of data, depending on the intended
audiences:
An organization discharging treated wastewater to a lake selects the following indicators for EPE:
— total amount of specific contaminant discharged per year (possible intended audience: the local community);
— concentration of contaminant in wastewater (possible intended audience: legal and regulatory authorities);
— amount of contaminant discharged per product produced (management and consumers);
— change in amount of contaminant discharged per year relative to investments in cleaner technology or process upgrade (man-
agement and investors).
Regional, national and global condition indicators related to environmental performance or sustainable
development are being developed by government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and
scientific and research institutions. When selecting indicators for EPE and collecting data, organizations
may wish to consider indicators being developed by such entities and compatibility with information
which is provided to them.
4.2.2.3 Selecting management performance indicators
In the context of EPE, the management of the organization includes the policies, people, planning
activities, practices and procedures at all levels of the organization, as well as the decisions and actions
associated with the organization’s environmental aspects. Efforts and decisions undertaken by the
organization’s management may affect the performance of the organization’s operations, and therefore
may contribute to the overall environmental performance of the organization (see Figure 1).
Management performance indicators (MPIs) should provide information on the organization’s capability and
efforts in managing matters such as training, legal requirements, resource allocation and efficient utilization,
environmental cost management, purchasing, product development, documentation, or corrective action
ISO 14031:2013(E)
which have or can have an influence on the organization’s environmental performance. MPIs should assist
in evaluating management’s decisions and actions to improve environmental performance.
For example, MPIs can be used to track the following:
— senior level commitment to environmental management;
— management’s understanding of the relevance of environmental management to the
organization’s mission;
— the effectiveness of policies and programmes;
— resources to implement policies and programmes linked to the organization’s mission;
— the degree of engagement with external interested parties (e.g. local communities) on
environmental issues;
— changes in roles and responsibilities within the organization;
— supply chain activities and performance;
— how end users of products and services are influenced;
— continual improvement of systems and performance;
— compliance with legal, regulatory and other requirements to which the organization subscribes;
— benefits and costs to the organization from environmental management.
In addition, effective MPIs can help to:
a) predict changes in performance;
b) identify root causes where actual performance exceeds, or does not meet, relevant environmental
performance objectives;
c) identify opportunities for preventive action.
Examples of MPIs are provided in A.4.2.2.
4.2.2.4 Selecting operational performance indicators
Operational performance indicators (OPIs) provide management with information on the environmental
performance of the organization’s operations. OPIs can be identified by listing the organization’s inputs,
operational processes and equipment, and outputs, as shown in Figure 3.
INPUTS OUTPUTS
Materials (components
Products
OPERATIONAL
and incoming products) Services
Energy PROCESSES Wastes
Services Emissions
SUPPLY DELIVERY
Figure 3 — Operations of the organization (general overview)
NOTE 1 Services can be inputs, operational processes or outputs, and can have significant environmental
impacts (e.g. distribution).
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ISO 14031:2013(E)
NOTE 2 A mass balance or input/output analysis can be performed for the whole company, or for selected
processes, services or equipment, as well as for all or single products, depending on the quality of the information
systems and company needs.
OPIs can be selected from the following categories and subcategories:
— components, incoming products (e.g. reused, new) and services (direct and indirect);
— raw and auxiliary materials, which are intended to become products as well as operating materials,
which assist running the processes (e.g. cleaning materials and lubricants);
— services supporting the organization’s operations (e.g. direct, indirect);
— operational processes (e.g. design of processes, operational efficiency, maintenance);
— physical facilities and equipment (e.g. design, installation, operation, maintenance, land use);
— components and outgoing products and services (e.g. design, environmental impact, by-products,
used products, distribution);
— waste (e.g. hazardous, non-hazardous);
— emissions (e.g. hazardous vapours, nuisance, GHGs, ozone depleting substances, dust, noise, heat,
thermal energy, effluent to water or land).
Examples of OPIs are provided in A.4.3.2.
4.2.2.5 Selecting environmental condition indicators
Environmental condition indicators (ECIs) provide information about the local, regional, national or
global condition of the environment, over time or with specific events. While ECIs may not be direct
measures of impact on the environment, ECIs can provide useful information on the environmental
outcomes of changes to an organization’s activities, products and services. ECIs can be developed for
environmental categories (e.g. air, water, land, flora, fauna, humans, and aesthetics, heritage and culture
including special indicators for biodiversity or ecosystem services).
ECIs provide the organization with an environmental context to support the following:
— establishment of a baseline against which to measure change;
— identification and management of its significant environmental aspects;
— assessment of the appropriateness of environmental performance objectives;
— selection of EPIs (MPIs and OPIs);
— determination of environmental change over time in relation to an on-going environmental programme;
— investigation of possible relationships between environmental condition and the organization’s
activities, products and services;
— determination of needs for action.
Development and application of ECIs is frequently the function of local, regional, national or international
government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and scientific and research institutions rather
than the function of an individual business organization. However, organizations that can identify a
relationship between their activities and the condition of some component of the environment may
choose to develop their own ECIs as an aid in evaluating their environmental performance as appropriate
to their capabilities, interests and needs.
An organization that has identified a specific condition in the environment that results directly from
its own activities, products and services may wish to select EPIs (MPIs and OPIs) that link management
efforts and operational performance to changes in environmental conditions.
ISO 14031:2013(E)
Examples of ECIs are provided in A.4.4.2.
Practical Help Box 4
Examples to illustrate an identified environmental issue with selected linked indicators for EPE:
EXAMPLE 1 A service organization located in an area where air quality is known to be unsatisfactory uses air quality informa-
tion to select appropriate indicators for EPE, consistent with its objective to reduce its motor vehicle emissions.
ECIs:
— concentration of particulates;
— concentration in the air of contaminants associated with motor vehicle emissions (CO,HC and NOx).
MPIs:
— amount of money spent promoting public transportation and its use;
— number of hours of employee training in the benefits of the use of public transportation;
— effectiveness of efforts to reduce fuel consumption, improve vehicle maintenance and fuel efficiency, and use alternative fuels.
OPIs:
— reduction in motor vehicle emissions attributed to the use of alternative fuels;
— quantity of total fuels consumption;
— fuel efficiency by motor vehicle;
— frequency of vehicle maintenance;
— number of vehicles equipped with environmental control technologies.
EXAMPLE 2 In a geographical region where environmental information indicates a diminishing water supply, an organization
may select indicators for EPE related to water conservation measures which it would not have chosen without that information.
ECIs:
— groundwater level;
— rate of replenishment.
MPI:
— amount of money spent on research into methods for reduction of water consumption.
OPIs:
— quantity of water used per day;
— quantity of water used per unit of production.
4.2.2.6 Selecting sector-specific operational performance indicators for comparison
Operational performance indicators (OPIs) are typically expressed in terms of quantities per unit of time
(e.g. total energy per year) relating to an entire organization or to its sub-units. Though these indicators
offer insight into each individual entity, different organizations vary in size, product range, resource
inputs, production processes and in many other ways, so that comparisons of their performance is not
normally possible by directly comparing their environmental aspects as represented by OPIs.
Similarly, while monitoring OPIs over a period of time can identify performance trends for an organization,
increases or decreases of environmental burdens are not necessarily related to performance changes
alone, but may be due to other reasons such as organizational expansion/reduction of production or
outsourcing/relocations of certain activities. Hence, even internal performance comparisons within the
same organization present difficulties that need to be taken into account when doing comparisons.
By contrast, comparisons can be made of the environmental efficiency of particular activities within
processes or products (e.g. quantity of energy per product unit). These relative values will allow (under
specific, controlled conditions) qualified comparisons of processes, products or services from different
organizations, as well as for the identification of benchmarks, and best and worst practices or rati
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