EN ISO 14063:2010

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-december-2010
Ravnanje z okoljem - Okoljsko komuniciranje - Smernice in primeri (ISO
14063:2006)
Environmental management - Environmental communication - Guidelines and examples
(ISO 14063:2006)
Umweltmanagement - Umweltkommunikation - Anleitungen und Beispiele (ISO
14063:2006)
Management environnemental - Communication environnementale - Lignes directrices et
exemples (ISO 14063:2006)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 14063:2010
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 14063
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
May 2010
ICS 13.020.10
English Version
Environmental management - Environmental communication -
Guidelines and examples (ISO 14063:2006)
Management environnemental - Communication Umweltmanagement - Umweltkommunikation - Anleitungen
environnementale - Lignes directrices et exemples (ISO und Beispiele (ISO 14063:2006)
14063:2006)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 30 April 2010.

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 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 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, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2010 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 14063:2010: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
Foreword .3

Foreword
The text of ISO 14063:2006 has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207 “Environmental
management” of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and has been taken over as EN ISO
14063:2010.
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 November 2010, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn
at the latest by November 2010.
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.
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, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 14063:2006 has been approved by CEN as a EN ISO 14063:2010 without any modification.

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 14063
First edition
2006-08-01
Environmental management —
Environmental communication —
Guidelines and examples
Management environnemental — Communication environnementale —
Lignes directrices et exemples

Reference number
ISO 14063:2006(E)
©
ISO 2006
ISO 14063:2006(E)
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ISO 14063:2006(E)
Contents Page
1 Scope . 1
2 Terms and definitions . 1
3 Principles of environmental communication . 2
3.1 General . 2
3.2 Principles . 2
4 Environmental communication policy . 3
4.1 Management commitment . 3
4.2 Developing the policy . 3
5 Environmental communication strategy . 4
5.1 General considerations . 4
5.2 Establishing environmental communication objectives . 4
5.3 Identifying interested parties . 5
5.4 Considering resource issues . 6
6 Environmental communication activities . 6
6.1 Planning an environmental communication activity . 6
6.2 Selecting environmental communication content, approaches and tools . 11
6.3 Performing an environmental communication activity . 19
6.4 Evaluating environmental communication . 21
6.5 Conducting management review and planning revisions . 22
Annex A (informative) Reference table within the ISO 14000 series . 23
Bibliography . 26
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ISO 14063:2006(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.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
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.
ISO 14063 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental management.
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Introduction
0.1 Over the past two decades, communication on environmental values, actions and performance has
become an essential activity of organizations, because of increased public concern and interest, and
governmental activities related to the environment. Organizations all over the world are increasingly confronted
with the need to express their views, and present and explain the environmental implications of their activities,
products and services. There is also a growing need to listen to interested parties, and incorporate their views
and requirements as part of environmental communication.
Organizations have a need to obtain and provide information about and respond to environmental issues,
concerns and programmes. This is influenced by factors such as the organization's geographic location and
distribution, size and types of activities. Motivations for communication can include the following:
— the interest of the organization to share information on its environmental practices;
— a request for information by employees or investors, a government agency, a community group, a customer
or supplier, or any other interested party;
— the need to discuss with interested parties, especially with target groups, a proposed action of the
organization, such as expansion of an existing facility, or siting of a new facility, or the introduction of a new
product or service;
— environmental risk management;
— a regulatory requirement;
— response to complaints from interested parties;
— the increasing importance of addressing environmental issues.
Environmental communication is the process of sharing information to build trust, credibility and partnerships, to
raise awareness, and to use in decision making. The processes used and the content of environmental
communication will vary with the objectives and circumstances of the organization and should be built on
substantive information.
0.2 Environmental communication is broader than environmental reporting. It has many purposes and takes
many forms. Environmental communication can be ad hoc or planned. An example of ad hoc communication
occurs when a facility manager attends a community event and answers questions. Planned communication
can cover the range from limited to full participation of interested parties as shown below.
a) One-way communication occurs when the organization distributes information, for example when an
organization issues an environmental report with no opportunity for questions or discussion.
b) Two-way communication occurs with an exchange of information and ideas among the organization and
interested parties.
c) In participatory decision-making, including effective feedback that affects the organization and/or the local
community, an organization collaborates with interested parties.
0.3 Engagement with interested parties provides an opportunity for an organization to learn their issues and
concerns; it can lead to knowledge being gained by both sides and can influence opinions and perceptions.
When properly done, any particular approach can be successful and satisfy the needs of the organization and
interested parties. In some cases, understanding the communication pattern/behaviour of each interested party
(or target group) is also important in environmental communications. The most effective environmental
communication process involves ongoing contact by the organization with internal and external interested
parties, as part of the organization’s overall communications strategy.
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ISO 14063:2006(E)
Figure 1 shows the interrelationships and flow of environmental communication.
NOTE 1 Titles in bold and numbered refer to the clauses in this International Standard.
NOTE 2 Dotted line arrows indicate the environmental communication system relationship with other elements of the
organization; full arrows indicate the interrelationship within the environmental communication system.
NOTE 3 Shading indicates the scope of the environmental communication system; darker shading indicates the overlap
of the environmental communication system with the organization.
Figure 1 — Environmental communication
0.4 Environmental communication often results in many benefits, such as
— assisting interested parties in understanding an organization's environmental commitments, policies and
performance,
— providing inputs/suggestions for improving the environmental performance of an organization’s activities,
products and services, and progress toward sustainability,
— improving understanding of interested parties’ needs and concerns to foster trust and dialogue,
— promoting an organization's environmental credentials, achievements and performance,
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— raising the importance and level of environmental awareness to support an environmentally responsible
culture and values within the organization,
— addressing interested parties’ concerns and complaints about operational and emergency environmental
hazards,
— enhancing interested parties’ perceptions of the organization, and
— increasing business support and shareholder confidence.
Environmental communication is one of the crucial issues to be dealt with by any organization, with or without
an environmental management system (EMS) in place. Environmental communication is more than a question
of organization and management, it relates to organization values as well. To ensure successful communication
processes, it is important for the organization to consider itself a responsible partner within society and to
address the environmental expectations of interested parties.
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.
viii
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 14063:2006(E)
Environmental management — Environmental
communication — Guidelines and examples
1Scope
This International Standard gives guidance to an organization on general principles, policy, strategy and
activities relating to both internal and external environmental communication. It utilizes proven and well-
established approaches for communication, adapted to the specific conditions that exist in environmental
communication. It is applicable to all organizations regardless of their size, type, location, structure, activities,
products and services, and whether or not they have an environmental management system in place.
This International Standard is not intended for use as a specification standard for certification or registration
purposes or for the establishment of any other environmental management system conformity requirements. It
can be used in combination with any of the ISO 14000 series of standards, or on its own.
NOTE 1 A reference table to the ISO 14000 series is provided in Annex A.
NOTE 2 ISO 14020, ISO 14021, ISO 14024 and ISO 14025 provide specific environmental communication tools and
guidance relating to product labels and declarations.
2 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
2.1
environmental communication
process that an organization conducts to provide and obtain information, and to engage in dialogue with internal
and external interested parties to encourage a shared understanding on environmental issues, aspects and
performance
2.2
environmental communication policy
overall intentions and directions of an organization related to its environmental communication as formally
expressed by top management
NOTE The environmental communication policy can be a separate policy or part of other policies within the organization.
2.3
environmental communication strategy
organization's framework for implementing its environmental communication policy and for the setting of
environmental communication objectives and targets
2.4
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 For organizations with more than one operating unit, a single operating unit may be defined as an organization.
[ISO 14001:2004, 3.16]
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2.5
interested party
person or group concerned with or affected by the environmental performance of an organization
[ISO 14001:2004, 3.13]
2.6
target group
interested party or parties selected as the focus of an organization's environmental communication activity
2.7
environmental communication objective
overall environmental communication goal consistent with the environmental communication policy that an
organization sets itself to achieve as part of its environmental communication strategy
2.8
environmental communication target
detailed performance requirement, applicable to the organization, which arises from the environmental
communication objectives and which needs to be set and met in order to achieve those objectives
3 Principles of environmental communication
3.1 General
It is essential that an organization apply the principles described below to its environmental communication.
3.2 Principles
3.2.1 Transparency
Make the processes, procedures, methods, data sources and assumptions used in environmental
communication available to all interested parties, taking account of the confidentiality of information as required.
Inform interested parties of their role in environmental communication.
3.2.2 Appropriateness
Make information provided in environmental communication relevant to interested parties, using formats,
language and media that meet their interests and needs, enabling them to participate fully.
3.2.3 Credibility
Conduct environmental communication in an honest and fair manner, and provide information that is truthful,
accurate, substantive and not misleading to interested parties. Develop information and data using recognized
and reproducible methods and indicators.
3.2.4 Responsiveness
Ensure that environmental communication is open to the needs of interested parties. Respond to the queries
and concerns of interested parties in a full and timely manner. Make interested parties aware of how their
queries and concerns have been addressed.
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3.2.5 Clarity
Ensure that environmental communication approaches and language are understandable to interested parties
to minimize ambiguity.
4 Environmental communication policy
4.1 Management commitment
The organization's top management should set, express its commitment to, and promote the environmental
communication policy. The policy should be consistent with the principles in Clause 3 and should clearly state
the following:
a) commitment to engage in dialogue with interested parties;
b) commitment to disclose information about its environmental performance;
c) significance of internal and external environmental communication in the organization;
d) commitment to implement the policy and provide the necessary resources;
e) commitment to address key environmental issues.
The environmental communication policy may form part of, or be integrated into, an organization's
communication policy or environmental policy, or may be a separate policy.
4.2 Developing the policy
In developing the policy, those responsible for environmental management within the organization should
interact and engage with those responsible for communication to ensure that the policy is coherent and
consistent with other principles, policies and the values of the organization. Subsequently, all levels of
management should implement the policy and provide input for the formulation and modification of the policy.
An environmental communication policy does not need to be detailed, but should convey to interested parties
the importance that the organization places on communication about environmental issues, environmental
aspects and their associated impacts, and environmental performance. An organization's vision, mission,
values and culture should play a fundamental role in developing an environmental communication policy. The
organization should make a commitment in the policy to reflect local, regional and/or national cultural
characteristics in its environmental communication activities, where applicable.
Important factors that should be considered when developing an environmental communication policy include
— the organization's business sector and its product or service portfolio,
— organization's size,
— organizational infrastructure,
— corporate governance,
— market and brand strategies,
— the existence of an environmental management system,
— consideration of environmental aspects and impacts,
— interaction with related aspects like health and safety and other sustainability approaches,
— legal requirements regarding disclosure of environmental information,
— local, regional, national and international voluntary codes of ethics/conduct,
— expectations of interested parties, and
— the public's “right to know”.
The policy should be communicated to interested parties, both internal and external as appropriate.
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ISO 14063:2006(E)
5 Environmental communication strategy
5.1 General considerations
The organization's management should develop a strategy to implement its environmental communication
policy. The strategy should include environmental communication objectives, identification of interested parties,
an indication of when and what it plans to communicate, and a management commitment to allocate adequate
resources. An organization should clarify what is possible, taking into account its resources so that it can best
and most realistically meet the expectations of interested parties.
Consideration should be given to the fact that environmental communication is part of the organization's
environmental activities in general and should be aligned with other elements of management systems, policies,
strategies or relevant activities.
Practical help box 1 — Developing the environmental communication strategy
When developing the environmental communication strategy, the questions below can be helpful.
 Why is the organization engaging in environmental communication and what are its purposes?
 What are the organization's key environmental issues and impacts?
 What are the main issues to be covered, messages to be conveyed, and communication techniques, approaches,
tools and channels to be used?
 How much time is needed to implement the strategy?
 How will the strategy involve and coordinate the environmental managers, interested parties, individual(s) responsible
for environmental issues and individual(s) who are responsible for the organization's internal and external
communication?
 What are the local, regional, national and international boundaries for the strategy?
Once defined, the strategy should be approved by top management and then used as the basis for the
organization's environmental communications activities.
5.2 Establishing environmental communication objectives
An organization should set environmental objectives, which are useful because they can provide the basis for
an effective environmental communication strategy. When setting its environmental communication objectives,
an organization should ensure that they are aligned with its environmental communication policy, take account
of the views of internal and external interested parties, and are consistent with the environmental
communication principles in Clause 3. On setting objectives for its environmental communication activities, the
organization should consider its priorities and desired results, making sure that the objectives defined are
expressed in such a way that no further explanations are necessary.
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Practical help box 2 — Priorities for setting objectives
Priority considerations for setting objectives may include
 environmental issues related to the organization's specific activities, products and services,
 complying with applicable legal requirements and with other requirements to which the organization subscribes,
 influencing public policy on environmental issues,
 providing information and encouraging understanding by interested parties about the environmental activities,
aspects, impacts and performance of the organization,
 meeting the environmental information expectations of interested parties,
 establishing ongoing dialogue on environmental matters,
 minimizing internal and/or external conflicts,
 improving the organization's credibility and reputation,
 improving public knowledge and the environmental image of the organization's products and services, and
 stimulating environmental innovation and creativity.
Examples of objectives and their relation to targets are provided in 6.1.3, Help box 5.
5.3 Identifying interested parties
In developing the environmental communication strategy and setting objectives, the organization should identify
internal and external interested parties who have expressed an interest in its activities, products and services.
It should also identify other potential interested parties with whom it wishes to communicate to achieve the
overall objectives of its environmental communication strategy.
Subsequently, target groups will be identified for more specific environmental communication activities
(see 6.1.4).
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Practical help box 3 — Examples of interested parties
Some examples of interested parties that could be considered by an organization include
 past, present and future employees and their representatives,
 customers and consumers,
 suppliers, contractors, wholesalers and distributors,
 competitors,
 shareholders,
 banks and financial/investment community,
 insurance companies,
 rating agencies,
 public authorities,
legislators,
 regulators,
 politicians and opinion leaders,
 neighbours and local community,
 communities associated with supply chain organizations,
 schools, academics and researchers,
 professionals involved in environmental issues,
 media organizations, and
 non-governmental organizations.
5.4 Considering resource issues
An organization's environmental communication activities are dependent upon available resources. The
environmental communication strategy should include an allocation of human, technical and financial
resources, designated responsibilities and authority, and defined actions. Employees' experiences and training
needs should be considered.
6 Environmental communication activities
6.1 Planning an environmental communication activity
6.1.1 General
Organizations will typically undertake a range of environmental communication activities in implementing their
environmental communication policy. In advancing the environmental communication strategy and objectives,
specific environmental communication activities should be developed, taking into account the environmental
issue, geographic boundaries and interested parties.
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Practical help box 4 — Planning an environmental communication activity
In planning an environmental communication activity an organization should consider the following questions.
 Is this activity consistent with the environmental communication principles in Clause 3 and the organization's policy?
 If appropriate, does this activity enhance two-way communication?
 Can this activity promote consensus with interested parties?
 Does this activity offer an opportunity to reach and interact with its target group(s) and potentially address their
interests?
 Does this activity provide an opportunity to address multiple issues in depth?
 Does this activity focus on the key issues?
 Does the activity provide information tailored to the target group(s)?
 Is this activity relatively easy to implement?
 Does the activity provide for information transfer at relatively low cost?
 Is this activity easy to update?
 Is the effectiveness of this activity measurable?
 Is this activity a good vehicle for education?
 Is this activity creating a constructive atmosphere?
 Is this activity an effective way to get publicity or increase public awareness?
6.1.2 Situational analysis
The development or improvement of an environmental communication activity begins with an understanding of
the context for the communication.
In the situational analysis, the issues the organization should consider include the following:
a) existing environmental communication activities and commitments;
b) identification and understanding of issues of concern to interested parties;
c) expectations and perceptions of the interested parties about the organization;
d) environmental awareness of interested parties, such as local communities;
e) communication media and activities that have proven to be the most effective in communicating with
interested parties in similar situations;
f) identification of the opinion leaders and their influence on issues related to environmental communication;
g) public image of the organization on a specific issue;
h) latest developments and trends on environmental issues related to the organization's specific activities,
products and services;
i) economic and financial implications;
j) knowledge and understanding of the values and cultures of interested parties.
A variety of tools are available to assist in the situational analysis. Examples can be found in 6.2 (Table 1). The
situational analysis may lead to revised environmental communication objectives.
In evaluating the context for an environmental communication activity, it is also important to consider the
potential costs and consequences of not communicating. These can be tangible, cost more than environmental
communication in the long run and also impose other costs on an organization, e.g., damage to reputation. The
following example highlights the implications of such a situation.
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EXAMPLE Case 1: The costs of NOT conducting environmental communication
A manager admitted that making a decision to burn a hazardous secondary liquid fuel at its plant, and not thoroughly
discussing it with the community, resulted in a crisis. The organization did not anticipate the strength of reaction it would
receive and therefore did not allocate sufficient resources for advance consultation and communication. A 90-year good
working relationship between the organization and community dissolved overnight. The manager estimates that he spent
the majority of two years trying to re-establish this relationship. The costs to the organization included his salary, countless
time of other staff to meet with a range of interested parties, and the costs associated with hosting numerous public
meetings and developing press releases and other media announcements. One outcome of this effort was the creation of a
community liaison committee that included citizens who were the most vociferous about the decision to burn alternative
fuels. The organization and regulators use this committee as a sounding board before making major decisions. After five
years, trust has been re-established.
NOTE For more information, see Bibliographic Reference [8].
6.1.3 Setting environmental communication targets
An organization should decide what it intends to achieve with an environmental communication activity. Targets
should be established that are consistent with the environmental communication objectives and that are
specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-related. This will allow the organization to evaluate the
environmental communication activity and determine whether or not the target has been met.
Practical help box 5 — Examples of objectives and targets
Objective: Gain acceptance of a significant change at a facility based upon discussions with the community.
Targets:
 Reach 90 % of the neighbouring homes with the brochure explaining the change and the environmental impacts.
75 %
 Reach acceptance in a survey with the community.
 Conclude communication effort 3 months before proposed change starts.
Objective: Increase customer awareness of the organization's environmental performance.
Targets:
80 %
 Reach of the purchasers of a specific product.
 Get feedback from 65 % of customers of a specific product regarding their understanding of the organization's
environmental performance level.
 Conclude communication effort 2 months before the final version of the sustainability report is produced.
Objective: Improve environmental performance across the supply-chain by communicating organizational goals,
objectives and targets with suppliers, tracking how supply-chain changes improve environmental performance and sharing
improvement information.
Targets:
95 % 65 %
 Reach of raw material suppliers and of suppliers of consumption items.
 Get questionnaire return from 100 % of raw material suppliers and 85 % of suppliers of consumption items.
 Provide conclusions to allow changes in procurement procedures by given date.
6.1.4 Identifying target groups
In planning an environmental communication activity, an organization should identify the target groups among
its interested parties. Good communication involves a range of possible target groups, not just those favourable
to the organization or those with sufficient resources to organize and express themselves.
It is not uncommon to identify conflicting interests among different target groups. As a result, the environmental
communication activities need to address and respond to different and often conflicting demands from target
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groups, in particular those that are the most influential and who may negatively impact the outcomes of an
environmental communication activity.
When undertaking an environmental communication activity, the organization should seek to understand the
expectations and perceptions of target groups with respect to the organization's environmental performance. At
its simplest, direct dialogue between a target group and the organization may generate the feedback required.
If the organization is seeking input from target groups, it should explain why it is seeking information, and what
it plans to do with the information obtained.
6.1.5 Defining geographic scope
For each environmental communication activity, the organization should define the areas or locations on which
it will focus its environmental communication activities because different places, with different languages,
culture and habits, may affect public needs and perception about the organization. The focus of any particular
communication activity can range from a local community to the broader public, which may be located far from
any facility or office of the organization.
An organization may be involved in addressing a specific environmental issue on more than one geographic
scale. For example, greenhouse gas emissions may be covered by an environmental report with a local,
regional, national or international focus. Different types of information may be required for these environmental
communication activities, and common information may have to be presented in different ways, depending on
the needs of the interested parties involved.
6.1.6 Identifying environmental information
The organization should anticipate environmental issues of concern to interested parties. This will help focus
the collection of information environmental impacts and performances of its products, services, processes and
activities. Based on the targets set for an environmental communication activity, appropriate quantitative and
qualitative data and information can be selected or generated. Such information should be aligned to current
standards and guidelines on environmental performance and performance indicators.
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Practical help box 6 — Examples of information sources for an environmental communication activity
There are many sources and types of information available within most organizations, particularly those with an
environmental management system such as that of ISO 14001, including
 information on the organization's strategies and their environment implications,
 environmental policies, management practices and performance measures, possibly available from an organization's
environmental management system,
 lists of environmental aspects and impacts of activities, products and services,
 life cycle assessment of products and activities,
 data and other documentation used for environmental labels and declarations,
 lists of environmental indicators,
 data from environmental performance evaluations,
 routinely and occasionally collected information, such as the reports from facilities located in a specific area, reports
from subsidiaries (for a holding company), research reports, monitoring, control and measurement data registers and
analysis reports, etc.,
 routine regulatory reports,
 record of compliance with applicable legal requirements and with other requirements to which the organization
subscribes,
 plans, records and guidance on emergency response, and response to accidents,
 manuals and records of employee training on the safe handling of materials,
 professional qualification records of the organization's employees responsible for environmental matters (managers,
technicians, experts),
 relevant financial and accounting data, and
 information from community outreach activities.
Sometimes, available information within an organization does not exist in a form suitable for an environmental
communication activity or for dialogue with non-technical target groups. The information can be used to prepare
written materials or other types of communication in a form that is clear and appropriate for the relevant target
groups.
This is particularly true, for example, in the case of environmental indicators, frequently used by organizations
to communicate about their environmental performance. Such indicators, quantitative or qualitative, may be
technical in nature, and should be explained in ways to make their use, significance and content understandable
and useful to interested parties. In some cases, difficulty in collecting appropriate data could lead to revision of
the approach to achieving targets.
NOTE 1 ISO 14031 and ISO/TR 14032 provide guidance on development of environmental performance indicators.
EXAMPLE Case 2: Identifying environmental performance indicators for an electronic equipment manufacturer
An electronic equipment manufacturer consulted 75 interested parties to determine which environmental performance
indicators the organization should report on. The main stages in the process were to
— identify the important external and internal interested parties and determine their key concerns and expectations
regarding the organization's environmental performance,
— identify environmental performance indicators to be addressed in the environmental report and the priority of these
indicators among interested parties,
— assess the performance of the organization against these indicators, and
— produce an organization environmental performance profile and communicate the results back to the interested parties.
Of the organization's interested parties, 75 participated in the process, including employees, customers and suppliers,
opinion-leaders, neighbours, legislators and regulators and the financial and insurance community.
Interviews were held between 5 to 15 representatives from each target group, totalling 75. The individuals were asked
“Which environmental issues do you consider important for the organization to be addressing and reporting on in their
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10 ISO 2006 – All rights reserved

ISO 14063:2006(E)
environmental reports?” Over 100 issues were identified, which were distilled into 11 indicators of environmental
performance and management performance.
A workshop was also held, attended by 12 interested parties, to discuss and confirm the 11 indicators and to determine the
relevant priority of each parameter.
The outcome of the process was the production of an environmental report, providing details of the organization's
environmental performance. A number of environmental performance indicators were identified that are not usually
addressed in environmental reports, e.g. “Information technology in pursuit of sustainable development”. Issues dealt with in
the environmental report were prioritized according to feedback received from the interested parties, improving the report's
focus on interested parties’ demands and assisting the organization's allocation of resources for improving environmental
performance. The approach increased the ob
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