kSIST FprEN ISO 14015:2022

Environmental management - Guidelines for Environmental Due Diligence Assessment (ISO/DIS 14015:2021)

Umweltmanagement - Umweltbezogene Due Diligence Bewertung (ISO/DIS 14015:2021)

Dieses Dokument gibt eine Anleitung zur Durchführung einer umweltbezogenen Due-Diligence(EDD)-Bewertung durch einen systematischen Prozess der Erfassung von Umweltaspekten, -themen und -zuständen sowie gegebenenfalls der Bestimmung ihrer wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen.
Dieses Dokument gibt keine Anleitung zur Durchführung anderer Vorgehensweisen bei Umweltbewertungen, wie z. B.
a) Umweltaudits,
b) Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfungen,
c) Bewertungen der Umweltleistung, -effizienz und –verträglichkeit, und
d) umwelttechnische Untersuchungen und Sanierung.

Management environnemental - Lignes directrices relatives à l’évaluation du devoir de vigilance environnementale (ISO/FDIS 14015:2022)

Ravnanje z okoljem - Smernice za natančno okoljsko ocenjevanje (ISO/DIS 14015:2021)

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• Public Enquiry End Date: 25-Nov-2021
• ICS: 13.020.10 - Environmental management
• Technical Committee: UZO - Environmental management
• Current Stage: 5020 - Formal vote (FV) (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 28-Feb-2022
• Due Date: 18-Apr-2022
• Completion Date: 24-May-2022
• Ref Project: FprEN ISO 14015 - Environmental management - Guidelines for environmental due diligence assessment (ISO/FDIS 14015:2022)

RELATIONS

• Revised: SIST EN ISO 14015:2010 - Environmental management - Environmental assessment of sites and organizations (EASO) (ISO 14015:2001)
• Effective Date: 26-Jun-2019

Standards Content (sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
01-november-2021
Ravnanje z okoljem - Smernice za natančno okoljsko ocenjevanje (ISO/DIS
14015:2021)
Environmental management - Guidelines for Environmental Due Diligence Assessment
(ISO/DIS 14015:2021)
Umweltmanagement - Umweltbezogene Due Diligence Bewertung (ISO/DIS
14015:2021)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN ISO 14015
ICS:
13.020.10 Ravnanje z okoljem Environmental management
oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021 en

2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
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oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
ISO/DIS 14015
ISO/TC 207/SC 2 Secretariat: UNI
Voting begins on: Voting terminates on:
2021-09-07 2021-11-30
Environmental management — Guidelines for
Environmental Due Diligence Assessment
ICS: 13.020.10
THIS DOCUMENT IS A DRAFT CIRCULATED
This document is circulated as received from the committee secretariat.
FOR COMMENT AND APPROVAL. IT IS
THEREFORE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND MAY
NOT BE REFERRED TO AS AN INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD UNTIL PUBLISHED AS SUCH.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
ISO/CEN PARALLEL PROCESSING
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL,
TECHNOLOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND
USER PURPOSES, DRAFT INTERNATIONAL
STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE TO
BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR
POTENTIAL TO BECOME STANDARDS TO
WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN
Reference number
NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
ISO/DIS 14015:2021(E)
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED
TO SUBMIT, WITH THEIR COMMENTS,
NOTIFICATION OF ANY RELEVANT PATENT
RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE AND TO
PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION. ISO 2021
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oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
ISO/DIS 14015:2021(E)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2021

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may

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Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2021 – All rights reserved
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oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
ISO/DIS 14015:2021(E)
Contents Page

Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................iv

0 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................v

1 Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1

2 Normative references ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

3 Terms and definitions ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

4 Principles ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

4.1 General ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

4.2 Principles of Assessment................................................................................................................................................................ 4

4.3 Principles for assessors ................................................................................................................................................................... 5

5 Planning and conducting the assessment ................................................................................................................................. 5

5.1 General ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

5.2 Roles and responsibilities ............................................................................................................................................................. 5

5.2.1 Client .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

5.2.2 Representative of the assessee ............................................................................................................................ 6

5.2.3 Assessor ................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

5.2.4 Assessment Provider .................................................................................................................................................. 7

5.3 Planning the assessment ................................................................................................................................................................ 7

5.3.1 General...................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

5.3.2 Agreeing on terms and objectives for the assessment .................................................................... 8

5.3.3 Scope of the assessment ............................................................................................................................................ 8

5.3.4 Assessment criteria ....................................................................................................................................................... 9

5.3.5 Assessment feasibility ..............................................................................................................................................10

5.3.6 Information gathering methods and techniques ..............................................................................10

5.3.7 Assessment plan ............................................................................................................................................................11

5.4 Information gathering and verification ..........................................................................................................................11

5.4.1 General...................................................................................................................................................................................11

5.4.2 Examining existing documents and records .........................................................................................11

5.4.3 Observing activities and physical conditions .......................................................................................12

5.4.4 Interviewing .....................................................................................................................................................................12

5.4.5 Information verification .........................................................................................................................................13

5.5 Evaluation .................................................................................................................................................................................................13

5.5.1 General...................................................................................................................................................................................13

5.5.2 Identifying environmental issues ...................................................................................................................14

5.5.3 Determining business consequences ..........................................................................................................15

6 Reporting ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................16

6.1 Report content ......................................................................................................................................................................................16

6.2 Report distribution...........................................................................................................................................................................17

7 Competence and evaluation of assessors.................................................................................................................................17

7.1 General considerations .................................................................................................................................................................17

7.2 Determination and application of competence........................................................................................................17

7.3 Evaluation of competence .........................................................................................................................................................18

Annex A (Informative) Examples of assessment topics, and documentation and their Sources ........20

Annex B (Informative) Observation of the physical attributes and conditions ....................................................23

Annex C (Informative) Individuals and entities for interview ................................................................................................25

Annex D (Informative) A Sample of a table of content ....................................................................................................................26

Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................27

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oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
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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 (see 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 (see 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.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and

expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the

World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www .iso .org/

iso/ foreword .html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee [or Project Committee] ISO/TC [or ISO/PC] ###,

[name of committee], Subcommittee SC ##, [name of subcommittee], in collaboration with the European

Committee for Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee CEN/TC ###, [name of committee], in

accordance with the Agreement on technical cooperation between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement).

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A

complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/ members .html.
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oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
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0 Introduction
0.1 Background

Organizations are increasingly interested in understanding the environmental issues associated with

their projects, assets, and activities or those potentially to be acquired of other organizations. These

issues and their associated business consequences can be appraised by means of an Environmental Due

Diligence (EDD) Assessment. Such an assessment may be carried out during operations or at the time of

acquisition or divestiture of assets and may be conducted as part of a broader due diligence assessment

process.
0.2 Application of this standard

This International Standard gives guidance on how to conduct an EDD Assessment. It provides the basis

for harmonization of the terminology used and for a structured, consistent, transparent, and objective

approach to conducting such environmental assessments. It can be used by all organizations, including

small- and medium-sized enterprises, operating anywhere in the world. This International Standard is

flexible in its application and may be used for self- assessments / internal to the organization as well as

external assessments, with or without the need to employ third parties. The users of this International

Standard are expected to be organizations, past, present and possible future users of particular assets,

and organizations with a financial or other interest in the asset (e.g. banks, insurance companies,

investors, asset owners, other interested parties). The boundaries of an asset may be physical and /

or organizational / intangible. This International Standard is likely to be used in connection with the

transfer of responsibilities and obligations.

This International Standard covers the roles and responsibilities of the parties to the assessment

(the client, the assessor, and the representative of the assessee), and the stages of the assessment

process (planning, information gathering and verification, evaluation, and reporting). The process for

conducting an EDD assessment is shown in Figure 1.

The users of this International Standard are expected to be organizations, past, present and possible

future users of particular assets, and organizations with a financial or other interest in the asset

(e.g. banks, insurance companies, investors, asset owners, transaction service provides, regulatory

enforcement bodies, other interested parties).

This International Standard is likely to be used in connection with the transfer of responsibilities and

obligations as well as support the fulfilling of legal obligations, implementation, and supervision. An

EDD assessment may help organizations in developing, or better understanding performance against,

environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
0.3 Undertaking an EDD assessment

The information used during an EDD Assessment may be derived from sources that include, but not

limited to environmental management system audits, regulatory compliance audits, environmental

impact assessments, environmental performance evaluations, site investigations or site assessments.

Additional information sources include historical documented information, corporate environmental

or sustainability reports, organizational, projects or product foot printing. Applicable criteria and

methods for the generation of supporting information may include ISO, national, or local standards,

such as those used for broader due diligence assessments. Through the process of evaluating both

existing and newly acquired information, an EDD Assessment seeks to draw conclusions relating to

business consequences associated with environmental aspects, issues, and conditions.

• Liabilities from historic operational legacies, such as contamination;

• Liabilities from current activities, for example causing pollution or failing to meet regulatory

standards;
• Potential adverse effects on the assessee from environmental conditions
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oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
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• Failure to invest adequately to address known current or future risks, for example in relation to

climate change mitigation or adaptation;

• Inadequate processes to identify and determine the consequences of potential future risks or

opportunities;
• Risks from ineffective supply chain management and oversight.

These conclusions and associated business consequences may be considered in the context of other

information and/or conclusions drawn from other elements of a broader due diligence assessment

process.

Conclusions in an EDD Assessment should be based on objective information. In the absence of validated

information, an EDD assessor may be required to exercise professional judgement in evaluating the

available environmental information and drawing conclusions.

The principles and guidance in this standard can be used by organizations wishing to improve their

knowledge of their own environmental issues and better understand the adequacy of their strategies

and arrangements for managing environmental aspects, risks, and opportunities.
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oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
ISO/DIS 14015:2021(E)

NOTE The numbers between brackets refer to (sub)clauses in this International Standard. The dashed lines

indicate that the assessee is not necessarily involved in an EDD Assessment as described in this International

Standard
Figure 1 — Process for conducting an Environmental Due Diligence Assessment
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oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
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oSIST prEN ISO 14015:2021
DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/DIS 14015:2021(E)
Environmental management — Guidelines for
Environmental Due Diligence Assessment
1 Scope

This International Standard provides guidance on how to conduct an EDD Assessment through a

systematic process of identifying environmental aspects, issues and conditions as well as determining,

if appropriate, their business consequences.

This International Standard does not provide guidance on how to conduct other types of environmental

assessment, such as:

a) environmental audits (including environmental management system and regulatory compliance

audits);
b) environmental impact assessments;
c) environmental performance, efficiency, or reliability evaluations; or
d) intrusive environmental investigations and remediation.

This International Standard is not intended for use as a specification standard for certification or

registration purposes or for the establishment of environmental management system requirements.

Use of this International Standard does not imply that other standards and legislation are imposed on

the client or the assessee.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references.
3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this International Standard the definitions given in, ISO 14001, ISO 14050, and the

following terms and definitions apply:

ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
assessee
asset being assessed
3.2
assessor

person, possessing sufficient competence, designated to conduct or participate in a given EDD

assessment

Note 1 to entry: An assessor may be internal or external to the assessee. More than one assessor may be required

to ensure adequate coverage of all relevant matters, for example when there is a need for specific expertise.

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3.3
asset
entity, item, organization or thing that has potential or actual value

Note 1 to entry: The boundaries of an asset may be physical and or organizational / intangible

Note 2 to entry: Physical assets usually refer to equipment, inventory and properties owned by the organization.

Physical assets are the opposite of intangible assets, which are non-physical assets such as leases, brands, digital

assets, use rights, licences, intellectual property rights, reputation or agreements.

3.4
business consequence

actual or potential outcome or impact (e,g, financial or other; tangible or intangible; positive or

negative; qualitative or quantitative; internal or external; expected or unintended) of the identified and

evaluated environmental issues

Note 1 to entry: The range of issues to be considered is part of establishing the scope of an assessment

3.5
client
organization or person commissioning the EDD assessment

Note 1 to entry: The client may be: asset owner, the assessee, potential purchase or investor, or any other party.

3.6
consequence
outcome or impact of an event
Note 1 to entry: An event may be a short-term on ongoing occurrence
Note 2 to entry: Consequences may be positive or negative
[SOURCE: ISO/GUIDE 73: 2009, 3.6.1.3]
3.7
due diligence

comprehensive, proactive process to identify actual and potential consequences of an organization's

decisions and activities
[SOURCE: ISO 26000: 2010, 2.4, modified]
3.8
environment

surroundings in which an organization operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora,

fauna, humans and their interrelationships

Note 1 to entry: Surroundings can extend from within an organization to the local, regional and global system.

Note 2 to entry: Surroundings can be described in terms of biodiversity, ecosystems, climate or other

characteristics:
[SOURCE: ISO 14050: 2020, 3.2.2, Notes to entry added]
3.9
environmental aspect

element of an organization’s activities or products or services that interacts or can interact with the

environment

Note 1 to entry: Note1 to entry:An environmental aspect can relate to past, present and future activities,

products and services.
[SOURCE: ISO 14050: 2020, 3.2.20, Note to entry added]
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3.10
environmental due diligence assessment

a comprehensive, proactive process to identify the actual and potential consequences, risks and

opportunities of an organization's decisions and activities as appropriate for an agreed scope in relation

to an asset or assets

Note 1 to entry: The determination of business consequences is optional, at the discretion of the client.

3.11
environmental impact

change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, including possible consequences, wholly or

partially resulting from an organization’s environmental aspects
[SOURCE: ISO 14050: 2020, 3.2.22]
3.12
environmental issue

issue for which verified and/or validated information on environmental aspects deviates from selected

criteria and may result in liabilities or benefits, effects on the assessee’s or the client’s public image, or

other costs
3.13
environmental management system

part of the management system used to manage environmental aspects, fulfil compliance obligations

and address risks and opportunities
[SOURCE: ISO 14050: 2020, 3.3.1]
3.15
material
significant to intended users

Note 1 to entry: Materiality is the concept that misstatements, individually or aggregated, can influence the

reliability of statements made, or decisions made by the intended user.
Note 2 to entry: Materiality can be qualitative or quantitative.

Note 3 to entry: Materiality definition in the context of corporate reporting of relevant topics regarding

Environmental, Social and Governance aspects can support EDD regarding of principles, governance, objectives,

Key performance indicators and measures.
3.16
organization

person or group of people that has its own functions with responsibilities, authorities and relationships

to achieve its objectives

Note 1 to entry: The concept of organization includes, but is not limited to sole-trader, company, corporation, firm,

enterprise, authority, partnership, charity or institution, or part or combination thereof, whether incorporated

or not, public or private.
[SOURCE: ISO 14050: 2020, 3.1.1, Note to entry added]
3.17
representative of the assessee
person authorized to represent the assessee
3.18
risk
effect of uncertainty

Note 1 to entry: An effect is a deviation from the expected — positive and/or negative.

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Note 2 to entry: Uncertainty is the state, even partial, of deficiency of information related to, understanding or

knowledge of, an event, its consequence, or likelihood.

Note 3 to entry: Risk is often characterized by reference to potential “events” (as defined in ISO Guide 73:2009,

3.5.1.3) and “consequences” (as defined in ISO Guide 73:2009, 3.6.1.3), or a combination of these.

Note 4 to entry: Risk is often expressed in terms of a combination of the consequences of an event (including

changes in circumstances) and the associated “likelihood” (as defined in ISO Guide 73:2009, 3.6.1.3) of occurrence

[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2015, 3.2.10]
3.19
risks and opportunities

potential adverse effects (threats) and potential beneficial effects (opportunities)

[SOURCE: ISO 14001: 2015, 3.2.11]
3.20
site

location with defined geographical boundaries and on which activities under the control of an

organization may be carried out

Note 1 to entry: The geographical boundaries may be on land and in water, and include above- and below-surface

structures, both natural and man-made.

Note 2 to entry: The site of impact, as where it is happening is not where it impacts and not where it damages

socioeconomic values including human life as well as nature’s values
[SOURCE: ISO 14050: 2020, 3.2.18. Notes to entry added]
3.21
verification

confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence, that specified requirements have been

fulfilled

Note 1 to entry: Verification is considered to be a process for evaluating a statement based on historical data and

information to determine whether a statement is materially correct and conforms with specified requirements.

Note 2 to entry: Verification is applied to events which have already occurred or results that have already been

obtained (confirmation of truthfulness).
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17029: 2019, 3.3, modified, with Notes to entry 1 and 2]
4 Principles
4.1 General
The principles set out below apply to the EDD Assessment and assessors.
4.2 Principles of Assessment
The following principles apply to EDD Assessment:

a) An evidence-based approach - EDD Assessment evidence should be verifiable. It will, in general,

be based on samples of the information available since EDD Assessment activities are conducted

during a finite period of time and with finite resources. An appropriate use of sampling should be

applied, since this is closely related to the confidence that can be placed in the EDD Assessment

report.
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b) Risk-based approach – A risk-based approach should be applied to the planning, conducting and

reporting of the EDD Assessment, to ensure that it is focused on matters of significance to the client

and achieving the objectives of the EDD Assessment.

c) Fair presentation - The EDD Assessment report should truthfully and accurately reflect the work

that was performed, including any limitations and changes to the planned work, and be presented

with clarity.

d) Confidentiality - Information should not be used inappropriately for personal gain by those involved

in the EDD Assessment or in a manner detrimental to the legitimate interest of the EDD Assessment

client or the scope of the assessment. This concept includes the proper handling of sensitive o

...