New competence standard for GHG assessors

A new international standard detailing the level of competency required by those responsible for verifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has been published.

ISO 14066: 2011 has been created by the International Organization for Standardization to provide third-party assessing bodies with guidance on ensuring the competence of their validation teams.

The introduction of the new standard is further recognition of the increasingly important role of environmental assessors and auditors according to Martin Baxter, executive director of policy at the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.

“The veracity of an organisation’s GHG emissions claims is of the utmost importance to them, particularly when you consider the value of carbon,” he said.

“If a business publishes claims that are later discovered to be unreliable they could lose out both financially and in terms of their reputation. This is why the ability of those checking such claims is absolutely crucial.”

The publication of ISO 14066 forms part of a wider examination of the skills needed by environmental auditors and assessors that includes the current revision of ISO 19011, the guidelines for performing a management systems audit, due to be published at the end of 2011.