New standard to map cost of materials
ISO has published a new guidance standard outlining a framework for material flow cost accounting (MFCA), a key tool in environmental management accounting.
The new standard, ISO 14051, defines the objectives and principles behind MFCA as well as explaining common terms and steps for implementing the tool.
MFCA quantifies a business’s store of materials and traces their flow throughout the organisation’s operations, evaluating the costs associated with that movement. Environmentalists can use the resulting data to make the business case for better management of materials and energy use, so cutting costs and reducing environmental impacts.
The new addition to the ISO 14000 stable of environmental management standards can, according to ISO, be used across an organisation’s supply chain to help create a coherent approach to resource efficiency.
However, it is not a certifiable standard, and ISO warns that while an organisation can choose to include external costs in an MFCA analysis, these are not covered within 14051.