This Technical Specification supports the application of standards and reports on environmental management. It provides guidelines on how to acquire quantitative environmental information and data and implement methodology. It gives guidelines to organizations on general principles, policy, strategy and activities necessary to obtain quantitative environmental information for internal and/or external purposes. Such purposes can be, for example, to establish inventory routines and support decision making related to environmental policies and strategies, aimed in particular at comparing quantitative environmental information. The information is related to organizations, activities, facilities, technologies or products.
This Technical Specification addresses issues related to defining, collecting, processing, interpreting and presenting quantitative environmental information. It provides guidelines on how to establish accuracy, verifiability and reliability for the intended use. It utilizes proven and well-established approaches for the preparation of information adapted to the specific needs of environmental management. It is applicable to all organizations, regardless of their size, type, location, structure, activities, products, level of development and whether or not they have an environmental management system in place.
This Technical Specification supplements the contents of other International Standards on environmental management.
NOTE Annex A provides illustrative guidelines, examples of how to apply the guidelines and case studies with examples.