What ISO 14025 establishes
ISO 14025 sets out the principles and requirements for environmental product declarations (EPDs) and the EPD programmes that publish them. An EPD is quantified environmental information about a product's life cycle, based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), independently verified, and built against a Product Category Rule (PCR). ISO 14025 doesn't specify what any particular product must disclose; that's the job of a PCR, layered underneath it. It does set the ground rules every EPD, every PCR, and every program operator has to follow.
The current edition, ISO 14025:2026, was published on 30 June 2026 and replaces the 2006 edition. Its title changed from "Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental declarations" to "Environmental statements and programmes for products — Environmental product declarations (EPDs)". See What changed in the 2026 edition below.
Type I, II, and III: the older terminology
The ISO 14020 family of standards traditionally sorted environmental labels and declarations into three types:
- Type I (ISO 14024): third-party-certified ecolabels awarded against a fixed set of criteria, like a pass/fail seal.
- Type II (ISO 14021): self-declared environmental claims made by the manufacturer, without independent verification.
- Type III (ISO 14025): quantified, LCA-based, independently verified declarations, which is what an EPD is.
ISO 14020:2022, the umbrella standard for the family, marks these numbered terms as deprecated in favor of descriptive ones: ecolabel, self-declared environmental claim, and environmental product declaration. ISO 14025:2026 follows suit. The "Type III" label is still widely used, and appears on EPDs verified under the 2006 edition.
The distinction itself still matters, because it's what separates an EPD from marketing language. An EPD reports numbers against a defined methodology and has been checked by someone independent of its preparation. A self-declared claim hasn't.
Verification requirements
ISO 14025 requires independent verification of both the underlying LCA data and the finished EPD before publication. The verifier must not have been involved in carrying out the LCA or preparing the declaration, and must be free of conflicts of interest. For business-to-business EPDs, that verification can be internal or external to the EPD owner. Business-to-consumer EPDs require third-party verification. Both editions of the standard draw this distinction.
The standard doesn't establish a single global verifier body. Individual program operators approve their own verifiers, and many require external or third-party verification even where ISO 14025 would allow internal verification. See EPD Verification, Explained for what verifiers check and how the process works.
What changed in the 2026 edition
ISO 14025:2026 is the first full revision of the standard since 2006. The main changes:
- Terminology. "Type III environmental declaration" is deprecated in favor of "environmental product declaration (EPD)", aligning with ISO 14020:2022.
- Verifier independence. A verifier is now defined as a "competent and independent" person or persons. The definition of third party lists who a verifier must be independent of, explicitly including EPD tool developers alongside the EPD owner, the program operator, and the LCA practitioner.
- EPD tools. New requirements cover the independent verification of EPD tools (software built to generate EPDs from simplified inputs). Program operators must specify how tool verification works, and a verified tool can allow a simplified verification process for the individual EPDs it produces.
- PCRs and mutual recognition. ISO/TS 14027 (PCR development) and ISO/TS 14029 (mutual recognition between EPD programmes) become normative references. PCR review and EPD verification must be run as separate processes.
- Program operator governance. Stronger emphasis on independence, impartiality, and conflicts of interest throughout an EPD programme's processes.
Because ISO 14025 is voluntary, the new edition takes effect in practice as program operators update their general programme instructions, each on its own schedule. EPDs verified under the 2006 edition will remain in circulation for some time.
Who this applies to
Any manufacturer publishing an EPD, any program operator running an EPD program, any EPD tool developer whose software is used to produce EPDs, and any PCR author writing category-specific rules are all working within ISO 14025's framework. It's the reference point that every other EPD-related standard on this site sits underneath: EN 15804, ISO 21930, and individual PCRs.
Frequently asked questions
Does ISO 14025 apply to all products, or just construction?
All products and services. It is a general-purpose standard for EPDs, not specific to construction. Construction products additionally follow EN 15804 or ISO 21930, which sit below ISO 14025 as construction-specific core rules.
How does ISO 14025 relate to EN 15804 and ISO 21930?
ISO 14025 is the umbrella standard defining what an EPD is in general. EN 15804 and ISO 21930 are construction-specific core rules that sit one level below it, adding requirements specific to construction products while still satisfying ISO 14025's general framework.
Is ISO 14025 legally required?
No. ISO 14025 is a voluntary international standard, not a law. It becomes effectively mandatory when a green building certification, procurement policy, or regulation requires an EPD, since a valid EPD has to comply with it.
Is an EPD still called a Type III declaration?
The term is still common, and EPDs verified under the 2006 edition use it. ISO 14020:2022 and ISO 14025:2026 both deprecate "Type III environmental declaration" in favor of "environmental product declaration (EPD)". The thing being described has not changed.
Are EPDs verified under ISO 14025:2006 still valid?
ISO 14025 is voluntary, so the new edition takes effect as each program operator updates its own general programme instructions. An EPD's validity is set by its program operator and stated on the declaration itself, so check with the relevant operator for its transition arrangements.
Sources
- ISO 14025:2026, Environmental statements and programmes for products — Environmental product declarations (EPDs)
- ISO 14025:2006, Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental declarations — Principles and procedures (cancelled and replaced by ISO 14025:2026)
- ISO 14020:2022, Environmental statements and programmes for products — Principles and general requirements
- EPD International, "ISO 14025:2026 is published!" (news release, 2026)
- EPD Australasia, "ISO 14025:2026: Updated requirements for EPD programmes" (July 2026)