ISO 14046 Certification
Water Footprint Assessment Certification
With water use and management now a key consideration amid growing water scarcity, ISO 14046 is the international standard for water footprinting. It sets out principles, requirements and guidelines for assessing and reporting the water footprint of products, processes and organisations, giving your assessment consistency and credibility. International Assessment Bureau carries out independent, impartial audits against the standard and issues certification.
What ISO 14046 Covers
Water Footprint
A metric quantifying the potential environmental impacts related to water, covering both water consumption and pollution, with location and timing taken into account.
Life Cycle Based
Applies to products, processes and organisations based on life cycle assessment, with only air and soil emissions that affect water quality included in the assessment.
Consistent Reporting
Sets out principles, requirements and guidelines so a water footprint can be assessed and reported in a consistent, credible way, either stand-alone or as part of a wider environmental assessment.
Scope Boundaries
Not intended for use in legal proceedings, as evidence of customary international law, for regulatory purposes, or in any way that creates trade barriers inconsistent with WTO requirements.
What ISO 14046 Does For Your Organisation
Our Certification Process at a Glance
Application & Quote
Tell us about your organisation and scope. We provide a clear, fixed quote.
Payment & Invoice
Once you accept the quote, we issue an invoice and confirm your certification agreement before scheduling the audit.
Stage 1, Stage 2 & Surveillance Audits
On-site/remote assessment of your water footprint assessment process in operation against the standard, followed by ongoing surveillance audits.
Certification Decision
An independent technical review confirms the certification decision.
Certificate & Surveillance
Certificate issued, with annual surveillance audits to keep it valid.
See our full certification process for more detail on each stage.
About ISO 14046
International Assessment Bureau is an independent certification body based in the UK. ISO 14046 is expected to benefit organisations, governments and other interested parties worldwide by bringing transparency, consistency and credibility to how a water footprint is assessed and reported. It provides the elements needed to understand how water use can be improved, by accounting for the volumes of water used, quantifying the related scarcity and pollution, and identifying other relevant impacts.
A water footprint assessment under ISO 14046 should take account of the societal, environmental, legal, cultural, political and organisational diversity, as well as the economic conditions, relevant to the assessment being carried out. ISO itself issues no certification or conformity test directly - it develops the standards through a consensus-based process involving technical committees, industry experts, consumer organisations and national standards bodies. Certification against ISO 14046 is carried out by certification bodies such as International Assessment Bureau. If you are planning to get your organisation certified, get in touch with our team and we will walk you through exactly what is required for your sector and scope.
Ready to Start Your ISO 14046 Certification?
Tell us about your organisation and we'll come back with a clear, no-obligation quote.