ISO 22526-4:2023

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 22526-4
First edition
2023-06
Plastics — Carbon and environmental
footprint of biobased plastics —
Part 4:
Environmental (total) footprint (Life
cycle assessment)
Plastiques — Empreinte carbone et environnementale des plastiques
biosourcés —
Partie 4: Empreinte environnementale (totale) (Analyse de cycle de
vie)
Reference number
© ISO 2023
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ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Methodology for LCA of biobased products . 2
4.1 General description of an LCA . 2
4.2 General aspects of LCA for biobased plastic products . 2
4.3 Goal and scope of the LCA study . 3
4.3.1 Goal of the LCA study . 3
4.3.2 Scope of the LCA study . 3
5 Life cycle inventory (LCI) . 5
5.1 General . 5
5.2 Sources of data. 6
5.2.1 General . 6
5.2.2 Geographical data . 6
5.2.3 Temporal data . 6
5.3 Allocation procedure . 6
5.4 LCI — Collecting data and modelling . 7
5.4.1 Considerations for resource use . 7
5.4.2 Land use . 8
5.4.3 Water inventory . 9
5.5 Inventory of fossil and biogenic carbon flows . 11
5.6 Guidance for modelling agro-, forestry and aquaculture systems . 11
5.6.1 Modelling agricultural systems . 11
5.6.2 Modelling forestry systems . 14
5.6.3 Modelling aquaculture systems . 15
5.6.4 Modelling the use-phase in LCAs of biobased products .15
5.6.5 Modelling end-of-life processes in LCAs of biobased products .15
6 Life cycle impacts assessment (LCIA) .16
6.1 Impact categories and impact indicators . 16
6.1.1 General . 16
6.1.2 Selection of impact categories . 16
6.1.3 Applicability of methods and data . 16
6.1.4 Weighting and comparative assertions disclosed to the public . 17
6.2 Guidelines for specific impact indicators . 17
6.2.1 Treatment of fossil and biogenic carbon in assessing climate change . 17
6.2.2 Land use . 17
6.2.3 Impact of water use . . 18
7 Interpretation and reporting of LCA .18
7.1 Interpretation . 18
7.2 Reporting of LCA . . 19
7.3 Critical review . 19
Annex A (informative) Example of allocation on glycerol .20
Annex B (informative) Examples of fossil and biogenic carbon flows accounting and
communication .21
Annex C (informative) Examples of impact categories and impact indicators .23
Bibliography .25
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 61, Plastics, Subcommittee SC 14,
Environmental aspects.
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iv
Introduction
Increased use of biomass resources for manufacturing plastic products can be effective in reducing
global warming and the depletion of fossil resources.
Current plastic products are composed of biobased synthetic polymers, fossil-based synthetic polymers,
natural polymers and additives that can include biobased materials.
Biobased plastics refer to plastics that contain materials wholly or partly of biogenic origin.
v
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 22526-4:2023(E)
Plastics — Carbon and environmental footprint of
biobased plastics —
Part 4:
Environmental (total) footprint (Life cycle assessment)
1 Scope
This document provides life cycle assessment (LCA) requirements and guidance to assess impacts over
the life cycle of biobased plastic products, materials and polymer resins, which are partly or wholly
based on biobased constituents.
The applications of LCA as such are outside the scope of this document. Clarifications, considerations,
practices, simplifications and options for the different applications, are also beyond the scope of this
document.
In addition, this document can be applied in studies that do not cover the whole life cycle, with
justification, for example in the case of business-to-business information, such as cradle-to-gate
studies, gate-to-gate studies, and specific parts of the life cycle (e.g. waste management, components
of a product). For these studies, most requirements of this document are applicable (e.g. data quality,
collection and calculation as well as allocation and critical review), but not all the requirements for the
system boundary.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 472, Plastics — Vocabulary
ISO 14025, Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental declarations — Principles and
procedures
ISO 14040:2006, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework
ISO 14044:2006, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Requirements and guidelines
ISO/TR 21960, Plastics — Environmental aspects — State of knowledge and methodologies
EN 1
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