SIST EN ISO 14019-2:2026

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-april-2026
Informacije o trajnostnosti - 2. del: Načela in zahteve za postopke preverjanja (ISO
14019-2:2026)
Sustainability information - Part 2: Principles and requirements for verification processes
(ISO 14019-2:2026)
Nachhaltigkeitsinformationen - Teil 2: Grundsätze und Anforderungen für den
Verifizierungsprozess (ISO 14019-2:2026)
Informations en matière de durabilité - Partie 2: Principes et exigences pour les
processus de vérification (ISO 14019-2:2026)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 14019-2:2026
ICS:
03.120.20 Certificiranje proizvodov in Product and company
podjetij. Ugotavljanje certification. Conformity
skladnosti assessment
13.020.20 Okoljska ekonomija. Environmental economics.
Trajnostnost Sustainability
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD EN ISO 14019-2

NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
February 2026
ICS 03.120.20; 13.020.20
English version
Sustainability information - Part 2: Principles and
requirements for verification processes (ISO 14019-
4:2026)
Informations en matière de durabilité - Partie 2: Nachhaltigkeitsinformationen - Teil 2: Grundsätze und
Principes et exigences pour les processus de Anforderungen für den Verifizierungsprozess (ISO
vérification (ISO 14019-4:2026) 14019-2:2026)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 1 December 2025.

CEN and CENELEC members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for
giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical
references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to
any CEN and CENELEC member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN and CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN and CENELEC members are the national standards bodies and national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and United Kingdom.

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre:
Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2026 CEN/CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means
Ref. No. EN ISO 14019-2:2026 E
reserved worldwide for CEN national Members and for
CENELEC Members.
Contents Page
European foreword . 3

European foreword
This document (EN ISO 14019-2:2026) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207
"Environmental management" in collaboration with Technical Committee CEN-CENELEC/ JTC 1
“Criteria for conformity assessment bodies” the secretariat of which is held by BSI.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by August 2026, and conflicting national standards shall
be withdrawn at the latest by August 2026.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN-CENELEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards
body/national committee. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN and CENELEC
websites.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the
United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 14019-2:2026 has been approved by CEN-CENELEC as EN ISO 14019-2:2026 without
any modification.
International
Standard
ISO 14019-2
First edition
Sustainability information —
2026-02
Part 2:
Principles and requirements for
verification processes
Informations en matière de durabilité —
Partie 2: Principes et exigences pour les processus de vérification
Reference number
ISO 14019-2:2026(en) © ISO 2026

ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
© ISO 2026
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
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CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Pre-engagement. 1
4.1 General .1
4.2 Required information .2
4.3 Suitability of specified requirements and criteria .2
4.4 Relevance determination process and rational purpose .3
4.5 Lack of mutual understanding .4
4.6 Verification objectives .4
4.7 Category of deliverable .4
4.8 Specification of scope, requirements and criteria .5
4.9 Materiality .5
4.10 Level of assurance .5
4.11 Inherent limitations and scope limitations .6
4.11.1 General .6
4.11.2 Evaluating consequences of inherent limitation .6
5 Engagement . 6
5.1 Engagement agreement .6
5.2 Conditions not met after acceptance of the engagement .7
6 Planning . 7
6.1 Verification team selection .7
6.2 Strategic analysis .7
6.2.1 General .7
6.2.2 Context for the strategic analysis.7
6.2.3 Strategic analysis approach .8
6.2.4 Output from and review of strategic analysis .9
6.3 Risk assessment .9
6.3.1 General .9
6.3.2 Context for risk assessment .10
6.3.3 Process for risk assessment .10
6.3.4 Output from and review of the risk assessment .11
6.4 Assessment of materiality .11
6.4.1 Process for assessing materiality .11
6.4.2 Output of assessing materiality . 12
6.5 Evidence-gathering activities . 13
6.5.1 General . 13
6.5.2 Process for evidence gathering . 13
6.5.3 Designing evidence-gathering activities . 13
6.5.4 Use of the responsible party’s internal controls .14
6.5.5 Evidence gathering for quantitative information .14
6.5.6 Evidence gathering for qualitative information . 15
6.5.7 Evidence-gathering techniques . 15
6.5.8 Evidence-gathering plan .16
6.5.9 Verification plan . . .16
6.5.10 Approval of evidence-gathering plan and verification plan .17
6.6 Scope limitations .17
7 Execution .18
7.1 General .18
7.2 Communication .18

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ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
7.3 Insufficient information .18
7.4 Intentional misstatement or noncompliance.19
7.5 Completion of verification activities .19
8 Review . 19
9 Decision . 19
10 Assurance statement and opinion .20
10.1 Content of the assurance statement . 20
10.1.1 General . 20
10.1.2 Content of assurance information . 20
10.1.3 Subject covered in the assurance opinion.21
10.2 Assurance opinions .21
10.3 Unmodified opinion . 22
10.4 Level of assurance — Language in an unmodified opinion . 22
10.5 Qualified opinion . 22
10.6 Adverse opinion . 23
10.7 Disclaimed opinion . 23
10.8 Amplifications in assurance opinion . 23
10.9 Assurance opinion when changes have been made to the declared sustainability
information to state that there are material misstatements .24
11 Facts discovered after issue of the assurance opinion .24
12 Records . .24
Annex A (informative) Sampling .26
Annex B (informative) Level of assurance .28
Annex C (informative) Inherent risk .29
Annex D (informative) Uncertainty .30
Annex E (informative) Verification approach for qualitative information .31
Bibliography .33

iv
ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee
has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely
with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent
rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a)
patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that
this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at
www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental management, Subcommittee
SC 2, Environmental auditing and related practices, in collaboration with the European Committee for
Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee CEN/CLC/JTC 1, Criteria for conformity assessment bodies, in
accordance with the Agreement on technical cooperation between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement), and in
collaboration with ISO/CASCO, Committee on conformity assessment.
A list of all parts in the ISO 14019 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

v
ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
Introduction
With increasing public demand and advancing legal provisions (regulatory and contractual) for declarations,
disclosures and reporting of sustainability information, there is a significant market need for the validation,
verification and assurance of this information.
Standards are needed for both:
— identifying metrics and indicators, monitoring, compiling, reporting, declaring and disclosing information
about sustainability matters (including environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters);
— harmonized approaches to validation/verification and assurance of that information.
Validated and verified sustainability information can be used for decision-making, including investment
decisions, procurement decisions, or individual choices during consumer purchasing, the use of services and
decisions on where to work.
In this document, the sustainability information that is declared by a responsible party is the object of
validation/verification. Validation/verification bodies assess the declared sustainability information for its
conformity with, and fulfilment of, specified requirements and criteria.
Specified requirements and criteria are set by a validation/verification programme, which can be a
mandatory regulatory reporting programme, or a voluntary programme for a specific sector or sustainability
matter. The result of a completed validation/verification can be the provision of an assurance opinion which
attests that:
— specified requirements and criteria have been fulfilled;
— the reasonableness of the assumptions, limitations and methods that support declared sustainability
information about a future outcome has been validated;
— the material correctness and fair representation of historical data and information has been verified.
NOTE The primary outcome of validation/verification activities in accordance with the ISO 14019 series is an
assurance opinion. In addition, the ISO 14019 series allows for alternative non-assurance outcomes or deliverables.
The deliverable chosen for each specific validation/verification activity (i.e. an assurance opinion or a non-assurance
deliverable) is specified in the relevant validation/verification programme and confirmed between the validation/
verification body and its client in a specific engagement agreement. Non-assurance deliverables include reports of
factual findings based on agreed-upon procedures (AUP) reports, findings reports and evidence reports. These non-
assurance deliverables can be appropriate for situations where an assurance opinion is not required (e.g. in voluntary
or internal reporting, reporting from organizations upstream or downstream in the value chain, for small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in situations where capacity building is being undertaken, when the expense of an
assurance opinion is prohibitive (see ISO 14019-1:2026, Annex D, for more information).
The overall aim of validation/verification is to give confidence to intended users that the declared
sustainability information is fairly stated, can be used for the defined purpose and fulfils specified
requirements and criteria. This confidence is provided through an impartial validation/verification process
undertaken by a competent validator/verifier.
Parties that have an interest in validation/verification include, but are not limited to:
— clients of validation/verification bodies;
— validation/verification programme owners and other developers of standards;
— regulatory authorities;
— intended users of validated/verified declared sustainability information (e.g. investors, supply chain
partners, industry bodies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), consumers) and other interested
parties;
— accreditation bodies.
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ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
Frameworks, principles and processes guiding validation/verification methodologies should be compatible
with the globally accepted quality infrastructure (standardization, conformity assessment by validation/
verification, peer assessment, accreditation). Furthermore, developing these methodologies as International
Standards allows all interested parties, especially those with already implemented structures and existing
instruments, to participate.
Standards for the declaration and reporting of sustainability information already existing or under
development relate, for instance, to organizations (e.g. listed companies or suppliers) that are increasingly
required to report specific ESG or sustainability matters under voluntary or mandatory arrangements (e.g.
as a pre-requisite to supply chain or market access, precondition for tenders and government procurement,
as part of securities exchange or regulatory annual reporting).
Within the existing legal framework of many countries and regions, the global system of conformity
assessment and its recognition (e.g. through multilateral arrangements between accreditation bodies), tools
for reliable assessment and confirmation of declared information (claims, reports, etc.) currently exist.
Parties interested in qualitatively trustworthy and quantitatively comparable information will benefit from
standardized validation/verification processes performed by legal entities that fulfil the requirements of
ISO/IEC 17029.
While both validation and verification result in a confirmation of declared information, they differ
significantly in their execution. Assessing historic data with respect to truthful and correct statements in
a verification requires different methodological approaches than determining whether declarations on an
intended purpose or future effect are reasonable and plausible in a validation. Therefore, this series includes
1)
separate documents for the validation process (see ISO 14019-3 ) and the verification process (in this
document).
As for the type of information to be validated or verified, a distinction can be made according to the
sustainability matter (e.g. environmental, social, governance). However, taking the perspective of describing
methodologies, the distinction according to the nature of the assessed information, being quantitative or
qualitative, appears more rational. Hence, this latter approach has been taken in this document.
The ISO 14019 series provides a consistent overview of the entire validation/verification of sustainability
information, and gives general and specific requirements for validation/verification processes.
In summary, the ISO 14019 series comprises the following parts:
— ISO 14019-1 contains terminology, principles and general requirements applicable to both validation and
verification;
— ISO 14019-2 (this document) contains specific principles and requirements for verification processes;
1)
— ISO 14019-3 contains specific principles and requirements for validation processes;
— ISO 14019-4 contains specific principles and requirements for validation/verification bodies and their
personnel, the validators and verifiers, in addition to the generic requirements of ISO/IEC 17029.
Verification processes are generally planned and performed to reach a decision on providing assurance
on whether or not the declared sustainability information fulfils the specified requirements and criteria.
This conclusion is issued as an assurance opinion. When the process is organized to only gather evidence
regarding the fulfilment of specified requirements and criteria, the report on these evidence-gathering
results can be issued as a non-assurance deliverable. Resulting from a review of the evidence, a non-
assurance deliverable can include findings on the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the evidence
gathering considered with regard to the fulfilment of specified requirements and criteria. Different terms
can be used to make reference to such non-assurance deliverables (e.g. “findings report” for reviewed
evidence or “evidence report” for results of evidence-gathering without being reviewed).
For the verification of quantitative information, this document details an approach for continuous
and discrete forms of data and the types of evidence-gathering activities that can be applicable to each.
Continuous data can be further categorized into ratio and interval data. Verification approaches include
1) Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: ISO/AWI 14019-3:2025.

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ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
an assessment of data collection, data editing, data transformation and data control processes, as well as
numerical techniques that aid in the verification of analytical testing.
For verification of qualitative information, which can be based on numerical and non-numerical information,
this document details an approach to both types, including a review of language, terms and adjectives
used in the declared sustainability information to ensure it is appropriate, consistent with the available
information and truthful. Verification approaches include an assessment of the selection, determination,
collection, editing and control processes associated with the qualitative information. It can also include the
use of professional judgement to review the overall qualitative information to ensure it is fair and truthful
and can be relied on by interested parties.

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International Standard ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
Sustainability information —
Part 2:
Principles and requirements for verification processes
1 Scope
This document specifies requirements and gives guidance on the verification of declared sustainability
information, including information presented in quantitative and qualitative formats.
NOTE 1 Declared sustainability information can include reporting on environmental, social, governance and other
sustainability matters.
NOTE 2 A verification programme can include a combination of validation and verification activities, and result in
mixed engagements.
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 14019-1, Sustainability information — Part 1: General principles and requirements for validation and
verification
ISO/IEC 17029:2019, Conformity assessment — General principles and requirements for validation and
verification bodies
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 14019-1 apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
4 Pre-engagement
4.1 General
In pre-engagement, the verification body shall confirm the following:
a) fulfilment of preconditions, including:
1) specified requirements and criteria for declared sustainability information (see 4.2);
2) suitability of specified requirements and criteria (see 4.3);
3) a relevance determination process and rational purpose (see 4.4);

ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
4) lack of mutual understanding (see 4.5);
b) the objective is verification (see 4.6), or a mixture of both validation and verification;
NOTE Declared sustainability information can have elements that need verification as well as validation.
c) the category of deliverable (i.e. report of factual findings or assurance opinion) (see 4.7);
d) the scope of verification, specified requirements and criteria to be used to prepare the information to
be verified (e.g. specified requirements for declaring information, including categories of sustainability
matter) (see 4.8);
e) materiality (see 4.9);
f) the level of assurance (see 4.10);
g) any inherent limitations of the deliverable (see 4.11).
4.2 Required information
4.2.1 The verification body shall ensure that the verification programme that has been agreed with the
client includes:
a) applicable specified requirements and criteria for the declared sustainability information;
b) the process and methodology to confirm the relevance determination process of the responsible party’s
declared sustainability information (see 4.4);
c) a process and methodology for verification consistent with the requirements of this document.
4.2.2 The verification body shall ensure that the client obtains sufficient information from the responsible
party to fulfil the requirements of:
a) ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.2.1;
b) the applicable parts of the ISO 14019 series.
4.2.3 The verification body shall consider whether the responsible party for the declared sustainability
information has adequately identified and taken into account the specified requirements and criteria,
reporting boundaries, the relevance determination process and value chain considerations that have been
specified in:
a) the agreed verification programme; or
b) any external reporting framework for the declared sustainability information; or
c) a framework established by the responsible party or the verification body.
NOTE Reporting boundaries can be, for example, temporal, geographic, physical, economic, demographic or social
(from ISO 14019-1:2026, 7.2 f)).
4.2.4 The verification body shall ensure that the client has obtained confirmation from the responsible
party that the responsible party has a basis for issuing the declared sustainability information.
4.3 Suitability of specified requirements and criteria
4.3.1 The verification body shall assess whether the specified requirements and criteria proposed by the
responsible party are suitable for the verification to be agreed on in the engagement. This includes assessing
whether the declared sustainability information and sustainability matters:
a) have been subjected to a relevance determination process;

ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
b) are capable of consistent measurement (quantitative information) or evaluation (qualitative
information) against applicable specified requirements and criteria;
c) can be subjected to verification activities for obtaining sufficient appropriate evidence.
NOTE Specified requirements and criteria in established programmes (such as regulatory or voluntary reporting
programmes, applicable International Standards or other assurance standards) are considered to satisfy this
subclause.
4.3.2 In assessing the suitability of specified requirements and criteria, the verification body shall:
a) evaluate whether there are specified requirements and criteria applicable to the declared sustainability
information that will be verified;
b) identify and confirm the sources of the specified requirements and criteria;
c) evaluate whether the specified requirements and criteria exhibit the following characteristics:
1) relevance;
2) completeness;
3) reliability;
4) neutrality;
5) understandability.
4.3.3 Specified requirements and criteria shall be available to intended users identified by the responsible
party and, if applicable, interested parties identified by the responsible party or the verification programme.
4.3.4 If the expected outcome of the verification is an assurance opinion, the verification body shall assess
whether it expects to be able to obtain the evidence needed to support its conclusions.
4.4 Relevance determination process and rational purpose
4.4.1 Unless otherwise specified in the verification programme, the verification body shall:
a) evaluate the relevance determination process that the responsible party has undertaken to identify:
1) relevant sustainability matters, including scope and boundary conditions and any consultations
with interested parties;
2) intended users and the types of decision that they will make for specific purposes based on the
declared sustainability information;
3) criteria which are used for determining relevance;
4) the metrics, units of measurement and changes in sustainability performance that are included in
the declared sustainability information;
5) the qualitative information;
6) the likely effects of the declared sustainability information on sustainability outcomes and any
affected parties;
b) question the responsible party on the declared sustainability information to determine whether it
covers the relevant sustainability matters and includes meaningful metrics, units of measurement and
changes in sustainability performance;
c) select the declared sustainability information that will be used in the verification;

ISO 14019-2:2026(en)
d) identify any limitations or omissions with regard to relevant sustainability matters, and explicitly state
those inherent limitations or omissions in any assurance opinion.
NOTE 1 The intent of this subclause is to establish a “relevance determination process test” early on in the
verification process and allow for the verification body to question the responsible party’s declared sustainability
information so that it includes relevant sustainability matters and meaningful metrics, units of measurement and
performance information. By doing this, it is expected that verification activities will avoid focusing on peripheral
or unimportant sustainability matters, metrics, etc. and avoid verifying declared sustainability information that
has little or no actual value in terms of sustainability outcomes (e.g. to avoid greenwashing or misleading claims or
declarations).
NOTE 2 The evaluation of the relevance determination process in this subclause is not to be confused with the
separate consideration of materiality (see 4.9). The separate assessment of materiality is in relation to the declared
sustainability information found to be relevant after the evaluation of the relevance determination process has been
completed.
4.4.2 The verification body shall decide whether the proposed verification exhibits a rational purpose. In
making this decision, the verification body shall confirm that:
a) it is able to obtain a meaningful level of assurance in the case of an engagement agreement for verification
with a limited assurance;
b) the results of the verification will be useful and not misleading to intended users;
c) the scope of the verification is appropriate;
d) when the scope of the verification excludes part of the declared sustainability information, how this
exclusion is to be communicated to intended users and included in any assurance opinion.
4.5 Lack of mutual understanding
If the requirements of 4.1 to 4.4 are not met, the verification body shall not accept the engagement agreement
on providing assurance.
4.6 Verification objectives
4.6.1 The verifier and client shall agree on the verification objectives taking into account:
a) the verification programme;
b) intended users;
c) relevant interested parties;
d) the category of deliverable.
4.6.2 Where the verification is intended to result in an assurance opinion, the verification objectives shall
include reaching a decision about the fair presentation of the declared sustainability information and its
conformity to the specifie
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