SIST EN ISO 14019-4:2026

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-april-2026
Informacije o trajnostnosti - 4. del: Načela in zahteve za organe, ki potrjujejo in
preverjajo informacije o trajnostnosti (ISO 14019-4:2026)
Sustainability information - Part 4: Principles and requirements for bodies validating and
verifying sustainability information (ISO 14019-4:2026)
Nachhaltigkeitsinformationen - Teil 4: Grundsätze und Anforderungen für Stellen, die
Nachhaltigkeitsinformationen validieren und verifizieren (ISO 14019-4:2026)
Informations en matière de durabilité - Partie 4: Principes et exigences pour les
organismes validant et vérifiant les informations en matière de durabilité (ISO 14019-
4:2026)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 14019-4:2026
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 14019-4

NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
February 2026
ICS 13.020.20; 03.120.20
English version
Sustainability information - Part 4: Principles and
requirements for bodies validating and verifying
sustainability information (ISO 14019-4:2026)
Informations en matière de durabilité - Partie 4: Nachhaltigkeitsinformationen - Teil 4: Grundsätze und
Principes et exigences pour les organismes validant et Anforderungen für Stellen, die
vérifiant les informations en matière de durabilité (ISO Nachhaltigkeitsinformationen validieren und
14019-4:2026) verifizieren (ISO 14019-4:2026)
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 14019-4:2026 E
reserved worldwide for CEN national Members and for
CENELEC Members.
Contents Page
European foreword . 3

European foreword
This document (EN ISO 14019-4:2026) 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 14019-4:2026 has been approved by CEN-CENELEC as EN ISO 14019-4:2026 without
any modification.
International
Standard
ISO 14019-4
First edition
Sustainability information —
2026-02
Part 4:
Principles and requirements for
bodies validating and verifying
sustainability information
Informations en matière de durabilité —
Partie 4: Principes et exigences pour les organismes validant et
vérifiant les informations en matière de durabilité
Reference number
ISO 14019-4:2026(en) © ISO 2026

ISO 14019-4:2026(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 14019-4:2026(en)
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Principles for the validation/verification process and for validation/verification bodies
and teams. 2
4.1 General .2
4.2 Professional scepticism .2
4.3 Conservativeness.3
5 General requirements . 3
5.1 Legal entity .3
5.2 Responsibilities for validation/verification statements .3
5.3 Management of impartiality .3
5.4 Liability .3
6 Structural requirements . 3
6.1 Organizational structure and top management .3
6.2 Operational control .4
7 Resource requirements . 4
7.1 General .4
7.2 Personnel .4
7.3 Management process for the competence of personnel .4
7.4 Outsourcing .5
8 Validation/verification programme . 5
9 Process requirements . 5
9.1 General .5
9.2 Pre-engagement .5
9.3 Engagement .5
9.4 Planning .6
9.5 Validation/verification execution.6
9.6 Review .6
9.7 Decision and issue of the assurance statement .7
9.7.1 Decision .7
9.7.2 Issue of the assurance statement .8
9.7.3 Issue of non-assurance deliverables .9
9.8 Facts discovered after the issue of the validation/verification statement .9
9.9 Handling of appeals .9
9.10 Handling of complaints .9
9.11 Records .9
10 Information requirements . 9
10.1 Publicly available information . . .9
10.2 Other information to be available .9
10.3 Reference to validation/verification and use of marks .10
10.4 Confidentiality .10
11 Management system requirements .10
11.1 General .10
11.2 Management review .10
11.3 Internal audits.10
11.4 Corrective action .10
11.5 Actions to address risks and opportunities .11

iii
ISO 14019-4:2026(en)
11.6 Documented information .11
Annex A (normative) Competence requirements .12
Bibliography .18

iv
ISO 14019-4:2026(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 14019-4:2026(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 the
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:
— the 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.
vi
ISO 14019-4:2026(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
1)
includes separate documents for the validation process (see ISO 14019-3 ) and the verification process (see
ISO 14019-2).
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 contains specific principles and requirements for verification processes;
1)
— ISO 14019-3 contains specific principles and requirements for validation processes;
— ISO 14019-4 (this document) 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.
Users of declared sustainability information want to know whether it is accurate and reliable. They seek
assurance through verification that statements of historical information are truthful and correct, and
through validation that projected and forecasted information is based on reasonable assumptions and
methods.
This document identifies the principles and specifies the following requirements for validation/verification
bodies:
— general requirements (see Clause 5, including legal, impartiality, liability and contractual matters);
— structural requirements (see Clause 6, including organizational structure and operational control);
— resource requirements (see Clause 7, including personnel and competency management);
1) Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: ISO/AWI 14019-3:2025.

vii
ISO 14019-4:2026(en)
— programme requirements (see Clause 8);
— process requirements (see Clause 9, including process steps such as pre-engagement, engagement,
execution, review, and issuance of assurance opinions and records management);
— information requirements (see Clause 10, including communication and confidentiality);
— management system requirements (see Clause 11, including the internal management system of the
body, internal audits, management review and corrective actions).
This document is an application of ISO/IEC 17029. It references the requirements of ISO/IEC 17029 and also
includes specific requirements related to bodies that validate or verify declared sustainability information
that apply in addition to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17029.
According to ISO/IEC 17029, bodies shall apply one or more validation/verification programmes consisting
of the rules and procedures for carrying out a specific validation/verification. The specific requirements
and criteria of such programmes shall be consistent with the generic requirements of ISO/IEC 17029 and
shall not exclude any of those. This document specifies the application to sustainability information. Where
a programme further specifies or complements the requirements of this document, these specifications
apply additionally.
Bodies operating in accordance with this document can perform validation/verification as first-party,
second-party or third-party activities. Bodies can provide validation only, verification only, or provide both
validation and verification, and can perform AUP.
This document provides programme owners, regulators and accreditation bodies with a basis for assessing
and recognizing the competence, ethics and impartiality of validation/verification bodies. It can also be
used in other ways, such as in peer assessment within groups of validation/verification bodies or between
such groups.
viii
International Standard ISO 14019-4:2026(en)
Sustainability information —
Part 4:
Principles and requirements for bodies validating and
verifying sustainability information
1 Scope
This document specifies principles and requirements for the competence, consistent operation and
impartiality of bodies performing validation/verification of declared sustainability information.
This document is an application of ISO/IEC 17029, which contains general principles and requirements
for the competence, consistent operation and impartiality of bodies performing validation/verification as
conformity assessment activities.
This document includes specific requirements related to bodies performing validation/verification of
declared sustainability information in addition to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17029.
Any programme requirements related to bodies are additional to the requirements of this document.
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 14019-1:2026, 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 and the following 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/
3.1
appeal
request by the responsible party or client to the validation/verification body for reconsideration by that
body of a decision it has made relating to the issuance of an assurance opinion
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17000:2020, 8.6, modified — “responsible party or client to the validation/verification
body” replaced “person or organization that provides, or that is, the object of conformity assessment to a
conformity assessment body or an accreditation body” and “the issuance of an assurance opinion” replaced
“that object”.]
ISO 14019-4:2026(en)
3.2
complaint
expression of dissatisfaction, other than appeal (3.1), by any person or organization to a validation/
verification body, relating to the activities of that body, where a response is expected
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 17000:2020, 8.7, modified — “validation/verification body” replaced “conformity
assessment body or an accreditation body”.]
3.3
safe harbour
legal provision to avoid legal or regulatory liability in certain situations, provided that certain conditions
are met
4 Principles for the validation/verification process and for validation/verification
bodies and teams
4.1 General
4.1.1 The principles in ISO 14019-1:2026, Clause 4, apply.
NOTE 1 ISO 14019-1:2026, 4.2, includes the following principles related to validation and verification activities:
a) evidence-based approach and sampling;
b) consistency and documentation;
c) impartiality;
d) competence and capacity;
e) confidentiality;
f) integrity;
g) fair presentation;
h) due professional care;
i) professional judgement.
NOTE 2 Programmes, applicable code of ethics or other normative documents can include specific requirements
to address situations impacting independence and threats to impartiality. In such cases, these specific provisions are
mandatory for the validation/verification body in addition to the general principles of independence and impartiality.
4.1.2 The principles in ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 4.3.4, 4.3.5, 4.3.6 and 4.3.7, apply.
NOTE ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 4.3.4, 4.3.5, 4.3.6 and 4.3.7, include the following principles:
a) openness;
b) responsibility;
c) responsiveness to complaints;
d) risk-based approach.
4.2 Professional scepticism
Based on situations that can cause material misstatements in declared sustainability information, the
validation/verification body applies a questioning attitude to the information provided and the evidence
gathered.
ISO 14019-4:2026(en)
4.3 Conservativeness
When the body assesses comparable alternatives, preference is given to the alternative that is cautiously
moderate.
5 General requirements
5.1 Legal entity
5.1.1 ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 5.1, shall apply.
5.1.2 The validation/verification body shall have a documented description of its legal status including, if
applicable, the names of its owners and, if different, the names of the persons who control it.
5.2 Responsibilities for validation/verification statements
5.2.1 ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 5.2, shall apply.
NOTE The reference to “validation/verification statements” in ISO/IEC 17029 means “assurance statements”,
which include “assurance opinions” in this document.
5.2.2 The body shall be responsible for the activities that it performs to provide assurance.
5.2.3 The body shall be responsible for the activities that it performs to prepare non-assurance
deliverables.
5.3 Management of impartiality
5.3.1 ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 5.3, shall apply.
NOTE 1 ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 5.3.8, does not refer to mixed engagement.
NOTE 2 Threats to impartiality can include, but are not limited to: self-interest, self-review, over-familiarity
(or unquestionable trust); intimidation; bias; undue influence of, or undue reliance on, individuals, organizations,
technology or other factors.
5.3.2 The body shall ensure, through a mechanism independent of its operations, that impartiality is being
achieved.
NOTE A threat to impartiality can arise from an ongoing relationship and engagement with a single client or
responsible party
5.3.3 The body shall not tie payment to issuance of a favourable opinion.
5.4 Liability
ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 5.4, shall apply.
6 Structural requirements
6.1 Organizational structure and top management
ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 6.1, shall apply.

ISO 14019-4:2026(en)
6.2 Operational control
ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 6.2, shall apply.
7 Resource requirements
7.1 General
ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 7.1, shall apply.
7.2 Personnel
ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 7.2, shall apply.
7.3 Management process for the competence of personnel
7.3.1 ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 7.3, shall apply.
7.3.2 In addition to having the process required by ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 7.3.1, the body shall establish,
implement and maintain a process for:
a) specifying required competences for each programme it operates and the associated sustainability
matters;
b) ensuring that verifiers, validators, technical experts and independent reviewers have appropriate
competencies;
c) relevant internal or external expertise for advice on specific sustainability matters and validation/
verification programmes.
7.3.3 The additional requirements and competences for personnel given in Annex A shall apply.
NOTE Depending on the complexity of sustainability matters, knowledge can be demonstrated by:
— training, including on-the-job training;
— peer exchange and mentoring;
— experience on site;
— professional recognition and standing.
7.3.4 In reference to ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 7.3.3, performance monitoring shall be periodic. Monitoring
techniques can include performance reviews, review of the reports, on-the-job monitoring and interviews.
The monitoring techniques used shall be in proportion with the impact of the performance on the outcome
of the validation/verification. Performance monitoring includes tracking the continuous maintenance of
personnel competence. The validation/verification body shall take actions to ensure that personnel has
appropriate training to ensure the validation/verification skills are continually up to date with relevant
developments. Continuous professional development enables the personnel to develop and maintain the
capabilities to perform competently the validation/verification activities.
7.3.5 The body shall establish competent validation/verification teams and shall provide appropriate
management and support services. If one individual fulfils all the requirements for a validation/verification
team, then that person may be considered as a validation/verification team.

ISO 14019-4:2026(en)
7.4 Outsourcing
ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 7.4, shall apply.
NOTE For ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 7.4 b), “engagement activities” refer to the process by which an engagement
agreement between the client and the body is concluded.
8 Validation/verification programme
ISO/IEC 17029:2019, Clause 8, shall apply.
NOTE ISO/IEC TS 17035 provides guidance on the development, content and operation of validation/verification
programmes.
9 Process requirements
9.1 General
ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.1, shall apply.
9.2 Pre-engagement
9.2.1 ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.2, shall apply.
9.2.2 In addition to requirements given in ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.2.2, the validation/verification body
shall ensure that the requested activities and intended deliverables have been identified.
The body shall request that its client disclose any assertion of safe harbour related to declared sustainability
information when it provides the information required by ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.2.1.
NOTE The intended deliverables can be assurance opinions or non-assurance deliverables. Requested activities
include verification, validation, AUP or a combination thereof.
9.2.3 The body shall consider preconditions for validation/verification.
NOTE Consideration of preconditions is specified, for example, in ISO 14019-2.
9.2.4 The body shall review the relevance determination process whenever it has been undertaken by the
responsible party.
NOTE The relevance determination process is specified, for example, in ISO 14019-2.
9.3 Engagement
9.3.1 ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.3, shall apply.
9.3.2 In addition to the requirements given in ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.3.2, the validation/verification body
shall ensure that its engagement agreement with the client requires the client to communicate to the body
any facts that can affect the validity of an issued assurance opinion.
9.3.3 A validation/verification body may rely on the validation/verification opinion of another
independent verification body (relied-upon verifier). The validation/verification responsible for the
assurance engagement shall take responsibility for assurance over the entire validation/verification of the
declared sustainability information. The body shall ensure its agreement requires the client to cooperate in
the case where facts or information discovered materially affect the validation or verification opinion.

ISO 14019-4:2026(en)
9.4 Planning
9.4.1 ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.4, shall apply.
9.4.2 In addition to the planning activities required in ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.4.1, the validation/
verification team shall:
a) perform and document a strategic analysis to determine the extent of the validation/verification
activities, taking into account:
1) the declared sustainability information;
2) the engagement agreement (see 9.3);
3) information about issues of concern to intended users;
4) their own research on the responsible party’s public commitments and communications related to
sustainability;
b) assess the risk of misstatements and nonconformities with the specified requirements and criteria
related to the declared sustainability information.
9.4.3 In addition to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.4.2, the validation/verification plan shall:
a) include the level of assurance and materiality;
b) be approved by the team leader.
9.4.4 Amendments to the evidence-gathering plan and validation/verification plan shall be approved by
the team leader in the following circumstances:
a) change in scope or timing of validation/verification activities;
b) change in evidence-gathering activities and techniques;
c) change in locations and sources of information for evidence gathering;
d) when the validation/verification process identifies new risks or concerns that can lead to material
misstatements or nonconformities.
9.5 Validation/verification execution
ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.5, shall apply.
NOTE Principles for gathering evidence are provided, for example, in ISO 14019-1. Processes for determining,
gathering and evaluating evidence for verification are provided, for example, in ISO 14019-2.
9.6 Review
9.6.1 ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.6, shall apply.
9.6.2 In addition to the requirements in ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.6.2, the independent review shall be carried
out by persons who have not been involved in the planning (see 9.4) and are not part of the validation/
verification team.
NOTE As long as personnel conducting the independent review have not participated in validation/verification
activities under the direction of the team leader, they are not considered members of the validation/verification team.

ISO 14019-4:2026(en)
9.6.3 For ISO/IEC 17029:2019, 9.6.3 c), “significant findings” are misstatements and nonconformities
ide
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