LET’S TAKE A LOOK:
As of September 2019, 350Solutions is the only company in the United States to be accredited under ISO 14034 ETV (Environmental Technology Verification), the international standard for evaluating and verifying environmental technologies. Accreditation to perform ISO 14034 ETV by ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) means that 350Solutions can work with innovative companies to independently verify their technology’s performance and environmental impacts according to an international standard.
Currently, 350Solutions is guiding a number of companies and their technologies through the verification process. We are also applying the ISO 14034 methodology to independently verify CO2 utilization technologies from the ten finalists in the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition, due to finish in the Fall of 2020.
HOW ETV WORKS
ISO 14034 provides third party evaluated, objective evidence showing how a specific innovative technology performs technically as well as its impact on the environment. Verification occurs for each technology for a specific application, under specific operational conditions, and taking into account all measurement uncertainties and assumptions. 350Solutions verifiers review test data for the technology, ensure it meets quality standards, and calculate performance and impact metrics developed specifically for the type of technology.
Once a company or technology is verified under ISO 14034, to maintain transparency and credibility, the findings must be published in the form of a Verification Statement. This document is then available for use by the technology developer in securing funding, expanding operations and sales, or entering new markets. ISO 14034 certification is particularly useful for technologies for which:
- environmental impact is a major issue and/or benefit
- no product certification or labeling system exists
- no other existing standards exist
- the technology is new to market, or the market is new
- technology addresses a niche applications or solution
- the market is crowded, with ETV distinguishing their solution
- entering international markets is a priority.
THE GLOBAL ROLE OF ISO 14034 ETV
Because the ETV process is now standardized under an ISO umbrella, the acceptance of data regarding technology performance and impact will become more broadly accepted. The standard enables flexible approaches to testing and verification that can take into account regional performance requirements or metrics – so approaches can target certain international markets. However, the fundamental approach and basis remains the same – high quality data, independent verification.
For international companies interested in accessing global markets, the addition of an ISO 14034 verification provides improved acceptance; easier market entry; a platform for providing required data for multiple markets and regulatory schemes; and a global outreach platform through groups like 350Solutions and our partners including, VerifiGlobal.
IS ISO 14034 RIGHT FOR ALL TECHNOLOGIES?
Technologies that are purported to have a positive or improved environmental impact to areas including carbon reduction or removal; air quality; energy efficiency; air and water monitoring; power generation; energy storage; and waste minimalization can all be verified under ISO 14034.
However, a full ISO 14034 certification may not be right for every company or technology, especially if a technology is still in the early stages of development or there is uncertainty around the actual environmental impact of the technology. In those scenarios, there are other ways that 350Solutions can help, including:
- testing from lab to commercial scale
- proof of concept evaluations
- feasibility studies
- life-cycle assessments
- technoeconomic evaluations
- pilot to commercial scale product demonstrations.
For those companies with near commercial or early commercial phase technologies, an ISO certification would be appropriate, especially if there are plans to enter global markets.
HISTORY OF ISO 14034
Prior to the publication of ISO 14304 several countries and the EU were all using their own unique programs to independently evaluate innovative environmental technologies. Some of the programs focused on common environmental challenges, such as air pollution (U.S. and Canada), while others focused on unique environmental concerns- for instance, heat island mitigation in Japan. Over the course of over 20 years that the U.S. EPA had an ETV program, more than 500 technologies were verified up until 2014.
The publication of ISO 14034 in 2016 marked the first international standard aimed at creating a uniform approach to the ETV process. It specifies principles, procedures, and requirements, and is designed to deliver multiple benefits to enhance confidence in the selection of technologies that add environmental value, reduce risk to investment, and improve impacts of deploying such innovations. Under ISO 14034 a technology can be verified once, and accepted everywhere.