3.6 comparative assertionenvironmen

3.6 comparative assertion

environmental claim regarding the superiority or equivalence of one product versus a competing product that performs the same function



3.7 transparency

open, comprehensive and understandable presentation of information



3.8 environmental aspect

element of an organization's activities, products or services that can interact with the environment

[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2004; definition 3.6]



3.9 product

any goods or service

Note 1 to entry: The product can be categorized as follows:

— services (e.g. transport);


— software (e.g. computer program, dictionary);


— hardware (e.g. engine mechanical part);
— processed materials (e.g. lubricant);
Note 2 to entry: Services have tangible and intangible elements. Provision of a service can involve, for example, the following:
— an activity performed on a customer-supplied tangible product (e.g. automobile to be repaired);
— an activity performed on a customer-supplied intangible product (e.g. the income statement needed to prepare a tax return);
— the delivery of an intangible product (e.g. the delivery of information in the context of knowledge transmission);
— the creation of ambience for the customer (e.g. in hotels and restaurants).
Software consists of information and is generally intangible and can be in the form of approaches, transactions or procedures. Hardware is generally tangible and its amount is a countable characteristic. Processed materials are generally tangible and their amount is a continuous characteristic. Note 3 to entry: Adapted from ISO 14021:1999 and ISO 9000:2005

3.10 co-product
any of two or more products coming from the same unit process or product system

3.11process
set of interrelated or interacting activities that transforms inputs into outputs
[SOURCE: ISO 9000:2005, definition 3.4.1 (without notes)]


3.12 elementary flow
material or energy entering the system being studied that has been drawn from the environment without previous human transformation, or material or energy leaving the system being studied that is released into the environment without subsequent human transformation



3.13 energy flow input to or output from a unit process or product system, quantified in energy units

Note 1 to entry: Energy flow that is an input may be called an energy input; energy flow that is an output may be called an energy output.

3.14 feedstock energy

heat of combustion of a raw material input that is not used as an energy source to a product system, expressed in terms of higher heating value or lower heating value

Note 1 to entry: Care is necessary to ensure that the energy content of raw materials is not counted twice.

3.15 raw material primary or secondary material that is used to produce a product

Note 1 to entry: Secondary material includes recycled material.

3.16 ancillary input material input that is used by the unit process producing the product, but does not constitute part of the product



3.17 allocation partitioning the input or output flows of a process or a product system between the product system under study and one or more other product systems

3.18 cut-off criteria
specification of the amount of material or energy flow or the level of environmental significance associated with unit processes or product system to be excluded from a study

3.19 data quality characteristics of data that relate to their ability to satisfy stated requirements



3.20 functional unit quantified performance of a product system for use as a reference unit

3.21 input product, material or energy flow that enters a unit process
Note 1 to entry: Products and materials include raw materials, intermediate products and co-products.

3.22 intermediate flow product, material or energy flow occurring between unit processes of the product system being studied

3.23 intermediate product
output from a unit process that is input to other unit processes that require further transformation within the system

3.24 life cycle inventory analysis result LCI result outcome of a life cycle inventory analysis that catalogues the flows crossing the system boundary and provides the starting point for life cycle impact assessment

3.25 output
product, material or energy flow that leaves a unit process

Note 1 to entry: Products and materials include raw materials, intermediate products, co-products, and releases.

3.26 process energy energy input required for operating the process or equipment within a unit process, excluding energy inputs for production and delivery of the energy itself

3.27product flow products entering from or leaving to another product system

3.28 product system collection of unit processes with elementary and product flows, performing one or more defined functions, and which models the life cycle of a product


3.29 reference flow measure of the outputs from processes in a given product system required to fulfil the function expressed by the functional unit

3.30 releases emissions to air and discharge