Verification of an inventory is an independent review of a greenhouse gas emissions report, at the end of which the verification body issues an opinion on whether the reported data is reliable. The process is described in ISO 14064-3:2019 (confirmed by ISO in 2024), and the requirements for the bodies themselves in ISO 14065:2020. Verification increases the confidence of banks, buyers and regulators in your carbon footprint.
Levels of assurance
ISO 14064-3 distinguishes two main levels of assurance:
| Level | What it means | Scope of work |
|---|---|---|
| Reasonable assurance | The verifier confirms that the statement is free of material misstatement | Detailed testing, document sampling, recalculation |
| Limited assurance | The verifier found no evidence of material misstatement | Fewer procedures, mainly analysis and inquiries |
The level of assurance is agreed before work begins and depends on the requirements of the report user or the program.
Materiality
Materiality is the threshold at which an error or omission could influence the decisions of report users. The quantitative threshold is agreed with the verifier or set by the program. For example, if a 5% threshold has been agreed in a training case and the inventory totals 2,000 t CO₂e, aggregate misstatements above 100 t are considered material. In addition to quantitative misstatements, qualitative ones are assessed as well, such as incorrect boundaries.
Stages of verification
- Agreement and terms — objective, criteria (for example, ISO 14064-1:2018 or the GHG Protocol), boundaries, level of assurance and materiality.
- Strategic analysis — the verifier studies the organization's activities, sources and the risks of error.
- Verification and sampling plan — which facilities, months and documents to check.
- Evidence gathering — checking primary documents, recalculation, interviews and, if necessary, site visits.
- Evaluation and findings — any discrepancies found are passed to the organization for correction.
- Opinion — on whether the statement is reliable, stating the level of assurance.
How to prepare
- Describe the boundaries, methodologies and emission factors in the inventory report.
- Link every value to a primary document: an invoice, a certificate of completion or meter readings.
- Close and approve all months, keeping the history of corrections.
- Flag estimated data and the method used to derive it; see Data quality.
- Prepare calculation files that let the result be recalculated from document to total.
- Appoint a contact person who knows how the data is collected.
What verifiers check most often is traceability: whether they can follow a total down to a specific invoice and back. Typical findings are missing months, unit mismatches, emission factors without a source and facilities left out.
Verifying an organization versus a project
ISO 14064-3 also applies to projects, where the project plan is validated and the achieved reductions are verified. How project verification differs is described in Validation and verification of projects. For an organization's inventory, the report is verified against ISO 14064-1; see ISO 14064-1.
How it works in the platform
The platform does not yet have a dedicated approval or verification workflow, but it helps you gather evidence for the verifier:
- supporting documents (invoices, certificates of completion, photos of meter readings, contracts) are attached to specific values in the monthly records, and a year cannot be closed until documents are attached to the required fields;
- every record shows the methodology applied, and the “Change history” of a facility's year shows who changed what and when, with a before-and-after comparison;
- a closed year is read-only, and only an administrator can reopen it;
- the annual company report in DOCX and PDF is created on the organization's GHG page (accessed from Facilities), and if the data is incomplete, the issues are listed in the report itself;
- if the verifier needs access to the platform, the administrator can add them under Employees and roles with view-only rights to the relevant facilities.
Frequently asked questions
Who can carry out verification?
An independent body that meets the requirements of ISO 14065:2020 and is usually accredited. The specific requirements for the body are set by the program or the report user.
How much does verification cost and how long does it take?
That depends on the number of facilities, the complexity of the sources, the level of assurance and how ready the documents are. A well-prepared data package shortens the timeline considerably.
Is verification mandatory?
Not for voluntary reporting, but banks, buyers and disclosure programs often require it. Check national requirements on the regulatory map.