ISO 14083 (adopted in Europe as EN ISO 14083:2023) is the technical standard for quantifying and reporting greenhouse gas emissions from transport chain operations. Published in March 2023, it formalises the GLEC Framework, the methodology developed by Smart Freight Centre that parts of the industry were already using on a voluntary basis.
Standard and framework: who does what
In practice they go together. ISO 14083 is the formal reference, the one a contract or a tender can cite. The GLEC Framework remains the working tool, with the tables, factors and guidance needed to apply the method day to day. Neither is software: both are about how operational data becomes an emissions figure.
What it measures
The scope is the chain, not a single leg: from origin to destination, including hubs (warehouses, terminals, transhipment points) and every transport mode. The reference unit is emission intensity in grams of CO₂ equivalent per tonne-kilometre (g CO₂e/tkm), so the load counts: over the same distance, a fuller vehicle has a lower intensity. That is why load factor shows up in the emissions figure as well as in costs.
The standard accepts two kinds of data. Primary data is measured on the actual operation (fuel burned, load, distance); secondary data is default values by vehicle type. Primary data is preferred wherever available, and the quality of the data used has to be declared. For what this means for a fleet in practice, see the guide to ISO 14083 for fleet operators.
FAQ
Is ISO 14083 mandatory?
Like any ISO standard, it is voluntary in itself. The EU CountEmissionsEU regulation, however, makes it the common method: from 2 December 2030, anyone who calculates and discloses the emissions of a transport service has to follow EN ISO 14083:2023.
Does using the GLEC Framework make you ISO 14083 compliant?
Not automatically. The GLEC Framework is the technical basis the standard was built on, but compliance depends on the calculation actually carried out (scope, data used, declared data quality) and on any verification of it, not on the name of the tool.