# ISO 14068-1: The Carbon Neutrality Standard Replacing PAS 2060 > What ISO 14068-1:2023 requires for credible carbon-neutrality and net-zero claims, how it differs from the retired PAS 2060, and what it means for GCC organisations. **Source:** https://www.esgweise.com/insights/iso-14068-carbon-neutrality-net-zero/ **Author:** Sumit Agarwal **Published:** 2025-12-01 **Frameworks:** ISO 14068 **Countries:** UAE, KSA, Oman, Global --- ## Key points - ISO 14068-1:2023 is the international standard for carbon neutrality, part of climate-change management and the transition to net zero. - It replaces PAS 2060, the earlier carbon-neutrality specification, which has been withdrawn. - It prioritises real emission reductions before offsetting and requires a credible pathway toward net zero. - It tightens the rules on quantification, Scope 3 inclusion, offset quality and verification — raising the bar for credible neutrality claims. --- ## Introduction "Carbon neutral" has been one of the most used — and most challenged — claims in sustainability. For years the reference standard was PAS 2060; now there is a tougher, international successor: **ISO 14068-1:2023**. It raises the bar for what a credible carbon-neutrality claim requires, and it pointedly prioritises *real reductions* over offsetting. For GCC organisations making — or relying on — neutrality claims, the rules have changed. This article explains how. ## What ISO 14068-1 is ISO 14068-1:2023 is the international standard for **achieving and demonstrating carbon neutrality**, published as part of climate-change management and the **transition to net zero**. It sets out how to quantify an organisation's (or product's) emissions, reduce them, address residual emissions with credible offsets, and verify the resulting claim. It sits in the carbon family of [ISO standards for ESG](/insights/which-iso-standards-matter-for-esg-gcc/) alongside [ISO 14064](/insights/iso-14064-ghg-quantification-verification/) and [ISO 14067](/insights/iso-14067-product-carbon-footprint/). ## It replaces PAS 2060 The headline change is institutional: ISO 14068-1 **replaces PAS 2060**, the British Standards Institution specification that was the previous reference for carbon-neutrality claims. PAS 2060 has been withdrawn. Organisations that built neutrality claims on PAS 2060 are expected to transition to ISO 14068 — and those still citing PAS 2060 are working to a retired standard. The most important shift in ISO 14068 is the emphasis on **real emission reductions before offsetting**. A neutrality claim built mainly on buying offsets — without a genuine reduction pathway — does not meet the spirit or the letter of the standard. This directly targets the "pay-to-be-neutral" criticism that dogged earlier claims. ## How it is stricter ISO 14068 tightens several things at once: - **Real reductions before offsets** — a credible reduction pathway is required, not just compensation. - **A pathway to net zero** — neutrality is framed as a step toward net zero, not an end state. - **Broader Scope 3** — material indirect emissions must be included, not conveniently excluded. - **Offset quality** — stricter expectations on the credibility and type of offsets and removals. - **Disclosure and verification** — clearer, more transparent, and independently checkable claims. PAS 2060 let you buy your way to "neutral." ISO 14068 asks you to cut first, offset last, and prove both. That is a different, and far more defensible, claim. ## Carbon neutrality vs net zero ISO 14068 also helps clear up a persistent confusion. **Carbon neutrality** balances residual emissions with offsets for a defined scope and period. **Net zero** is a longer-term, science-aligned state where emissions are cut as far as possible and only hard-to-abate residuals are neutralised — typically through *removals*, not avoidance credits. ISO 14068 positions neutrality as a credible step on the road to net zero, which is why it pairs naturally with [SBTi-aligned target setting](/services/carbon/). ## Why it matters in the GCC As Gulf organisations and government-related entities make net-zero and neutrality commitments, the credibility of those claims is under growing scrutiny from investors, customers and regulators. ISO 14068 gives a defensible basis for a neutrality claim — and protects against the greenwashing risk that an unsubstantiated claim now carries. ## How ESGweise helps ESGweise builds carbon-neutrality and net-zero claims to ISO 14068-1 — quantifying emissions to [ISO 14064](/insights/iso-14064-ghg-quantification-verification/), designing the real-reduction pathway first, selecting credible offsets only for residuals, and preparing the claim for [verification](/services/assurance/). The result is a neutrality claim that holds up. See our [carbon](/services/carbon/) practice. ## Conclusion ISO 14068-1 raises carbon neutrality from a marketing line to an evidenced, reductions-first claim — and retires the PAS 2060 era. For GCC organisations, it is both a higher bar and a protection: harder to claim neutrality, but far more credible once you can. Cut first, offset last, prove both — that is the new standard. --- ## Frequently asked questions ### What is ISO 14068-1? ISO 14068-1:2023 is the international standard for achieving and demonstrating carbon neutrality, published as part of climate-change management and the transition to net zero. It sets requirements for quantifying emissions, reducing them, addressing residual emissions through credible offsets, and verifying the resulting carbon-neutrality claim. ### Does ISO 14068 replace PAS 2060? Yes. ISO 14068-1:2023 replaces PAS 2060, the British Standards Institution specification that was the previous reference for carbon-neutrality claims. PAS 2060 has been withdrawn, and organisations making credible neutrality claims are expected to move to ISO 14068. ### How is ISO 14068 stricter than PAS 2060? ISO 14068 puts more weight on real emission reductions before offsets, requires a clearer pathway toward net zero, expects broader inclusion of material Scope 3 emissions, and tightens the rules on offset quality, disclosure and verification. The net effect is that a carbon-neutrality claim is harder to make and more credible once made. ### What is the difference between carbon neutrality and net zero? Carbon neutrality means balancing residual emissions with offsets for a defined scope and period. Net zero is a longer-term, science-aligned state where emissions are reduced as far as possible and only hard-to-abate residuals are neutralised, typically through removals. ISO 14068 frames carbon neutrality as a step on a credible pathway toward net zero, not a substitute for reduction. --- Published by ESGweise Global LLC, Dubai. https://www.esgweise.com