ISO/TS 17033

Ethical claims and supporting information, Principles

and requirements

Background, development & key requirements

Why & how did we develop
ISO/TS 17033?
 Developed in ISO's Committee on
Conformity Assessment (CASCO), with the
support of the ISO Committee on Consumer
Policy (COPOLCO) and the wider consumer
community
ISO/TS Sets out internationally agreed principles
and requirements to make a credible ethical
17033 claim
A new tool for organizations to provide
information that is credible, accurate and
verifiable
CASCO is the committee
responsible for conformity
assessment matters at ISO

It develops policy and standards for

conformity assessment
COPOLCO is the ISO Committee on
Consumer Policy
It coordinates input of consumer
views into ISO policy and technical
work
It does not develop International
Standards
 December February
2016 February 2017 October 2017 August 2019
2018 –2019

• Preliminary • Consultation with • NWIP to develop • Development of • Publication of

research to explore CASCO and ISO/TS 17033 the ISO/TS ISO/TS 17033
landscape, COPOLCO approved. 17033: three
literature, best members. • Creation of the meetings in total.
practices for ethical • Recommendation Working Group
claims. supported in both 53 (WG53)
• Recommendation committees
to develop a
requirements
document in
ISO/CASCO
Preliminary research
outcomes
• consumers are confused by the multiple claims in the
market place
• available literature essentially made of guidance
documents
• there is a need to clarify generic requirements around
ethical labelling
• recommendation to develop a requirements document
in the form of an ISO Technical Specification (ISO/TS)
• As COPOLCO does not develop standards, the TS was
to be developed in CASCO, with the support of
COPOLCO and inputs from the consumer community.
 February
December 2016 February 2017 October 2017 August 2019
2018 –2019
• Preliminary • Consultation with • NWIP to develop • Development of • Publication of
research to CASCO and ISO/TS 17033 the ISO/TS ISO/TS 17033
explore COPOLCO approved. 17033: three
landscape, members on this • Creation of the meetings in total.
literature, best recommendation Working Group
practices for • Recommendation 53 (WG53)
ethical claims. supported in both
• Recommendatio committees
n to develop a
requirements
document in
ISO/CASCO
 December February
2016 February 2017 October 2017 August 2019
2018 –2019

• Preliminary • Consultation with • NWIP to develop • Development of • Publication of

research to CASCO and ISO/TS 17033 the ISO/TS ISO/TS 17033
explore COPOLCO was approved in 17033: three
landscape, members on this CASCO with meetings in total.
literature, best recommendation inputs from
practices for • Recommendation COPOLCO
ethical claims. supported in both • Creation of the
• Recommendation committees Working Group
to develop a 53 (WG53)
requirements
document in
ISO/CASCO
 Co-convened by Mario Wittner (IRAM), Jennifer
Hillard (SCC) and Nigel Carter (BSI)
22 members, including conformity assessment and
consumer representatives, covering various
geographical regions, with a good representation

Working from developing countries.

Particular attention paid to collect inputs from the right
Group 53 stakeholders at all development stages. Achieved
through COPOLCO membership and parallel ballots,
support of organizations such as UN Environment
that jointed WG53 as D liaison and actively
participated in all meetings. Informal feed-back from
ISEAL and Consumers International.
 December February
2016 February 2017 October 2017 August 2019
2018 –2019

• Preliminary • Consultation with • NWIP to develop • Development of • Publication of

research to CASCO and ISO/TS 17033 the ISO/TS ISO/TS 17033
explore COPOLCO was approved in 17033.
landscape, members on this CASCO with
literature, best recommendation inputs from
practices for • Recommendation COPOLCO.
ethical claims. supported in both • Creation of the
• Recommendation committees Working Group
to develop a 53 (WG53)
requirements
document in
ISO/CASCO
Development of
ISO/TS 17033
•The TS developed in 3 meetings
•ISO double level of consensus:
• 1st level at the working group level
(Working Draft)
• 2nd level at the committee level (Draft
Technical Specification), with the vote in
CASCO and comments from COPOLCO
 December February
February 2017 October 2017 August 2019
2016 2018 –2019

• Preliminary • Consultation with • NWIP to develop • Development of • Publication of

research to CASCO and ISO/TS 17033 the ISO/TS ISO/TS 17033
explore COPOLCO approved. 17033: three
landscape, members. • Creation of the meetings in total.
literature, best • Recommendation Working Group
practices for supported in both 53 (WG53)
ethical claims. committees
• Recommendation
to develop a
requirements
document in
ISO/CASCO
Key requirements
 Ethical claim - statement, symbol or
graphic that declares one or more ethical
aspect of a product, process, service or
Labels vs organization

Claims Note 1 to entry: An ethical claim can take the

form of a statement, symbol or graphic on a
(3.1) product or package label, in product
literature, in technical bulletins, in advertising
or in publicity, amongst other things.
 Ethical claim - statement, symbol or graphic
No scheme that declares one or more ethical aspects of a
product, process, service or organization
required for Note 2 to entry: Ethical claims can be
1st party declared by persons or organizations
such as producers, manufacturers,
(3.1) importers, distributors, retailers or
communities
  Ethical claim - statement, symbol or
graphic that declares one or more ethical
aspects of a product, process, service or
What is an organization
 Note 3 to entry: Ethical aspects can
“ethical” include a broad range of social,
economic justice and sustainability
claim? issues, e.g. local sourcing, fair trade,
(3.1) humane treatment of animals. Many
ethical aspects are described in
international documents and
programmes identified in the
Bibliography.
 • Too many examples to list in the document
• How to select which terms to address

Define or not • Final decision – follow the system used in

ISO 14026 – Footprint Communication: the
define person or entity that is making the claim
determines what claim they are going to
“ethical”? make and ISO/TS 17033 provides the
principles and requirements to make that
claim transparent and credible.
Principles
(Clause 4)
• General
• Reliability
• Transparency
• Relevance
• Involvement of Interested Parties
• Equity
  Requirements for an accurate description of
a claim, what is AND what is NOT included
General  Requirements to be applied to all included
aspects
requirements  Use more detailed standards where they
(Clause 5) exist, such as ISO 14020 for environmental
aspects of a sustainability claim for example
Comparative  Additional requirements to be applied to a
comparative claim
claims  Comparative claims are for tracking of
(Clause 6) improvement over time – not designed for
comparison with a competing product
  19 requirements that ensure that all
principles have requirements to support
them
Other  Key items covered are hot spots,
requirements precautionary approach, burden shifting,
transparency of verifiable supporting data,
use of CBI, traditional and local knowledge,
updating, life-cycle
 Annex B links requirements to principles in
a series of flowcharts
Presentation
(Clause 7)

 Requirements for ensuring that the

claim is clear as to the scope of the
claim, specifically what is included
and what is not
 Instructions for use of explanatory
statements
 Information relating to access to
supporting documentation
  Supporting data shall substantiate the
scope, principles, assumptions and
Supporting boundary conditions (e.g. temporal,
geographical or physical) of the claim
information  This to be sufficient and comprehensible
to allow users, potential users and other
(Clause 8) interested parties to evaluate claims in
terms of scientific principles, relevance,
overall validity etc.
Point of sale & supporting
information
(Clause 9)

 Requirements to ensure that there is

adequate information available at point of
sale to enable informed decision making,
including whether made by first or third party
 Requirements to cover clear presentation
and linkages to supporting data, minimum
amount of supporting data required, use of
graphics, comparative claim presentation,
explanatory statements
  The traceability system to cover all stages
of the supply chain and all aspects covered
Traceability & in the scope of the ethical claim
 Documentation of the traceability system
supply chain  Justification required for the choice of the
(Clause 10) system
 Annex A provides an outline for a
traceability system
 Where ethical claims are produced within a
programme:
Programme/  the scope of the programme, including
limitations, to be clear and transparent
scheme  requirements are based on performance
(Clause 11) and are not established to be prescriptive
in a way that hinders improvement or
innovation
  designed to help increase the credibility of
ethical claims
 intended to facilitate the use of good
ethical claims
In summary  not intended to be used instead of more
ISO/TS 17033 detailed standards
 hoped that it will be used as basic
is… requirements for development of new
programmes or schemes
 useful to SMEs and small developing
country producers to enter the marketplace
with a transparent and credible claim
Thank you!