Integrating Profit and Planet: What ISO/TS 14076:2025 Means for Sustainable Decision-Making

In June 2025, the release of ISO/TS 14076:2025 marked a pivotal moment for industries striving to reconcile profitability with environmental responsibility. This new technical specification establishes a global benchmark for best practice, offering a comprehensive approach to environmental techno-economic assessment (eTEA), which is designed to help organisations evaluate both the environmental and economic impacts of their decisions. As society urgently accelerates the transition to sustainable technologies to address global challenges, frameworks that assess both environmental and economic impacts are more crucial than ever.

The Evolution of Environmental Assessment Standards

For decades, environmental assessments such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have guided decision-makers in evaluating the environmental impacts of products and processes. LCA has established itself as a core methodology for informing decision-making by quantifying environmental impacts and highlighting opportunities for impact reduction. In an increasingly efficiency-driven business landscape, there is growing value in translating these environmental opportunities into clear metrics that define the cost of implementation. ISO/TS 14076:2025 fills this gap by providing a unified framework that enables a mutli-faceted view on performance.

What is ISO/TS 14076:2025?

ISO/TS 14076:2025 is an international technical specification standard that outlines principles and requirements for conducting eTEAs. Unlike previous standards that focused solely on environmental or economic dimensions, ISO/TS 14076:2025 requires practitioners to evaluate both, enabling more informed and balanced decision-making. The standard is fundamentally built on LCA frameworks, specifically ISO 14044 and ISO 14040, ensuring it is compatible with established LCA methodologies, and applicable across sectors.

How Does Techno-Economic Assessment Work in Practice?

Consider a company evaluating two alternative battery chemistries for energy storage: lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC). Using ISO/TS 14076:2025, the assessment begins with a clear definition of the goal: to select the battery chemistry that minimises environmental impact while maintaining cost-effectiveness and meeting performance requirements.

After identifying the goal, the company defines the scope of the assessment, specifying the system boundaries from raw material extraction through to an end gate (e.g., end-of-life recycling). The functional unit might be set as one kilowatt-hour of storage delivered over the battery’s lifetime, with key performance indicators identified.

Next, data is collected for both chemistries across all life cycle stages. For LFP, this includes mining of iron, lithium, and phosphate, cell manufacturing, transportation, use in grid storage, and recycling. For NMC, data covers nickel, manganese, cobalt, and lithium extraction, cell production, logistics, use phase, and end-of-life management. Economic data is also gathered, such as material costs, processing expenses, manufacturing overheads, and projected revenues.

The framework then guides practitioners to quantify environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water use, and toxicity potential, using LCIA methods outlined in ISO-14044/14040. At the same time, a TEA calculates the total cost of ownership, including capital expenses, operational costs, and potential value recovered at end-of-life.

With both environmental and economic data in hand, the company interprets trade-offs. For example:

• LFP may have lower environmental impacts due to the absence of cobalt and lower toxicity, but slightly higher initial material costs.
• NMC may offer higher energy density and lower upfront costs but comes with greater environmental concerns related to cobalt mining and more complex end-of-life processing.

Finally, the company weighs these trade-offs, considering not only the quantified results but also qualitative factors such as supply chain risks and regulatory trends. The transparent, standardised approach ensures that the decision is robust, defensible, and aligned with both sustainability and business objectives.

By following this process, the company can confidently select the battery chemistry that delivers the balance of environmental responsibility and economic competitiveness based on their goals and ambitions, in full compliance with ISO/TS 14076:2025.

Empowering Sustainability Champions within Organisations

One of the most transformative aspects of integrating TEA with LCA is the way it empowers individuals within organisations who have long advocated for sustainable design. In the past, sustainability champions often faced resistance when their proposals lacked clear economic justification, making it difficult to gain buy-in from decision-makers focused on profitability.

By adopting the methodology outlined in ISO/TS 14076:2025, teams can gain access to integrated tools that combine environmental and economic data. This enables them to present a holistic, financially sound business case for sustainable solutions, removing barriers often caused by cost uncertainties or delayed action.

This is especially relevant as recent and upcoming regulations, such as the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), are raising expectations for proactive sustainability measures. For companies where leadership may hesitate to implement changes until absolutely necessary, referencing these evolving requirements can help secure early buy-in and demonstrate that aligning with ISO/TS 14076:2025 supports both compliance and long-term competitiveness.

Furthermore, it equips sustainability advocates with clear insights into trade-offs and value creation, allowing them to engage more effectively with finance, operations, and leadership teams. This fosters a more inclusive, informed decision-making process, helping organisations shift from intention to implementation and making sustainability a core driver of innovation and competitive advantage.

The Role of Digital Assessment Tools

Digital tools, such as Minviro’s XYCLE software, play a crucial role in enabling efficient and accurate techno-economic assessments. By automating data integration and analysis, these platforms help organisations stay compliant with ISO-14040/14044, ISO-14067 and ISO/TS 14076:2025 while streamlining workflows and enhancing the reliability of results.

The Path Forward

ISO/TS 14076:2025 marks a new era in sustainable decision-making by bridging the gap between environmental stewardship and economic viability. By providing a unified framework, it enables organisations to move beyond trade-offs and embrace solutions that deliver value on all fronts. As sustainability challenges grow more urgent and complex, adopting this approach will be key to unlocking innovation, building stakeholder trust, and maintaining a competitive edge.

The integration of environmental and economic assessment empowers teams across organisations to champion sustainable initiatives with confidence, backed by clear, data-driven insights. As more companies align with ISO/TS 14076:2025, the standard is set to become a catalyst for meaningful change, helping to ensure that sustainability is not just an aspiration, but a practical and profitable reality.

To learn more about how ISO/TS 14076:2025 can advance your organisation’s sustainability journey, or how Minviro’s expertise and digital tools can support robust techno-economic assessments and LCA’s, reach out to our team today.

Contact us here