Functional output
Energy, materials and water are related to accepted products or delivered transport and service.
IAF Standards Programme
IAF Automotive Resource & Efficiency
Measured resource performance across vehicles and the automotive value chain
A framework linking energy, material and water accounts to useful output, representative conditions and independently reviewable evidence.
First Edition | Working Draft 0.1 | 13 September 2026
Read the Full Working Draft30 clauses | Annexes A-J | Core plus 11 modules
At a glance
Efficiency Means More Useful Output From Declared Resources
The standard separates measured performance, verified improvement and any future benchmark classification. Every result stays inside a stated safety, quality, capacity, comfort, accessibility, timeliness and durability envelope.
Comparable baselines
Operating conditions, product mix, weather, distance, payload and structural changes are normalized transparently.
Known uncertainty
Measurement coverage, models, exclusions and decision rules are visible in results and improvement claims.
Persistent savings
Improvement is checked for rebound, leakage, burden shifting and continued performance over time.
Assessment architecture
A Mandatory Core With Activity-Based Modules
Every assessment screens all modules. Activities and material dependencies determine which operational requirements join the core.
Every assessment
Boundaries, governance, data, baselines, safeguards, value, assessment and claims.
Vehicles and components
Vehicle energy, propulsion, materials, components and subsystem performance.
Manufacturing and facilities
Production, assembly, utilities, energy, material flows and water.
Supply, distribution and fleets
Sourcing, freight, passenger transport, fleet and mobility-service output.
Energy and digital systems
Charging, refuelling, storage and material onboard or external digital demand.
Circular and future effects
Maintenance, repair, recovery, lifecycle burdens, resilience and emerging technology.
Framework structure
The Main Clauses in Six Clear Groups
This table provides a concise route through the working draft. The complete technical requirements and annexes remain available in the PDF.
| Clauses | Group | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 01-05 | Foundation and Boundaries | Purpose, status, terms, functional output, scope and accountable responsibility. |
| 06-10 | Measurement and Improvement | Resource maps, data quality, baselines, normalization, indicators, uncertainty and verified change. |
| 11-16 | Safeguards and Operations | Safety and quality safeguards, design, vehicle and component performance, manufacturing, utilities and water. |
| 17-23 | Value Chain and Technology | Supply, distribution, fleets, energy infrastructure, digital systems, circular service, lifecycle and resilience. |
| 24-25 | Value and Persistence | Economic and operational value, rebound, leakage and sustained improvement control. |
| 26-30 | Assessment and Claims | Evidence, decisions, comparisons, performance passports, corrective action and impartial stewardship. |
Need the technical detail? The full draft contains indicator definitions, calculation rules, sampling, test protocols, application profiles and performance-passport fields.
Key ideas
What Readers Should Take Away
Consumption alone is not efficiency
The denominator must represent useful, conforming output rather than scrap, empty travel or failed delivery.
A lower ratio is meaningful only with comparable service
Capacity, quality, payload, climate, use and boundaries must remain compatible.
Outsourcing cannot manufacture a saving
Transferred consumption remains reconciled instead of disappearing from the account.
Savings cannot come from degraded service or safety
Lower recorded use must not depend on unsafe workload, suppressed data or reduced quality.
The draft sets no universal energy class thresholds
Pilot measurements and verified improvements may be reported only with visible scope and limitations.
Using the document
From a Resource Map to a Reproducible Performance Passport
Development status: Working Draft 0.1 contains proposed measurement and decision rules. Numerical criteria and any future comparative classes still require validation and adoption.
01Define the object, boundary, functional unit and service envelope
02Select activity modules and map material resource flows
03Build baselines and measure indicators with stated uncertainty
04Verify improvement, safeguards, persistence and claim wording
Continue with the full technical document
Review all 30 clauses and Annexes A-J for indicators, protocols, benchmarks and performance-passport records.