Lifecycle boundary
Relevant impacts are followed from raw materials and production through use, repair, recovery and final treatment.
IAF Standards Programme
IAF Automotive Sustainability
Integrated requirements across the automotive value chain
A lifecycle framework joining environmental performance, circularity, people, responsible technology, ethical governance and economic resilience.
First Edition | Working Draft 0.3 | 13 September 2026
Read the Full Working Draft40 clauses | Annexes A-K | 4 assessment routes
At a glance
Sustainability Is More Than an Emissions Figure
The standard links impacts on climate, resources, ecosystems, workers, communities and long-term operations. Results follow actual activities and evidence rather than a technology label or policy statement.
Integrated safeguards
Environmental progress does not excuse severe human-rights, worker-safety or governance failures.
Comparable methods
Boundaries, data quality, factors, uncertainty and product categories remain visible in calculations and claims.
Continual improvement
Objectives, corrective action and performance records are maintained as impacts, suppliers and technologies change.
Assessment architecture
Four Routes Match the Assessed Activity
Every route applies common requirements and the technical modules triggered by its products, operations and impacts.
Facilities and operations
Governance, inventories, production controls, people, procurement and operational resilience.
Product lifecycle
Product configuration, lifecycle burdens, energy, materials, durability and responsible technology.
Transport services
Actual service output, fleet energy, logistics, accessibility, workers and connected operations.
Circular value chain
Collection, repair, remanufacture, dismantling, recycling and final-treatment evidence.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 01-06 | Foundation and Obligations | Scope, methods, definitions, assessment objects, safeguards and market profiles. |
| 07-16 | Environmental Performance | Objectives, data, greenhouse gases, lifecycle impacts, energy, emissions, batteries, materials, water and nature. |
| 17-19 | Sourcing and Circularity | Supply-chain evidence, logistics, mobility services, durability, repair and end of life. |
| 20-28 | People and Communities | Materiality, human rights, decent work, safety, inclusion, skills, communities and accessible mobility. |
| 29-33 | Responsible Business | Technology, privacy, cybersecurity, ethics, investment, procurement and climate resilience. |
| 34-40 | Evidence and Adoption | Reporting, measurement assurance, digital records, decisions, claims, corrective action and programme governance. |
Need the technical detail? The complete draft contains indicator rules, calculation methods, a pilot vehicle-comparison profile, evidence schedules and statement templates.
Key ideas
What Readers Should Take Away
A propulsion label is not environmental evidence
Electric, hybrid, combustion and fuel-cell products are assessed using their actual energy chains and burdens.
A partial study is not full conformity
Lifecycle carbon, circularity or another module may support a bounded verification statement only.
Missing information is not not-applicable
Unavailable suppliers, measurements, cost or poor performance remain visible as gaps and limitations.
A facility result does not cover every product
Organization, site, product and supply-chain conclusions keep their own assessed boundaries.
Fundamental protections cannot be screened away
Materiality does not remove core human-rights, safety, integrity or legal responsibilities.
Using the document
From a Declared Value Chain to a Traceable Sustainability Statement
Development status: Working Draft 0.3 proposes auditable requirements but is not yet an adopted IAF standard or operating conformity programme.
01Declare entities, sites, products, markets and lifecycle boundaries
02Select the route and map significant environmental and social impacts
03Measure indicators with controlled methods, data quality and uncertainty
04Review safeguards, evidence, decisions and public claim wording
Continue with the full technical document
Use the full 40 clauses and Annexes A-K for indicators, calculations, evidence schedules and assessment rules.