Published: December 2020
Why ISO 22095?
Trust is becoming a scarce commodity in modern supply chains. Consumers and businesses - are becoming ever more demanding. Governments are also reflecting this in ever-tightening regulatory requirements. Trust is also necessary to underpin quality, the security of supply and claims regarding sustainability.
The approach of ISO 22095
ISO 22095 delivers trust through standardizing how chains of custody are implemented in the supply chain. It does this in three key ways.
Firstly, it defines 'specified characteristics' that the chain of custody is designed to protect. These characteristics might be the organic nature of some sugar, the point of origin of quarried stone, the size of milled steel bars, the recycled nature of plastic, the labour conditions under which food is produced - and so on. The list is indefinitely long.
Secondly, it imposes requirements on the various commercial parties in the supply chain for dealing with materials with specified characteristics – be they suppliers, transporters, manufacturers or others. These, of course, will vary according to the nature of the product moving within the supply chain. But they could include conditions for transport, handling, processing or mixing and particularly for the accounting for the product.
Thirdly it defines five models of chain of custody, each with different requirements for the supply chain actors. These are (in order of 'strength'):
- Identity preserved - in which the custody of items with particular product characteristics is defined from a single point of origin until sale
- Segregated - in which the custody of particular product characteristics is defined throughout the supply chain
- Controlled blending - in which carefully defined and uniformly implemented mixing of products with and without the specified characteristics is permitted
- Mass balance - in which mixing is allowed giving defined results on average
- Book & claim - in which the quantity of material with specified characteristics is known at the point of production and claims are made only to that quantity for final output.
Of course, supply chains can be very complex. Sometimes different models may occur in the same supply chain. Within ISO 22095, the supply chain as a whole can only be described by the 'weakest' model used.
Using ISO 22095
ISO 22095 can be used by many sorts of organization to ensure the chains of custody upon which they rely are well-formed, for example:
- certification schemes can underpin the integrity of their operations
- individual companies could construct their own, in-house chain of custody scheme
- suppliers can use it to demonstrate their adherence to good chain of custody practice.
Whoever uses it, ISO 22095 will work to enhance the trust placed in a chain of custody.
Adrian Henriques
Project Leader, ISO 22095
