The National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER, President Keum Hanseung) under the Ministry of Environment  announced that it will operate the ‘Training Program on International Standards for Environmental Information’ for six months starting May 21, targeting approximately 300 accreditation evaluation committee members and verification auditors to strengthen their capabilities in verifying environmental information*.

* Environmental information such as an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and resource usage

Accreditation evaluation committee members are examiners affiliated with the national accreditation body (the National Institute of Environmental Research)* who are responsible for auditing and evaluating environmental information verification bodies and submitting the results to the NIER. As of May 2025, there are about 30 such members.

* The National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) has signed a mutual recognition agreement with the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) in the field of environmental information verification (ISO/IEC 17029 & ISO 14065) and secured the status of a national accreditation body (ISO/IEC 17011) as of April 24, 2024.

Verification auditors are personnel (approximately 340 individuals) from 13 public and private environmental information verification bodies accredited by the NIER from 2023 to the present. They verify environmental information such as greenhouse gas emissions and reductions, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and product carbon footprints.

This training program consists of six subjects* and will be conducted sequentially until November 20 of this year. The first course to be offered is themed “Calculation and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reductions,” focusing on verification theory aligned with international standards and practical case studies on Scope 3** verification.

* ① Calculation and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and reductions, ② Guidelines for carbon neutrality verification, ③ General requirements for environmental information, ④ Calculation and reporting of product carbon footprints for greenhouse gases, ⑤ Sustainability disclosure standards and trends in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) related standards, ⑥ Procedures for verifying sustainability information.

** Greenhouse gas emissions are categorized based on the measurement target and scope into: Scope 1 (direct emissions occurring within the ownership or control of the company), △ Scope 2 (indirect emissions from the generation of purchased or used energy sources), and △ Scope 3 (indirect emissions occurring in the company’s value chain outside its ownership or control).

Through this training, the NIER plans to cultivate professional personnel in emerging fields of environmental information verification, such as carbon neutrality. In addition, the training program will be further strengthened to ensure that the accreditation evaluation committee members and verification auditors who complete the course are recognized for their verification expertise at the international level.

Meanwhile, the NIER plans to designate additional verification bodies in the field of carbon neutrality starting in the third quarter of this year.

Lee Jong-cheon, Director General of the Climate Change and Carbon Research Department at the NIER, stated, “This training will serve as an important foundation for fostering verification personnel that meet international standards in the field of environmental information.” He added, “We will continue to train experts to prepare for the expansion of international mutual recognition in emerging verification areas such as sustainability information.”

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

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