About
Sustainability management for everyone who does the work
Why PRAXTERRA exists
Many sustainability and environmental schemes share the same management principles, yet starting with them often means buying standards, paying consultants and filling in documents twice. For a small company, that is often where the effort ends.
PRAXTERRA takes the opposite approach. The complete standard is free. It is written in plain language, it accepts the records you already keep, and it asks for effort in proportion to your size and your risks. The goal is real progress in how you work, visible in your results.
PRAXTERRA was created in Viana do Castelo, northern Portugal, by Abel Ramos, a senior environment, sustainability and QHSE manager with more than 20 years of hands-on experience in construction and industry.
Principles · Section 2
Seven principles behind every requirement
FAQ
Questions we hear often
Is the standard really free?
Yes. You can download it, apply it and self-assess against it without paying anything. Optional tools save time, but everything you need is in the free standard.
Why do you ask for my email?
To send you the files and tell you when a new version of the standard is published, so you never work from an outdated copy. Marketing emails are optional and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Is PRAXTERRA a certification?
Not during the pilot. Results against Draft 0.2 are pilot result reports. PRAXTERRA is not accredited and does not certify legal compliance.
Is it the same as ISO 14001 or EMAS?
No. PRAXTERRA is an independent, voluntary standard with a broader sustainability scope. It shares good management principles, and it can help you build foundations and evidence for a later gap assessment against other schemes, but it is not equivalent to them.
Do I need a consultant?
No. The standard is written so you can apply it yourself. Where your risks require specialist knowledge, such as contamination, protected species or permits, the standard tells you to involve a competent specialist.
How big does my company need to be?
Any size. A micro business can keep all records in one workbook; larger organisations can map their existing systems to the requirement IDs.
Can I use the result in tenders?
Yes, with full disclosure of the scope, the period and how the assessment was done. Acceptance is always at your client's discretion.
Can I put PRAXTERRA on my products?
No. EU rules on sustainability labels for consumers require independent third-party certification. PRAXTERRA results are for business use, such as tenders and client reporting.
Which version should I use?
Always the latest version on this site. Requirement numbers Q01–Q40 stay stable between versions, so your work carries over.