Carbon footprint standard
Climate change poses a significant threat to the future of our planet. To take concrete steps toward mitigating climate change, we need strong standards for measuring carbon dioxide emissions as harmful environmental impacts.
The carbon footprint refers to the total emission of greenhouse gases directly and indirectly caused by an individual, organization, event, or product. In simple terms, the carbon footprint measures human impact on the environment and climate change.
As consumers become more aware of their carbon footprint, there is an increasing demand for products and services with a reduced environmental impact.
The Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is a tool used to measure, manage, and communicate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to goods and services. It is based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) but focuses specifically on global warming potential.
An increasing number of companies are quantifying the carbon footprint of their products for various reasons:
- Enhancing market reputation
- Facilitating tracking of GHG emissions reductions and/or increases in GHG removals
- Improving organizational image
- Reducing costs
- Meeting public demand
Various PCF standards provide companies with guidelines and support the credibility of carbon footprint metrics in the marketplace. In response to the need for transparency regarding GHG emissions, several methodologies have been developed. Current methodologies can be divided into two groups:
Group 1: Methodologies that cover only emissions and impacts related to climate change.
- ISO 14067: Largely builds on existing ISO standards for LCA and was published in 2018. It is considered an international reference standard for conducting PCF assessments.
- National standards: Such as PAS 2050, developed by the British Standards Institute (BSI). This standard has broad application and is considered the first international carbon footprint standard.
- GHG Protocol Product Standard: Developed to align with the first version of PAS 2050, it includes requirements for public reporting of emissions and provides additional standards for corporate assessments and project calculations.
Group 2: Methodologies with a broader scope, covering environmental issues beyond climate change.
- Product Environmental Footprint (PEF): Recommended by the EU, PEF aims to harmonize existing LCA standards and requires the calculation of 16 impact categories. Some legislative proposals suggest using climate change as the sole indicator for reporting PCF.
- National standards: Like BP Ks30-323-0, developed by the French government (AFNOR), which covers various impact categories and can include climate change as a separate indicator if needed.
- EN 15804: A European standard providing basic rules for product categories for all construction products and services, covering mandatory environmental impact indicators, including climate change.
The Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) certification option is available to companies and organizations across all sectors. The goal is to contribute to climate protection, increase trust in communicating CO2 footprints, and improve the organization’s public image by focusing on sustainability and climate management. The CCF includes all direct and indirect emissions related to a company’s activities, meaning emissions throughout the entire value chain.