What is the Product Carbon Footprint?

Product carbon footprint measures the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated during the life cycle of goods and services: from material acquisition, preprocessing, production, distribution, storage, to use and end of life. 

The unit of measure is kilograms of CO2 equivalent.

Source: European Parliament

Currently, a wide variety of methodologies are used to calculate product-level GHG emissions. 

• Cross-sectorial methodologies, for example, GHG protocol for products and ISO 14067; 
• Sector-specific methodology, for example, Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR); 
• Product-specific standards, for example, Product Category Rules (PCR). 

PACT has developed a common framework that aims to unify cross-sectorial standards, establish a hierarchy for standards application and guarantee transparency when sharing PCF data along the supply chain. 

How PCF calculations can help your business?

Calculating PCF has three main benefits for your business:

• Understand your baseline, set targets and collaborate on improvements. For example, understanding which materials have higher impact in your system will help you focus your efforts on reducing the use of these materials or substitute them with more sustainable ones. 
• Differentiate your business and strengthen your competitive advantage.
• Support business decision-making and corporate accountability;

What are the main benefits of using EcoVadis Product Carbon Footprint Data Exchange?

EcoVadis PCF Data Exchange enables companies to share and receive product-level emissions data. This has many benefits for companies that request data and share the data.

For companies requesting the data, EcoVadis PCF Data Exchange enables you to:

• Access more granular carbon footprint data;
• Access primary data directly from your trading partners;
• Aggregate the data for your Scope 3 calculations related to selected product categories.

For companies sharing the data, EcoVadis PCF Data Exchange enables you to:

• Increase transparency and build trust with trading partners;
• Demonstrate your commitment to climate action.

For all companies, EcoVadis PCF Data Exchange enables you to:

• Exchange complete, objective and transparent information;
• Support more efficient carbon emission reduction strategies by understanding the impact of the products you buy from your suppliers.

Which companies will have access to this feature?

This feature will be included in all subscriptions with no additional cost for:

• All rated companies;

• Requesting companies that are Carbon Action Manager customers.