In today's environmentally conscious world, both businesses and consumers are increasingly focused on reducing their environmental impact. An important tool in this effort is the Product Carbon Footprint Assessment (PCFA). The PCF offers a detailed overview of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with a product's lifecycle, enabling organizations to make informed decisions to minimize their carbon footprint. This process allows organizations to measure their contribution to climate change and provides a roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ultimately leading to a more sustainable future.

Know more: "What is a Product Carbon Footprint and Why It Should Matter to You."

Steps in Product Carbon Footprint Assessment

1. Define the Goal: This refers to the process of defining the specific objectives and outcomes that a company or organization aims to achieve when evaluating and reducing the carbon emissions associated with a product throughout its lifecycle. This process is essential for setting clear targets, determining the scope of the assessment, and ensuring that the product's carbon footprint is measured and managed in alignment with environmental, business, and regulatory goals.
2. Determine the Scope: The scope of measuring a product's carbon footprint defines the boundaries and parameters to be considered. This includes selecting the product, determining the relevant stages of its life cycle, defining the unit of measurement, and identifying the greenhouse gases (GHGs) to be assessed.

Once the product(s) for emissions measurement are selected, the impact of those emissions—or the boundary—can generally be determined using the following approaches:

• Cradle to Gate: Also called Partial PCF, this approach assesses the environmental impacts of a product from the point of raw material extraction (the "cradle") to the point it leaves the factory gate (ready for transportation or distribution). This includes all activities involved in the production of the product but excludes the product's use phase, transportation, and end-of-life disposal.
• Cradle to Grave: This method considers the entire life cycle of a product, from raw material extraction (the "cradle") through its use phase to end-of-life (the "grave"). It provides a comprehensive view of a product's environmental impact, including how consumers use it and what happens at disposal (e.g., recycling, incineration, or landfill).
• Cradle to Cradle: This approach goes further than Cradle to Grave by emphasizing a closed-loop system where products are designed for reuse or recycling. It focuses on creating a circular economy, where the materials of the product are renewable, recycled, or regenerated into new products.

The most commonly measured greenhouse gases include Carbon Dioxide (CO₂), Methane (CH₄), Nitrous Oxide (N₂O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF₆). GHG emissions are converted to carbon dioxide equivalents to allow for a standardized comparison of the impact of different gases on global warming, regardless of their chemical differences. Establishing a clear scope is essential to ensure that the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) calculation is consistent, comprehensive, and aligned with the specific objectives of the assessment.

3. Inventory Analysis: Inventory Analysis, also known as Life Cycle Inventory (LCI), involves collecting and quantifying data on all the inputs and outputs associated with a product throughout its lifecycle. The goal is to gather the necessary information to understand resource consumption and environmental emissions at each stage of the product's life.
4. Data Collection: The most complex and time-consuming aspect of the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) assessment is data collection. Depending on the organization’s defined scope for the PCF, this process may require gathering information from multiple sources. Creating a process map can be an effective way to outline the various stages of a product's lifecycle. This visualization helps clarify the product's lifecycle stages and processes, which is crucial for identifying where data needs to be collected and understanding how emissions and resource usage occur at each stage. Here are the benefits of using process maps in the context of data collection for PCF assessment:

a. Visualizing the Product Lifecycle - Actual representation of the entire product lifecycle, from raw material extraction (cradle) through manufacturing, use, and eventual disposal (grave).
b. Identifying Key Processes and Emissions Sources - It allows you to pinpoint hotspots or stages with significant carbon impacts that require detailed data collection.
c. Facilitating Data Flow - This flow allows data to be organized logically, making it easier to track and collect necessary information, such as energy consumption during manufacturing, transportation distances, or waste produced during disposal
d. Establishing Data Collection Boundaries - The process map helps determine the relevant processes and operations that need to be considered for data collection (e.g., energy use during production vs. emissions during transportation).
e. Mapping input and output flows - For example, you might map the raw material extraction process and collect data on the amount of material used, the energy consumed, and the GHG emissions produced in mining or transportation.
f. Ensuring Consistency and Comprehensive Data Collection - Reduce the risk of missing critical emissions sources or resources during data collection.
g. Collaboration and Communication - Clear, shared understanding of where data needs to be collected, making it easier for stakeholders to identify what information they need to provide or measure

Two major sources of data are usually used for a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) assessment: primary and secondary data. Information obtained directly from within the business is referred to as “primary data”. This is frequently the most accurate and trustworthy data because it shows the precise procedures, supplies, energy use, and emissions related to the business's operations and product lifetime. Obtaining primary data is simpler because it is directly tied to the business's operations, such as manufacturing procedures, energy consumption records, and material utilization.

"Secondary data" describes the information that comes from sources outside the organization. This can include information from databases that are openly accessible, academic research, industry publications, or supplier data. Secondary data is frequently utilized in situations where primary data is not available or is difficult to collect. A few examples of secondary sources are Ecoinvent, GaBi, Open LCA Database, Environment Product Declarations (EPD), Environmental Protection Agency, (EPD), European Environment Agency (EEA), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), data derived from ISO 14040/44 (Life Cycle Assessment Standards) and more.

Performing data collection and continuous documentation will ensure comprehensive coverage and data consistency.

5. Product Carbon Footprint Emission Calculation: Using the information gathered in the earlier stages of the evaluation, this entails calculating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions connected to a product throughout the course of its whole lifecycle.

a. Inventory: Use the data collected from the inventory analysis to identify inputs and outputs from each product life cycle stage.
b. Emission Factors: Identify the emission factors to convert the activity data into emissions. It is essential to use the right emission factor and also document why the particular source was used. (An emission intensity/factor (also carbon intensity or C.I.) is the emission rate of a given pollutant relative to the intensity of a specific activity, or an industrial production process. Source: Wikipedia)

c. Calculate the emissions: The formula used is:

Emissions=Activity Data × Emission Factor where activity data is quantified data of activities that result in GHG gas emissions and emission factor is the amount of GHGs emitted per unit of activity data

d. Accounting for all GHG emissions using GWP: Once the emission has been computed for each product life cycle stage, aggregate the total emissions, which is expressed in Carbon dioxide equivalent. This accounts for all GHG emissions using Global Warming Potential (GWP) for each greenhouse gas. This GWP is published across sources like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

6. Interpretation and Analysis: Interpret the results of the PCF calculation and identify significant findings that will help the organization move towards an effort to reduce emissions, improve efficiency, and minimize operational costs.

• Locate hotspots for emissions.
• Assess the sensitivity of the findings: how they are impacted by modifications to the scope, assumptions, or data quality.
• Check whether the product's carbon footprint satisfies industry standards or corporate sustainability goals.
• Analyse the findings to find areas that could use improvement, including transportation or production methods that reduce carbon emissions.

7. Report PCF Findings: The Key objectives of reporting are to ensure transparency, precision, and to provide insight to the stakeholders to make informed decisions based on the PCF results. The PCF report outlines the methodology, assumptions, findings, and conclusions, and the results are presented clearly and transparently, allowing stakeholders to comprehend the carbon footprint and its implications. If relevant, consider publishing the findings within Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) or sustainability reports. Engage in discussions with stakeholders regarding the results and utilize the insights to guide sustainability strategies.

In the next blog, let us look into an example of how to calculate the Product Carbon footprint with an industrial example!