Providing third-party environmental and sustainability certification, auditing, testing, and standards development.

Program Details

Eligibility

Product carbon footprints can be used by organizations of all sizes and types, in any location, to assess the climate change impacts of your products and services.

GHG Accounting Across the Entire Life Cycle

Assessing greenhouse gas levels is based on the life cycle of your product or service. Product carbon footprinting involves assessing emissions from all sources of activities including: raw material extraction and processing, manufacturing, transportation and distribution, use, and end-of-life.

Methodologies for Carbon Footprinting

We utilize PAS 2050, WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol, the proposed ISO 14067, or the draft ANSI standard (LEO-SCS-002) accounting methodology to establish your carbon footprint.

• PAS 2050 - PAS 2050 was released by the British Standards (BSI) in 2008 as the world’s first product carbon footprint standard. Meeting PAS 2050 will support compliance with ISO 14067 in the future.
• LEO-SCS-002 - The Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods in LEO-SCS-002 address all known impacts to human health and the environment, in accordance with ISO 14044 requirements. This carbon footprint approach provides the most scientifically robust, site-specific results.
• ISO 14067 - ISO is currently developing ISO 14067 “Carbon footprints of Products,” covering quantification and communication requirements of GHG emissions associated with products and services. Anticipated publication date: April 2013.
• WRI - The WRI GHG Protocol is an international accounting tool widely used by governments and business leaders to understand GHG emissions. As of 2011, GHG Protocol encompasses two standards that focus on life cycle GHG emissions for products and supply chains.

Levels of impact captured by carbon footprint approaches vary based on the data collected, the impacts included, and the calculation methods used. The LEO-SCS-002 methodology addresses all known and recognized impacts to human health and the environment.

Carbon Footprint Labeling

Carbon footprint labeling is also an option for companies who wish to communicate their results to customers and stakeholders. Various carbon footprint labels have been developed by different carbon accounting schemes. Businesses that wish to use a carbon label are required to have their product assessment verified by a third party.

Benefits

While GHG emissions are often viewed at the organizational level, best practice has been for organizations to extend the scope of their carbon footprints to include the impacts of the goods and services they produce.

Measuring the existing life cycle GHG emissions of your products helps to:

• Identify “hotspots” and related cost/energy saving opportunities
• Evaluate alternative product configurations, sourcing and manufacturing methods, raw material choices and supplier selection
• Report on corporate responsibility
• Meet customer expectations by gaining the metric to manage your product carbon footprint
• Identify environmental risks in the supply chain
• Position yourself to compete in a carbon-constrained economy
• Improve brand recognition and corporate reputation in ethical/new consumer markets