From a product carbon footprint to a product environmental footprint

What is the difference between a product carbon footprint and a product environmental footprint? Cesar Carreño from Nexio Projects outlines the differences between the two concepts and why measuring the environmental impact across the full lifecycle can be an important driver for sustainability strategies.

Traditionally, product life cycle analysis has tended to focus on carbon footprint – the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) generated during a product’s manufacture and beyond. While this is an important measure of environmental impact, there are many others that also matter. That’s why a product environmental footprint (PEF), which covers a wider range of impacts, can be a valuable tool to support the sustainability strategy.

A product carbon footprint

Every aspect of your product’s life cycle has the potential to generate GHG emissions, from the sourcing of raw materials to manufacturing, transportation, use and end-of-life. A product carbon footprint (PCF) measures the total GHG emissions associated with a product’s life cycle, including methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases. For ease of comparison, these GHGs are reported in terms of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).

The benefits of calculating a product carbon footprint 
Calculating a PCF gives detailed insight into the GHG emissions associated with the product portfolio. This allows organsations to accurately report the climate impacts of their products; identify and address emissions hotspots in theirvalue chain to develop targeted reduction strategies; and comply with sustainability reporting regulations, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) or Carbon Boundary Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

Scoping the product carbon footprint 
The scope of a PCF can vary. For example, a ‘cradle-to-gate’ PCF considers GHG emissions from the extraction of raw materials up to and including the manufacturing process – ending at the ‘factory gate’. This means that ‘downstream’ life cycle stages, such as transportation and product use, aren’t included in this type of PCF. Typically used for B2B 9Business-to-business) scenarios.

A ‘cradle-to-grave’ PCF, on the other hand, also considers downstream life cycle stages, including product use and end-of-life. However, when it comes to assessing the impact of your products on people and the planet, the carbon footprint is only part of the story. This is typically recommended for B2C (Business-to-consumer) scenarios.

A product environmental footprint

A product environmental footprint is a science-based, standardised methodology for holistically evaluating the overall environmental impact of a product. Like the PCF, it includes a product’s climate impact. However, in addition to GHG emissions, the PEF covers a range of other environmental impact factors such as: resource depletion, water and land usage, ozone depletion, human health, acidification and pollution. 

PEFs cover the entire product life cycle, including upstream activities – such as raw material sourcing – and downstream activities – such as transportation and recycling. By including many more environmental and social impact factors, the PEF enables you to provide a much more complete picture of your product’s life cycle impacts which can be utilize by a wider group of stakeholders for decision making.

Differences between a PCF and PEF

A product carbon footprint:
- Calculated by performing a life cycle assessment
- Covers only GHG emissions (reported in terms of tCO2e)
- Enables identification of GHG emissions hotspots
- Can be used to optimise products and reduce emissions
- Can cover either the entire product life cycle or only selected stages

A product environmental footprint:
- Calculated by performing a life cycle assessment
- Covers a wide range of environmental impact factors as well as GHG emissions
- Enables identification of various environmental and social impacts
- Can be used to drive holistic sustainability improvements
- Includes the entire product life cycle, from sourcing to product end-of-life

Understanding the International EPD System

A key framework for reporting the environmental impact of products is the International Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) System. This well-established standard sets out a defined methodology for calculating the life cycle impacts of products, with specific product category rules (PCRs) providing guidance for different product types.

Providing a valid EPD can be a great way to increase transparency and build closer relationships with current and potential customers – giving a holistic picture of the impacts of your portfolio. For example, companies in the construction industry may be required to produce EPDs for their products as part of the tendering process.

Are there EU regulations on PEFs? 

Calculating a product environmental footprint can also help you to comply with future regulations. For example, the EU is currently developing specific PEF guidelines for various product types, including synthetic turf, batteries and dairy products. This comprehensive methodology covers 16 impact categories. These include acidification, ecotoxicity, ionising radiation, eutrophication, particulate matter and resource use.

What’s the difference between an LCA and a PEF? 

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is the general term for a framework for assessing the environmental and social impacts of a product. It’s the basis of the PEF methodology. However, the EU’s PEF guidelines are more prescriptive than the standard LCA process, specifying a single calculation method to determine the impacts of each product type. This will empower consumers and procurement managers to make more informed choices.

In addition, the EU’s PEF framework is based on defined life cycle inventory (LCI) data sets. The use of these compliant data sets ensures better comparability between PEFs.

How do you calculate PCFs? 

An LCA will give you a complete picture of the product’s environmental impacts, including the GHG emissions it generates. 

It’s important that; for GHG emissions a recognised methodology, such as the ISO 14067 standard to comply with international regulations for estimating a PCF. The GHG Protocol’s Product Standard also provides guidance on how to perform a thorough and accurate PCF calculation.

How do you calculate PEFs? 

Based on standards such as ISO 14040 and 14044, the EU’s PEF methodology aims to create a standardised framework to allow greater comparability between similar products. The rules set out exactly how to calculate the environmental and social impact of a product across its entire life cycle, including stages such as packaging and distribution, use and maintenance, and recycling and recovery. This enables the creation of comprehensive life cycle assessments, helping to streamline sustainability efforts. 

How can PCFs and PEFs accelerate the sustainability strategy? 

Understanding the impact of your products is essential for embedding sustainable design practices across your portfolio. Calculating PCFs and PEFs allows you to look beyond your company’s own processes and facilities to make more sustainable decisions at every stage of the value chain.

Drawing on the detailed insights provided by your PCF or PEF, you’ll be able to pinpoint emissions hotspots and take targeted action to address them. For example, you’d be able to see if the logistics company that transports the raw materials to your factories has an above-average emissions profile.

Using a digital LCA platform greatly simplifies the environmental optimisation process, allowing you to model alternative scenarios and identify the most sustainable option. This way, you can ensure that a benefit in one impact area – such as GHG emissions – doesn’t come at the expense of another, such as biodiversity. By considering the holistic impact of products, you can create a much more future-proof portfolio.

From both a regulatory and competitive perspective, creating products with a reduced impact on people and the environment has never been more important. On the one hand, to meet legislation, and on the other hand, to meet customer expectations. Accurately calculating your PCFs and PEFs can be key to building a sustainable competitive advantage.