Product Carbon Footprint

Calculate your Product Carbon Footprint including upstream and downstream emissions

There is still no legal obligation to calculate Product Carbon Footprints (PCF). Nevertheless, they are already often decisive for the award of a contract. For legally compliant implementation of the EU taxonomy (Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council), life cycle assessments (LCA) or product carbon footprints are an integral part of the sustainability strategy. The determination of a PCF is usually very complex and time-consuming, as the carbon footprint of a product should show the greenhouse gas emissions along the entire life cycle in a defined application and related to a defined unit of use (allocation).

At DFGE, we support you throughout the entire product carbon footprint calculation. We take into account upstream and downstream processes, including manufacturing, transport emissions, production and distribution as well as waste disposal. With our top-down approach, we can provide an emissions balance for your product within a short period of time that complies with international standards such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and withstands third-party audits. This allows you to communicate a scientifically sound sustainability management and optimize your CSR strategy.

Peter Greven

CEO, Peter Greven GmbH & Co. KG

„By calculating the carbon footprints of two of our products, we are not only fulfilling the wishes of our customers, but also publicly demonstrating that we have the issue of sustainability on our radar – an important differentiator from our competitors.”

Product Carbon Footprint Services

There is something for everyone!

Enterprise

  • We reduce the effort for you as much as possible
  • Based on an initial briefing we collect all information
  • Complete calculation of the product carbon footprint
  • Identification of benchmarks and savings potentials

Services

  • We help you to build up your own know-how with workshops & trainings
  • Tailor-made consulting services
  • Validation of your calculations or those of third parties according to international standards such as GHG Protocol or ISO 14064

DFGE PCF Software

PCF Engine
  • Cradle-to-gate PCF for simple products
  • Calculation based on GHG-Protocol / Product Life Cycle Accounting & Reporting Standard
  • Simlified Steps following DFGE Top-down Apporach
  • High level analysis of life cycle stages: material acquisition incl. transportation, energy and waste from production process and packaging
  • No extensive LCA/PCF expertise required
  • Insights on emission composition
  • Instant and automatic report generation
Further information PCF Software

Your Advantages

Why you should consider DFGE when calculating your Product Carbon Footprint

  • The calculation must take into account the production including transport of the raw materials used, the actual production and distribution, but also the use and downstream processes such as disposal.
  • Thanks to DFGE’s experience and the DFGE TopDown approach, an emissions balance for a product can be calculated in a relatively short time using a recursive and integrative procedure that also withstands third-party audits.
  • The accounting is carried out according to the internationally recognized Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard) and is based on the English standard of PAS 2050:2008 as well as the international standard ISO 14067:2013.
  • Further developments can be seen above all in the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) initiative of the European Commission, which will further strengthen the more comprehensive life cycle assessment concept.
  • We advise you on which standards need to be taken into account and how you can best achieve the requirements of sustainable business by reducing your Product Carbon Footprint.

What is a Product Carbon Footprint?

The English term carbon footprint (CF) has also become established in Germany and is increasingly replacing the terms CO2 footprint and CO2 balance. It represents the sum of all carbon dioxide emissions (measured in CO₂) and greenhouse gas emissions (measured in CO₂-equivalents, CO₂-eq) caused directly and indirectly by a company, a product or a service over a defined period of time or over its life cycle.

The determination of an emissions balance is necessary to measure impacts on the climate generated by companies and products. In the course of the recording and calculation, ecological weak points as well as drivers of emissions can be discovered and optimized. The determined value of the carbon footprint subsequently serves as a reference value that must be reduced in order to achieve international and national climate targets.

Relevant Norms and Standards

Norms and standards for calculating your carbon footprint

Further Sources

Questiones regarding a Product Carbon Footprint?

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