Product Carbon Footprint (PCF): Definition, Emissions Calculation & Analysis

How to calculate the carbon footprint of a product?

To calculate the carbon footprint of a product, you assess all greenhouse gas emissions across its life cycle — from raw material extraction and production to transport, use, and disposal. This is typically done through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Emission data is collected from process-specific measurements, supplier data, and life cycle inventory databases such as ecoinvent, cm.chemicals, or USLCI. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) of each emission is then applied — usually based on values provided by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) — to express the total impact in CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e).

This process is often supported by software tools such as Umberto, which help build detailed models of manufacturing, upstream, and downstream activities. This granular approach helps identify specific emission hotspots and reduction opportunities.
 

How to reduce the product carbon footprint?

Reducing a product's carbon footprint involves optimizing materials, processes, and logistics across the entire life cycle. Key strategies include using low-emission or recycled raw materials, improving energy efficiency in manufacturing, shortening supply chains, switching to renewable energy sources, and designing products for durability and recyclability. Conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) helps identify the biggest emission hotspots and guides targeted reduction measures.

Existing standards for calculating a PCF

Various standards have been developed to determine the CO₂ balance of products. The best-known standards for calculating a carbon footprint are following:

• PAS 2050: Publicly Available Specification (PAS)
  First published by the British Standards Institute in 2008 and revised in 2011 to provide an internationally consistent method for quantifying the CO₂ balance of products and services
   
• GHG Protocol: Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard
  Based on the first PAS 2050 method, published in 2011, contains requirements for quantifying the greenhouse gas inventories of products and for public reporting
   
• ISO 14067
  Most common standard for PCF, consistently being worked , defines the balance limits in which climate change alone is considered an impact category, widely applicable to all products and is intended to promote transparent communication of the results

Differences between the standards

These 3 methods already reach relative consensus in rules for industries or products, recycling and delayed emissions. But there are also significant differences in the standards used to calculate the CO₂ footprint. Here are a few examples:
 

• For instance, the British PAS does not include the following points: Capital goods, human energy input into processes, transport of the consumer to and from the retail location and commuting of employees.
   
• With the PAS it is possible to neglect 5% of the total emissions, provided that said emissions do not exceed 1% of the total impacts each.
   
• In the case of GHG, only the 6 substances under the Kyoto Protocol have to be listed in the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). The listing of further product-relevant substances is recommended, but is not mandatory.

Product versus corporate carbon footprint

A product carbon footprint (PCF) measures the total greenhouse gas emissions generated throughout a product's lifecycle, from raw material extraction through manufacturing, transportation, usage, and disposal. It focuses on the environmental impact of a specific item.

A corporate carbon footprint (CCF), on the other hand, encompasses the total greenhouse gas emissions produced by a company’s operations. This includes direct emissions from owned or controlled sources (Scope 1), indirect emissions from purchased electricity (Scope 2), and all other indirect emissions from activities like business travel, waste disposal, and supply chain operations (Scope 3).

> More on Corporate Carbon Footprints

PCF – More than CO₂

The CO₂ footprint is not only - as the name suggests - about carbon dioxide emissions, but also about other greenhouse gases. The climate impact of the various greenhouse gases is expressed in CO₂ equivalents, since the gases have different global warming potentials.
 

• Methane (CH₄)
• Nitrous oxide (N₂O)
• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
• Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
• Sulphur hexaflouride (SF₆)
• Nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃)