Carbon Footprinting for Product

Manufacturing and Suppliers

Dr Craig Jones

@EcoCraigJones
Contents
About Circular Ecology

Context

Benefits of product carbon footprinting

Why do people carbon footprint?

Carbon footprint reporting

Summary
Introducing Circular Ecology
Set up in 2013 to offer the following services:
Product carbon footprinting
Embodied carbon assessment
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
Water footprinting
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Research
Peer review
Training
Visit www.circularecology.com
Carbon Footprinting

Context:
Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development

There are over 200 definitions of sustainability

Sara Parkins, 2000

Meeting the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs
Brundtland Report, 1987
Sustainability The 3 Pillars
Provenance

Why Carbon?
Escalating Global CO2 Emissions
 Carbon Dioxide Equivalent
But we are always talking about taking action
on climate change and CO2 emissions.
Global CO2e emissions have risen 50% from
1990
Carbon footprinting is a tool that can help us
to manage our carbon emissions
Carbon Footprinting

Benefits of Product Carbon Footprinting

 Benefits of Carbon Footprinting
Prospect to win new sales
Companies are also losing sales by not having
environmental data for their products
i.e. cant go for tenders without this data
Satisfy client requests for data
Which assists the clients carbon targets / CSR
Enhanced green image / brand
Green case studies, marketing claims, greener
brand
Benefits of Carbon Footprinting

Competitive advantage
Are you competitors doing this?
Is your product better than your
competitors?
Get ahead of the game
Have you fallen behind your competitors or
the market?
Benefits of Carbon Footprinting
Reduce operational costs
Increasing case studies of companies saving
money through their carbon footprint
programs
Legislation & policy (only in some markets)
Increasing investor pressures
More investors expect companies to be
taking action on sustainability and climate
change
Survey of Carbon Footprint Users
Drivers
Survey of Carbon Footprint Users
Benefits
Carbon Footprinting

Reporting The Carbon Footprint of Your

Products
Reporting Carbon Footprints
There are 2 main types of carbon footprints:
Streamlined footprints
Detailed footprints
Streamlined footprints are suitable for:
Scoping exercises
Hotspot assessments
They are not suitable for wide reporting
Need a more robust study = detailed carbon
footprint
Detailed Carbon Footprints
A detailed carbon footprint can be used:
To report to the public or clients
In marketing campaigns
To make public environmental claims
In CSR reports
Must be calculated in accordance with
international standards
Can also be peer reviewed / verified
Product Carbon Footprint
Standards
PAS 2050: 2011 Specification for the
assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas
emissions of goods and services
From British Standards Institute
GHG Protocol for Products: 2011
From the World Resource Institute and
World Business Council for Sustainable
Development
The above 2 standards are very similar
 Product Carbon Footprint
Standards
ISO 14067:2014 Greenhouse gases -- Carbon
footprint of products -- Requirements and guidelines
for quantification and communication
The only international ISO standard on product
carbon footprinting
PAS 2060 carbon neutrality
EN 15804: 2012 Environmental Product Declarations
This one is for construction products only
All the other standards previously mentioned are
not sector specific broad remits
 Product Carbon Footprint Labels
Carbon Trusts Carbon Footprint Label
PAS 2050 or GHG Protocol assessment
Mainly consumer products
Product Carbon Footprint Labels
Carbon neutral labels
e.g. from carbon neutral company
Requires measurement and then offsetting of
the amount of carbon
 EPDs EN 15804
For building products
Environmental Product
Declarations (EPDs) are an
appropriate reporting
mechanism
Manufacturer specific
More than just carbon
full Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA)
 Reporting
Reporting carbon footprint results requires a
detailed study
Must be robust
There are many ways of reporting the carbon
footprint of your products
It can be confusing to know which option to
take
Feel free to get in touch if you need
independent advice on the options
Carbon Footprinting

Closing Thoughts
Summary
2 main types of carbon footprints
Streamlined
Details
Lots of carbon footprint standards
Options for reporting
Verified against standards
Carbon footprint labels
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
Carbon Footprinting
This webinar was video recorded:
www.circularecology.com/product-carbon-
footprinting-for-manufacturers-and-
suppliers.html
Upcoming online training courses:
Essential carbon footprinting
Embodied energy and carbon training
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
www.circularecology.com/training.html
 Closing Thought -
A Rhetorical Question
Which of these is the more sustainable way of
transporting people and goods?
Carbon Footprinting

Please feel free to get in touch

Craig.Jones@CircularEcology.com
@EcoCraigJones