What’s the difference between a product carbon footprint and a product environmental footprint?

“From both a regulatory and competitive perspective, creating products with a reduced impact on people and the environment has never been more important.” 

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 your sustainability strategy. 

Read on for a complete guide to the similarities and differences between product carbon footprints and product environmental footprints and discover best practices for each. 

What is a product carbon footprint (PCF)? 

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 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 you a detailed insight into the GHG emissions associated with your product portfolio. This allows you to: 

• accurately report the climate impacts of your products; 

• identify and address emissions hotspots in your value chain to develop targeted reduction strategies; 

• comply with sustainability reporting regulations, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) or Carbon Boundary Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) 

Scoping your 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. 

What is a product environmental footprint (PEF)? 

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, 

• 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. 

What’s the difference between product carbon footprint and product environmental footprint? 

Understanding the International EPD® System 

A key framework for reporting the environmental impact of products is the International EPD® (Environmental Product Declaration) 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. 

Visit our Product sustainability service page to find out more about EPDs. 

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? 

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.² 

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 your 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. Some recognized initiatives and frameworks provide additional support in providing additional guidance on harmonizing and allowing comparison of PCF, for example PACT (Partnership for carbon transparency). 

Check out this blog to find out more about calculating your corporate carbon footprint. 

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. 

A data-driven path to sustainable progress 

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, legislation such as the EU’s CSRD and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) are putting companies’ climate impacts under increased scrutiny. 

At the same time, customers expect their suppliers to be able to demonstrate concrete progress towards their sustainability targets. Accurately calculating your PCFs and PEFs can be key to complying with sustainability legislation and improving collaboration with customers – increasing your chances of becoming a preferred partner. 

Want to learn more about getting support with your PCFs, PEFs or EPDs? Visit our Product sustainability service page for more information.