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Product Carbon Footprint
A Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) measures the carbon impacts of a product.
To determine the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with our product impacts, carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) values are measured through the evaluation of the inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts of a product throughout its entire life cycle.
Our Approach to Custom Product Carbon Footprint Reporting
Eco-Products utilizes a combination of primary data from our value chain and secondary data resources.
Eco-Products conducts its Product Carbon Footprint analysis through a Cradle-to-Grave approach, meaning we consider carbon impacts at each phase of the product life cycle.
This includes inputs from Raw Materials --> Manufacturing Process --> Product Secondary Packaging --> End-of-Life Scenarios, including transportation between and during each phase.
PCF data is presented in Global Warming Potential (GWP) with Carbon Uptake, unless otherwise specified.
If the scope of information changes due to a specific customer or industry request, Eco-Products will always be transparent about data inputs and the boundary of a product carbon footprint measurement.
Three Scopes for Product Carbon Footprinting
What is GWP with Carbon Uptake?
Global Warming Potential (GWP) is a measurement that provides the carbon equivalent (CO2e) impact of a product throughout its life cycle.
It can be measured both with carbon uptake included, or without carbon uptake included. Carbon uptake is essentially carbon sequestration, which is the capturing, removal and storage of CO2 from the earth’s atmosphere. Depending on the raw material and how it is grown or harvested, it may provide climate benefits by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere while still in its plant form.
GWP with CO2 Uptake
Why GWP Should Not be the Only Environmental Consideration – Especially for Compost EOL
Global Warming Potential (GWP) with Carbon Uptake is a valuable LCA indicator used to understand carbon impacts of different products and processes. However, additional considerations should be applied if attempting to use this indicator as a decision-making tool across a variety of raw materials, especially as related to compost as an end-of-life scenario for plant-based raw materials.
Why? Plant-based raw materials sequester CO2 from the atmosphere during their growth phase, typically resulting in a reduced raw material phase value when measured through the indicator of GWP with CO2 Uptake. Naturally, most of this carbon is then released back into the atmosphere and soil when it is composted, resulting in CO2 emissions during the end-of life phase.
What environmental impacts does GWP with CO2 Uptake not include?
- GHG emissions reduced due to the food scraps that are often sent to compost facilities along with compostable foodservice products. Food that is sent to compost facilities instead of landfills reduces GHG emissions associated with the disposal of food waste by more than 50%.
- Climate benefits of producing compost from food and compostable products, ultimately harnessing embedded resources to create compost rather than ‘wasting’ them in a landfill. Benefits include:
- Improved soil health
- Water retention, assisting in stormwater management
- Increased crop yields if compost is used in farming applications
- Reduced need for chemical fertilizer production and application
- Carbon sequestration, when finished compost is applied to land. An additional carbon reduction associated with composting that should be considered.
Since many LCA studies do not include externalities outside of typical LCA indicators, it is critical to consider a variety of additional impacts associated with different raw materials and their end-of-life scenarios used for foodservice packaging.
Discussion about PCF
A Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is a valuable tool used to understand the carbon impacts of products and materials.
Its efficacy, however, is highly dependent on the quality of data
used to generate charts and graphs that tell the PCF story.
We have spent more than 2 years revamping our PCF models and have identified substantial data gaps up and down the value chain for compostable products and materials.
As a result, some of the data generated by the tool we use to present PCF data are at odds with things we know to be true about our products and the materials they are made from. Check out some specific examples of data gap below.
We have made the decision to share this imperfect information publicly in an effort to bring awareness to the danger of using it as a standalone decision-making tool.
Every consultant, researcher, and impact professional we know has their own way of expressing the “grain of salt” factor that should be applied to reports like these. “It’s a compass, not a map”, is a phrase we’ve grown to like. Tools like ours provide directional information, but can’t get you home the same way a map can.
Data Gaps for Compostable Products
The chart above details the five most significant data gaps we’ve identified in our work so far.
The first two have been addressed by using primary data from our supply chain rather than the proxy data relied on by the databases, and our modeling partner made an update to their inputs that helped address the third.
It is critical to note that these updates have only been applied to the Eco-Products model, and other tools drawing on the proxy data will produce different information than what we are reporting. We have not been able to resolve the remaining data gaps as of yet, and are reporting the information as it stands today knowing updates are required.
Questions? SustainabilityMaven@ecoproducts.com
Product Carbon Footprint data provided by Eco-Products is intended to help customers assess our products. Since methodologies and assumptions for conducting product carbon footprint analyses can differ, our PCF data should not be used to compare our products with others or be used for marketing purposes.