In the midst of growing demands for supply chain transparency, increasing reporting obligations and rising expectations for credible climate data, many companies are faced with a key question: how can product-related emissions be recorded and used in such a way that they create real strategic added value – without slipping into methodological complexity?
The key lies in a practical, impact-oriented approach that is based on sound standards and at the same time addresses the reality of companies. A well-structured Product Carbon Footprint (PCF ) not only makes emissions visible, but also creates a reliable basis for decision-making, for example for design and procurement processes, for prioritizing reduction measures or as a basis for credible product communication. The new PCF module from Code Gaia combines methodological clarity with operational feasibility, integrates seamlessly into existing processes and offers maximum flexibility.
This blog post summarizes the most important content of our webinar with Irina Benatti and Felicitas Buck, in which they presented the new PCF module from Code Gaia. Watch the recording with our sustainability experts here or get an overview first in the following blog post.
Table of contents
1. the product carbon footprint and what it actually means
A product carbon footprint (PCF), i.e. the product-related CO₂ balance, comprises the climate impact of a product during its life cycle. The PCF is far more than just an emissions figure. A PCF quantifies the greenhouse gas emissions of a product and thus provides the basis for well-founded strategic decisions, better product design and credible sustainability statements.
There are various system limits for a PCF, which are selected depending on the objective:
- Cradle to gate (from raw material extraction to the factory gate) is the most commonly used approach, especially when there are customer or stakeholder requests for product-related emissions data.
- Cradle to shelf (including transportation to the point of sale) makes sense if logistics has a significant impact on the emissions balance or if customers explicitly expect more comprehensive data.
- Cradle to grave (including use and disposal) is relevant when emissions in the use phase – for example through energy consumption or maintenance – play a significant role or when a complete life cycle analysis is required for product strategies or eco-design.
It is important to know that the PCF can be calculated not only for traditional physical products. Services and digital offerings such as software solutions can also be meaningfully included in the carbon footprint if they cause climate impacts along their “life cycle”.
A PCF follows established international standards and frameworks that ensure the comparability and quality of the results. The
A product carbon footprint makes the climate impact of a product visible over its entire life cycle – and thus creates the basis for well-founded strategic decisions for companies.
Felicitas Buck
Sustainability Specialist Code Gaia GmbH
2. the differences between PCF and LCA
The Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) and the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA ) pursue different but complementary objectives in the sustainability assessment of products.
A PCF only considers the climate impact of a product. It quantifies the greenhouse gas emissions generated over the entire life cycle and expresses them in CO₂ equivalents. The PCF therefore provides a targeted, focused analysis that is primarily aimed at reducing climate impacts. It is particularly suitable for identifying emission hotspots, validating climate-related product claims or developing well-founded reduction measures.
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), also known in German as Ökobilanz, goes much further in its analysis. It not only analyzes the climate impact of a product, but also other environmental impacts such as water consumption, resource use or biodiversity loss. An LCA therefore pursues a comprehensive approach that creates a complete environmental profile of a product over its entire life cycle.
The two approaches also differ in terms of use cases: a PCF is useful if the focus is on climate protection, decarbonization strategies or climate-related market statements. The LCA is required if other environmental impacts are also to be assessed and mapped, for example for ecodesign, environmental product declarations or comprehensive sustainability strategies.
Both approaches are based on the methodology of life cycle analysis. This means that the climate impact is calculated according to the same basic principles in both cases, regardless of whether only greenhouse gases (PCF) or a broader range of environmental impacts (LCA) are considered. However, they are based on different standards and norms: the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Standard and ISO 14067 are particularly relevant for the PCF, while other ISO standards such as ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 are important for full LCAs.
The PCF is the climate part of the life cycle analysis. If you want to take a broader approach later on, you can use the PCF as a solid basis for a complete LCA.
3. step by step to the product carbon footprint
At Code Gaia, the path to a reliable product carbon footprint (PCF) follows a clear, practical procedure in four steps:
Step 1: Define the goal and system boundaries
The first step is to determine what the PCF is being created for. Depending on this, the appropriate system boundaries are determined, for example cradle to gate or cradle to grave. In addition, the reference unit is defined, such as a piece, a liter or a usage unit of the product.
Step 2: Ensure data collection and data quality
The required data is collected for each activity. Where possible, primary data is used. If this is not available, secondary data from recognized databases is added. All assumptions and data sources are documented transparently.
Step 3: Record activities along the value chain
In the next step, all relevant activities are recorded in a structured manner. These include the procurement of materials, production processes, transportation and, if applicable, the use and disposal of the product.
Step 4: Emissions calculation and evaluation
Finally, the emissions for each activity are calculated and related to the reference unit. The results are evaluated in order to identify emission hotspots and derive targeted reduction potentials.
4 PCF: Data allocation
Allocation means that emissions from a common process are distributed across several products. In principle, the relevant standards such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO 14067 stipulate that allocation should be avoided wherever possible, for example through more precise process allocation or an adjusted system boundary. In practice, however, allocation cannot always be avoided. It is important to proceed in a comprehensible and consistent manner when selecting the method.
If emissions are allocated to several products at the same time, various allocation methods are used.
5. conclusion: Create PCF now with the new module from Code Gaia
With the new PCF module, Code Gaia offers an integrated option for efficiently recording and evaluating product-related emissions within the existing software. The module supports the creation of PCFs based on international standards such as the GHG Protocol Product Standard and ISO 14067. It enables structured data collection, flexible mapping of individual value chains and transparent evaluation of the results. The aim is to provide companies with a practicable and standard-compliant approach to identify emission hotspots, better understand the climate impact of individual products and make informed decisions based on this.
