What is a Product Carbon Footprint?
In the relevant standards issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a product carbon footprint is defined as "the sum of greenhouse gas emissions and greenhouse gas removals in a product system, expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq)", which aims to quantify and report the total greenhouse gas emissions and removals generated by a product in the full or partial life cycle stages of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, sales, use, disposal and recycling, as well as its impact on climate change.
In terms of scope, the product carbon footprint includes not only the production stage of the product, but also the greenhouse gas emissions and removal processes associated with each stage of the product life cycle within the entire value chain (including upstream and downstream processes), which starts with the extraction of resources and the procurement of raw materials, and extends to the production, use and final disposal of the product.
According to the standard of carbon footprint type rules for a particular product, the product carbon footprint accounting and reporting process generally includes "system boundary confirmation", "data collection" and "quantity accounting". After the product carbon footprint is quantified, the product carbon footprint performance needs to be continuously tracked to promote the continuous reduction of product carbon emissions. When appropriate, carry out footprint information exchange with internal and external stakeholders in accordance with the prescribed procedures.
Taking common polyester textile products as an example, it is first necessary to clarify the system boundary of product carbon footprint accounting. When taking the partial life cycle stages from "raw material acquisition" to "product manufacturing" as the boundary, the accounting boundary of polyester textile products includes three life cycle stages: raw material acquisition, raw material transportation and product production. Secondly, after the boundary is confirmed, it is necessary to collect the actual consumption data of the main raw materials for the production of polyester products (PET resin), as well as liquefied gas, natural gas, diesel and other energy consumption in stages, and the collection period is generally one year. Finally, the greenhouse gas emissions and removals of each stage are calculated and aggregated to obtain the carbon footprint of polyester textile products. Due to the difficulty of upstream process data collection, when primary data is not available, the product carbon footprint needs to be calculated based on secondary data in the background database.
At present, different countries, regions and organizations have proposed different standards for product carbon footprint accounting. China is speeding up the formulation of standards related to product carbon footprint, and actively promoting the construction of background databases. In November 2023, the basic general national standard for product carbon footprint, "Requirements and Guidelines for the Quantification of Greenhouse Gas Product Carbon Footprint", was released for public comment. In addition, a localized basic background database based on the life cycle approach and a product carbon footprint background database in subdivided fields are under construction, laying a foundation for China to accelerate the establishment of a product carbon footprint management system, promote the green and low-carbon transformation of related industries, and help achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
(The author is the director of the Certification and Accreditation Research Department of the Certification and Accreditation Technology Research Center of the State Administration for Market Regulation, interviewed by Lin Lili)
