Product Carbon Footprint
What is a Product Carbon Footprint?
The Product Carbon Footprint, or PCF, sums up the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by a product over the different stages of its life cycle. For example, a cradle-to-gate (partial) PCF considers all the processes from extraction of resources through manufacturing of precursors and the making of the final product itself up to the point where it leaves the company gate.
BASF Plastic Additives now offers the Product Carbon Footprint for many of its products.
The Product Carbon Footprint Service is the recent addition to VALERAS™ portfolio of sustainable solutions and services. Customers will receive valuable information about the extent to which BASF materials contribute to the carbon footprint of their business activities and their own final products. Initial offering includes products in the Irganox®, Tinuvin®, and Chimassorb® portfolios and may be requested as premium service via myPlasticAdditives online customer portal.
How can PCFs be reduced?
It is possible to reduce the PCF of many products during production, for example by using green electricity or biomass (i.e., via biomass balance). In addition we continue to evaluate new methods by which the carbon footprint of our products can be reduced.
In some cases, the PCFs of BASF products are already lower than the corresponding market benchmark values due to the use of more efficient manufacturing processes and advantageous raw materials.
How is the PCF calculated?
These cradle-to-gate PCFs are calculated using a BASF developed digital application called Strategic CO2 Transparency Tool (SCOTT), which is certified by a third party. Primary production data is complemented by secondary data for the calculation.
The methodology for calculating the PCF is based on the ISO 14040, ISO 14044 and ISO 14067 standards and is compliant with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Standard. The partial Product Carbon Footprint takes into account the greenhouse gas emissions that occur when raw materials are extracted (cradle) until they leave the BASF site (plant gate). The consideration from the cradle to the factory gate (cradle-to-gate) thus only covers part of the product’s life cycle, not a complete life cycle analysis (cradle-to-grave). Product Carbon Footprints are an essential tool to carbon transparency on our collective journey to net zero.