Until now, greenhouse gas emissions from car exhausts and factory\u00a0chimneys have been under greater scrutiny than from the production, use\u00a0and disposal of consumer goods. This focus is changing rapidly with the\u00a0introduction of carbon footprint calculation and labelling schemes, and\u00a0the development of ISO 14067, Carbon footprint of products.<\/p>\n
Climate change is perhaps the\u00a0greatest challenge facing governments,\u00a0organizations and citizens\u00a0over the next few decades.\u00a0Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other\u00a0greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions\u00a0caused by human activity,\u00a0such as industrial processes\u00a0and combustion of fossil fuels,\u00a0are widely seen to be having a\u00a0damaging effect on the global\u00a0climate.<\/p>\n
The focus on GHG emissions is\u00a0very much at a global, national\u00a0and organizational level. However,\u00a0less attention has been\u00a0given to indirect emissions\u00a0originating from the production,\u00a0use and disposal of the\u00a0consumer goods.
\nSuch less obvious emissions are\u00a0also part of the global problem\u00a0and must be tackled by a multilevel\u00a0approach. In addition to\u00a0existing measures, e.g. restrictions\u00a0on emissions from automobiles\u00a0and the energy sector,\u00a0and extensions to the emission\u00a0trading system \u2013 it is also essential\u00a0to change the behaviour of\u00a0human consumption.
\nTo make consumers conscious\u00a0of the significance of their purchase\u00a0choices, we must first\u00a0evaluate and communicate the\u00a0effect of the \u201ccarbon footprint\u201d \u00a0of goods and services on the climate.
\nCalculating a carbon footprint\u00a0means conducting a Life\u00a0Cycle Assessment (LCA) to\u00a0identify the climatic impact of\u00a0each phase of the product life\u00a0cycle, from cradle to grave.\u00a0LCA analyses can help producers\u00a0understand which phases\u00a0offer the greatest potential\u00a0for reducing GHG emissions\u00a0and offer consumers a means\u00a0to select products with minimal\u00a0impact on the climate.<\/p>\n
European approaches<\/strong> By making changes \u201c from seed\u00a0to store \u201d in its potato sourcing,\u00a0crisp production and distribution,\u00a0Walkers claims a 7 %\u00a0reduction in its carbon footprint\u00a0in two years and in energy use\u00a0by 32 %, water use by 42 % per\u00a0pack, and reports savings of over\u00a0700 million litres of water at its\u00a0Leicester, England, factory.\u00a0Although the labelling system\u00a0is still at the pilot phase, the\u00a0basis for calculation is now\u00a0public and gives companies\u00a0guidance in quantifying the\u00a0carbon footprint of their products.\u00a0The BSI British Standards\u00a0specification is the most\u00a0advanced at the moment, but\u00a0other countries have also been\u00a0developing applications of the\u00a0carbon footprint assessment.<\/p>\n In Switzerland, a special label\u00a0called climatop has been created,\u00a0which is conferred only\u00a0on the best climate performer\u00a0in each product category.\u00a0In the European Union, the EU\u00a0Eco-label Scheme covers the\u00a0global environmental performance\u00a0of a product, but should be\u00a0extended to include a carbon\u00a0footprint measurement toolkit The Forum acts as a platform\u00a0for stakeholders to share experiences\u00a0and build synergies in\u00a0the development of low carbon\u00a0market tools to accelerate the\u00a0transition to a low carbon society.\u00a0Currently, it is focusing on\u00a0identifying suitable instruments\u00a0to empower the consumer to\u00a0take carbon-conscious decisions.<\/p>\n A common method needed<\/strong><\/p>\n Together with rising\u00a0awareness of the carbon\u00a0footprint concept\u00a0is an increasing\u00a0requirement for a\u00a0standardized method\u00a0of calculation. \u2022 ISO 14040:2006, Environmental\u00a0management \u2013 Life\u00a0cycle assessment \u2013\u00a0Principles\u00a0and framework Related standards are the ISO\u00a014020 series of environmental\u00a0labelling and declaration standards,\u00a0and ISO 14063 guidelines\u00a0for environmental communication. ISO 14067<\/strong> Part 1 will quantify\u00a0the carbon footprint and\u00a0harmonize methodologies for\u00a0communicating carbon footprint\u00a0information, while Part 2 will\u00a0provide guidance for this communication.\u00a0It will be of value to any entity\u00a0involved in the life cycle of\u00a0products at the local, national,\u00a0regional and global level,\u00a0including industry, consumers,\u00a0governments and society generally,\u00a0and is expected to contribute significantly to the goal of\u00a0reducing GHG emissions.<\/p>\n Benefits to implementers\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The new standard will build on,\u00a0and add value to, existing ISO\u00a0standards including ISO 14020,\u00a0ISO 14040 and ISO 14064, and\u00a0the experience gained to date in\u00a0their implementation will only\u00a0strengthen the quantification\u00a0and communication of product\u00a0carbon footprint information. \u2022 By satisfying the requests\u00a0of customers, consumers\u00a0and stakeholders for carbon\u00a0footprinting of products<\/p>\n \u2022 Via an efficient and consistent\u00a0procedure to provide\u00a0carbon footprint information\u00a0to interested parties<\/p>\n \u2022 Through greater understanding\u00a0of GHG emissions\u00a0associated with\u00a0products, which can lead\u00a0to GHG reductions<\/p>\n \u2022 From implementation of\u00a0an International Standard\u00a0that can help reduce the\u00a0cost of data management<\/p>\n \u2022 By providing consumers\u00a0with the information they\u00a0need for decision-making\u00a0in buying products<\/p>\n \u2022 By avoiding costs of market\u00a0distortion, misleading\u00a0information and lost opportunities\u00a0(e.g. being excluded\u00a0from procurement\u00a0opportunities)<\/p>\n \u2022 From opportunities to\u00a0decrease the costs of information\u00a0and validation\/\u00a0verification.<\/p>\n \u2022 The ultimate intention of\u00a0ISO 14067 is to support\u00a0low carbon-intensity products\u00a0which will, in turn,\u00a0contribute to low carbon\u00a0economies in the future.<\/p>\n Benefits to society<\/strong> \u2022 The carbon footprint-related\u00a0requests of customers,\u00a0consumers, and stakeholders\u00a0will be met Future expectations<\/strong> \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Until now, greenhouse gas emissions from car exhausts and factory\u00a0chimneys have been under greater scrutiny than from the production, use\u00a0and disposal of consumer goods. This focus is changing rapidly with the\u00a0introduction of carbon footprint calculation and labelling schemes, and\u00a0the development of ISO 14067, Carbon footprint of products. Climate change is perhaps the\u00a0greatest challenge facing governments,\u00a0organizations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aequilibria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8922\/"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aequilibria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aequilibria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aequilibria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3\/"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aequilibria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?post=8922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.aequilibria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8922\/revisions\/"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aequilibria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8399\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aequilibria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?parent=8922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aequilibria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?post=8922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aequilibria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?post=8922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSeveral new approaches to\u00a0quantifying and communicating\u00a0the carbon footprint of products\u00a0have emerged recently, particularly\u00a0in Europe. International\u00a0interest is growing strongly,\u00a0with the aim of determining a\u00a0common method of measurement\u00a0to avoid misinforming and\u00a0confusing consumers.\u00a0The United Kingdom is in the\u00a0vanguard with the recently\u00a0published BSI British Standards\u00a0Publicly Available Specification\u00a0PAS 2050 Specification\u00a0for the assessment\u00a0of the life cycle greenhouse\u00a0gas emissions of goods and\u00a0services (see \u201c British project\u00a0on measuring carbon footprint\u00a0of products \u201d, ISO Management\u00a0Systems, November-December\u00a02008), enabling consumers\u00a0to compare the first carbon\u00a0footprint-labelled products\u00a0on the shelves of a major UK\u00a0retailer.\u00a0Walkers Snack Foods Ltd, one\u00a0of the world\u2019s largest manufacturers\u00a0of potato crisps, was\u00a0the first company to apply the\u00a0UK Carbon Trust\u2019s Carbon\u00a0Walkers, since working with the\u00a0Carbon Trust in 2007, its CO2\u00a0emissions have fallen from 85g\u00a0per standard crisp pack to 80g,\u00a0equal to almost 6g of CO2 per\u00a0bag of crisps, and to overall savings\u00a0of 4 800 tonnes of CO2 .<\/p>\n
\nto calculate climate impact.\u00a0Despite the interest in carbon\u00a0footprinting of products, not\u00a0all European countries have
\nadopted a labelling scheme,\u00a0although Germany aims to harmonize\u00a0the different approaches\u00a0and devise a unique quantification\u00a0method.
\nMany prominent companies,\u00a0primarily retailers and members\u00a0of the food chain industry, have\u00a0joined forces to decide how to\u00a0tackle this challenge. They point\u00a0to the need for an international\u00a0exchange of experiences and\u00a0progress achieved.\u00a0A recent initiative was the formation\u00a0of the Dialogue Forum\u00a0Low Carbon Society, which met\u00a0in Berlin, Germany, in February,\u00a02009 for its first international\u00a0Product Carbon Footprinting\u00a0and Carbon Labelling Summit.<\/p>\n
\nFrom the quantification\u00a0point of view, several relevant\u00a0ISO International Standards\u00a0already exist:<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 ISO 14044:2006, Environmental\u00a0management \u2013 Life\u00a0cycle assessment \u2013 Requirements\u00a0and guidelines
\n\u2022 ISO 14064:2006, Greenhouse\u00a0gases \u2013 Part 1 and\u00a0Part 2, including specifications\u00a0with guidance for\u00a0GHG quantification, monitoring\u00a0and reporting.<\/p>\n
\nThe widely applied GHG Protocol\u00a0\u2013 the result of collaboration\u00a0between the World Resources\u00a0Institute (WRI) and the World\u00a0Business Council for Sustainable\u00a0Development (WBCSD)\u00a0\u2013 currently only refers to GHG\u00a0emissions assessment at an\u00a0organizational level.
\nBut in addition to PAS 2050\u00a0there are now several important\u00a0approaches, such as a new\u00a0GHG Protocol guideline, the
\nProduct and Supply Chain GHG\u00a0Accounting and Reporting\u00a0Standard, that could make a\u00a0valid contribution to the development\u00a0of the new ISO International\u00a0Standard ISO 14067,\u00a0Carbon footprint of products,\u00a0(see \u201c Nobel Laureate leads\u00a0work on ISO carbon footprint\u00a0standard \u201d in this issue of ISO\u00a0Management Systems).<\/p>\n
\nWork on the development of ISO\u00a014067, approved last November,\u00a0is being carried out by working\u00a0group WG 2, of ISO technical\u00a0committee ISO\/TC 207, Environmental\u00a0management, subcommittee\u00a0SC 7, Greenhouse\u00a0gas management and related\u00a0activities.
\nCanada and other countries\u00a0in favour of the new standard\u00a0commented that, since labels\u00a0and claims are already available\u00a0on the European market\u00a0and similar systems are being\u00a0implemented elsewhere, e.g.\u00a0Japan, speed to market of ISO\u00a014067 is critical. It is considered\u00a0important to have an International\u00a0Standard in order to be\u00a0able to put in place systems\u00a0of data collection as soon as\u00a0possible.
\nFor that reason, and due to\u00a0significant market interest, publication\u00a0of ISO 14067 has been\u00a0targeted for March 2011.\u00a0The purpose of ISO 14067 is\u00a0to provide requirements for\u00a0the quantification and communication\u00a0of GHGs associated\u00a0with goods and services. It is\u00a0intended to promote the monitoring,\u00a0reporting and tracking\u00a0of progress in the mitigation of\u00a0GHG emissions,\u00a0In doing so it will fulfil a need\u00a0for uniformity, comparability,\u00a0reliability and transparency,\u00a0and provide information that is\u00a0not misleading in the interpretation,\u00a0use and communication\u00a0of information on the carbon\u00a0footprint of products.\u00a0ISO 14067 will comprise two\u00a0parts to be published simultaneously.<\/p>\n
\nAny organization implementing\u00a0ISO 14067 is likely to benefit in\u00a0several ways:<\/p>\n
\nReflecting the gains to implementers,\u00a0society is also expected\u00a0to benefit from the new\u00a0standard because:<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Costs of market distortion\u00a0will be avoided
\n\u2022 There will be an increase\u00a0in understanding of product\u00a0emissions, which can\u00a0then lead to GHG reductions
\n\u2022 There will be increased\u00a0pressure to reduce the carbon\u00a0intensity of products.
\nAt the moment, standardization\u00a0of carbon footprinting is not\u00a0subject to regulation. However,\u00a0it is expected that standardization\u00a0will focus attention on the\u00a0desirability of regulation and\u00a0thus enhance trade by providing\u00a0the key to GHG reduction\u00a0through the evolving global\u00a0carbon market.
\nISO 14067 is also expected to\u00a0streamline quantification and\u00a0communication procedures\u00a0and encourage policy makers\u00a0to harmonize the language of\u00a0any potential regulation covering\u00a0the carbon footprinting of\u00a0products.<\/p>\n
\nWe believe ISO 14067 will prove\u00a0to be a particularly significant\u00a0standard, going beyond PAS\u00a02050 in providing guidance on\u00a0carbon footprint communication.
\nClearly, raising consumer\u00a0awareness about the impact of\u00a0their behaviour on the climate is\u00a0as important as quantification.\u00a0During our studies on the subject\u00a0at the Ca\u2019 Foscari University\u00a0in Venice, Italy, we were\u00a0aware of the increasing interest\u00a0in establishing a reliable international\u00a0method of calculating\u00a0the carbon footprint of products,\u00a0and the need for standardization\u00a0in carbon labelling schemes.
\nWith the advent of PAS 2050,\u00a0the Dialogue Forum and ISO\u00a014067, we have the feeling of\u00a0being in the middle of a rapidly\u00a0evolving process to tackle\u00a0climate change.<\/p>\n