Product Carbon Footprint Calculation

Eviden develops digital solution to calculate product carbon footprints within the chemical industry in partnership with BASF

Eviden and BASF have launched a digital solution for companies in the chemical and process industries to identify, monitor, and eventually reduce the carbon footprint of chemical products. For this purpose, BASF provides its digital solution and methodology for calculating the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) of chemical products and selected Eviden as a partner for the development of a software platform based on this methodology to make the PCF calculation approach available to the industry.

Product Carbon Footprint as a value driver

A clear and transparent PCF shows customers how a company is reducing emissions and be a key differentiator against competitors

Communication of sustainability credentials can increase growth (>7x) and produce a significant price premium (39.5%)

Broadly available PCFs internally can be a key source of innovation for low-emissions products

Eco-innovation has been shown can benefit company profitability, growth, and competitive benefits

PCFs can help manage and mitigate risk associated with carbon emissions in the value chain

A carbon border tax would put a price on embedded carbon, e.g. currently being suggested within the EU

Product Carbon Footprint: PCFs summarize the specific amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are associated with a product throughout its life cycle

The methodology from BASF is certified by TÜV Rheinland and complies with ISO requirements and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Standard as well.
Through it, you can assess your portfolio and production network in terms of CO2 emissions and take action to reduce your PCF. In addition, the approach can support you to adjust to future climate legislation.

The PCF platform calculation schematic

The PCF calculation schematic produces results in a declared unit of
“1 kg of product unpacked, at factory gate”. Additional phases such as packaging, downstream transport, and end of life can be added subsequently as required by the customer, such extending the solution to a full cradle-to-grave scope.

The calculation will cover 98% of material and energy inputs at a minimum. A key feature of the PCF methodology is its ability to capture the emissions associated with internally produced raw materials. A key benefit of this methodology is that it relies on data that’s typically available within existing IT systems. This enables automatic calculation of a large number of product carbon footprints.