The Product Carbon Footprinting & Labelling Intiative

The Opportunity
Over the last three years the Carbon Trust has been working to develop a process that will help companies to reduce the emissions from their supply chains and drive investment in new low carbon products and services.

To achieve this aim the Carbon Trust is working with the UK Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and BSI British Standards to develop a universal standard to measure the embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from products and services The carbon Trust is also developing a separate carbon reduction labelling scheme to help companies to communicate the carbon footprint of the products as well as a commitment to reduce the emissions over time.

In March 2007, the Carbon Trust announced the development of these two projects including a broad two stage public consultation process and a range
of pilot projects with companies to test the draft standard and the carbon reduction label. These pilot projects will run until the final standard is completed in 2008. These companies will help to test and develop the draft standard to measure the embodied GHG emissions of products and services and its
communication through a carbon label, empowering consumers by giving them choice.
Both the development of the standard and the carbon reduction label will be overseen by independent Steering Groups, who members have been drawn from NGOs, government, academia and industry. This aims to ensure that the final products are both scientifically rigorous and yet applicable to ensure
their widespread usage and positive impact.

A Single Standard

To ensure that the measurement of the embodied GHG emissions from products and services is consistent the Carbon Trust is working with Defra and BSI British Standards to develop a single universal standard.
The aim is to develop an agreed method for measuring embodied Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which can be applied across a wide range of product and service categories and their supply chains to enable companies to measure the GHG related impacts of their products and reduce them.

BSI British Standards will oversee the development of the standard, known as the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050 using the Carbon Trust pilot methodology as a starting point.

Through the work of the Steering Group and a broad two stage stakeholder consultation, new and existing best practice work in this area will also be considered in the PAS development. This process is designed to develop a credible, usable method through an open and consultative forum.

The Vision

The Carbon Trust carbon reduction label is envisaged to act as the communication bridge between carbon-conscious companies and their consumers, enabling a powerful corporate message to be delivered. The label would not only provide a carbon measure but will demonstrate a corporate commitment
to manage and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the product over a set two year period. Displaying the carbon dioxide equivalent content of products, and a commitment to reduce, will empower con¬sumers to make informed choices and drive company behaviour to deliver low carbon products.

The Carbon Trust believes that carbon has the potential to become a new currency and that a carbon labelling scheme for products can induce sustained behavioural change by consumers and drive investment in the development of low and lower carbon products.

The Benefits

The carbon product label meets a consumer need. Recent research shows that consumers increasingly understand the issue of climate change and want to participate in carbon emissions reduction initiatives by buying low carbon products from companies that are showing leadership on climate change. For
example approximately 67% of consumers said that they are more likely to buy a product with a low carbon footprint. Consumers respect an independent
verification process and label, over the claims of individual companies. This scheme seeks to address that consumer need.

From the corporate perspective, recent findings from Opinion Leader Research conclude that opinion leaders see climate change as the primary issue likely
to impact upon corporate reputation during 2007. The carbon label is expected to enhance the reputation of companies and their products and provide broader Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Relations benefits. The Carbon Trust’s experience with companies in optimising supply chain emissions has shown that this can deliver significant cost savings. In addition, companies will have the ability to differentiate their products on the basis of carbon
content.

There is a clear first mover advantage.
The Carbon Trust is an independent company set up by government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by helping organisations reduce their carbon emissions and developing commercial low carbon technologies.

The Carbon Trust works with UK business and the public sector through its work in five complementary areas: insights, solutions, innovations, enterprises and investments. Together these help to explain, deliver, develop, create and finance low carbon enterprise. The Carbon Trust is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra), the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and Invest Northern Ireland.
For more information on the Carbon Trust