From the Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) to the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)
The CCF measures the greenhouse gas balance for the entire company (Scope 1, 2 and 3) and helps to identify general savings potential and to reduce or eliminate these in a targeted manner. In order to be considered climate-neutral as a company, unavoidable emissions are fully offset by purchasing official certificates and promoting climate protection projects.
The PCF is part of the CCF and provides a detailed breakdown of the footprint of each individual product. This also allows customers to track the emissions of the products they purchase. Even if the emissions are offset voluntarily by RATHGEBER, the goal of avoiding emissions remains.
How is the PCF calculated?
Product Carbon Footprint (or PCF for short) refers to the climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions generated during a product's life cycle. In order to calculate the CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e - unit of measurement for standardizing the climate impact of the various greenhouse gases) generated by a product or service, data is required on the raw materials used, the manufacturing processes, logistics and disposal. The emission factors and the resources actually consumed provide an overall picture of the footprint. To reduce the complexity of the numerous product variants, an average emission factor is determined for each product group and this is then offset against the actual resource consumption per order. The system boundaries are defined according to the cradle-to-gate ("from the cradle to the factory gate") + end-of-life.
What is the PCF needed for?
Analyzing the PCF brings numerous advantages for RATHGEBER and creates transparency for all parties involved:
1. more precise understanding and comparability of the ecological balance of individual products and thus their impact on our climate.
2. identification of the largest sources of emissions in the life cycle (= largest CO₂e savings potential).
3. possibility to offset unavoidable emissions in order to make products climate-neutral.
Who determines and controls how the PCF is calculated?
The product-relevant data for the PCF is collected by RATHGEBER itself or obtained from the suppliers and stored in appropriate tools. The calculations are then verified by ClimatePartner (partner for climate neutrality). The basis for this is the internationally valid standard of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol).
Where do the emission factors (raw materials, energy, mobility,...) come from?
The emission factors that are stored in the tools for calculating the PCF come from ClimatePartner. Over the years, the company has developed its own database with several thousand emission factors, compiled from external databases such as Ecoinvent, DEFRA, Agribalyse, etc., as well as from its own data sets.