Amid global messages to limit carbon emissions, consumers worldwide feel pressured to reduce their carbon footprints on their own. These include car owners who might be increasingly conscious about choosing a vehicle model that fits their sustainability principles.
Imagine a future where consumers can determine every product's environmental impact accurately and transparently. That's the goal behind Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) reporting: to give businesses, regulators, and consumers clear insights into the greenhouse gas emissions of products.
To make this a reality the whole supply chain must report their individual climate impact. This vision is driving the Catena-X (CX) and Together for Sustainability (TFS) initiatives. CX is a network for secure and standardised data exchange across the automotive industry, while TFS is a global initiative to improve sustainability practices within chemical supply chains. While CX with their “original equipment manufacturers” (OEMs) and Tier 1 suppliers at the end of the supply-chain can put pressure on their individual up-stream supply chain to enforce PCF reporting, TFS enables and incentives the companies at the beginning of the supply-chain.
Regulators as well as clients will ask for PCF reports, but you are not alone in putting these together and ensuring that the reports meet regulatory standards. You can collaborate with internal or external experts to produce PCF models, calculations and reports. However, without external and independent verification, reports risk being inconsistent, inaccurate, or even misleading. Simply following a framework may not be enough, an independent third party must verify the data to ensure reports are trustworthy. Just as external auditors ensure financial transparency, TÜV SÜD can serve as your PCF verifier.
We can give you a second pair of eyes to ensure that your PCF reports follow standards set by Catena-X and Together for Sustainability. With TÜV SÜD's verification, you can confidently present the carbon footprint data of each of your products, knowing these meet industry standards and regulatory expectations.
Make your Carbon Footprint Reports credible
Independent verification from TÜV SÜD ensures your Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data meets Catena‑X and TFS standardsWhy accurate PCF reporting matters
Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword, but a business necessity. Businesses are part of the scope of the European Climate Law, which raises the European Union's target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions at least 55% by 2030.
According to the EU, cars and vans produce 15% of the EU's CO2 emissions. There is a push for zero CO2 emissions for cars and vans by 2035, now only a decade away. The EU's Emissions Trading System obliges companies to hold a permit for each tonne of CO2 they emit.
PCF data is essential for the automotive and chemical industries to track progress towards emissions reduction goals. Inconsistent calculation methods can create discrepancies, making it difficult for companies to benchmark performance or demonstrate improvements.
In August 2024, CX and TFS took an important step by developing the PCF Verification Framework that verifiers shall use to verify the calculated PCFs consistently and with high quality, providing trust to the data shared in the digital network. OEMs now start to require their suppliers to report only verified PCFs according to this framework to ensure they are accurate.
But why does accurate PCF reporting matter to justify the effort and price tag of a verification?
Generally, accurate PCF reporting is crucial for regulatory compliance, ensuring companies meet legal requirements and avoid penalties. It also supports effective benchmarking and performance tracking, helping businesses identify areas for improvement and monitor progress towards sustainability goals.
Moreover, verified PCF data builds trust among stakeholders, demonstrating a company's commitment to transparency and responsible practices. Companies that can accurately report and reduce their carbon footprint gain a competitive edge, attracting environmentally conscious consumers and investors.
Accurate reporting also aids in managing and reducing emissions across the supply chain, ensuring consistent sustainability efforts.
A new alternative to provide trust in the reported PCF data – PCF Program Certification
As companies digitise and automise environmental data gathering and calculation, treating it similarly to financial data, they generate more and more PCFs for more and more products. To circumvent the unsurmountable efforts for clients and verifiers of having to verify every individual PCF, the joint workgroup of CX and TFS came up with an alternative: PCF Program Certification.
While sacrificing some trustworthiness of the individual PCF dataset, the new assurance method will make sharing trustworthy PCF easier.
It can be compared to a quality management assessment of how a specific company calculates their PCFs. While the company has to define and document their calculation methodology, assumptions, data used and internal controls, a certifier will assess the feasibility of the company's described method.
This method was recently adopted by the WBCSD PACT Methodology v3.0.
How a PCF verification or certification project works at TÜV SÜD
Companies are responsible for calculating their own PCFs using the methodologies set by CX and TFS. However, even with guidelines in place, miscalculations and discrepancies can still occur.
As a leading institution for verification and certification, TÜV SÜD is the perfect partner to start your journey in calculating your PCFs according to the rulebooks.
Certification
In certification, four parts involve the client, or certified party, and the certifier: preparation, planning, execution, and reporting.
- Preparation - The certified party and certifier craft an agreement.
- Planning - The certifier works through the provided documentation and prepares a detailed and individual plan for the certification of the company's PCF program.
- Execution - This stage begins with obtaining all evidence documents. The certifier then performs certification activities according to the certification plan. The certifier and client work together to refine the evidence and create a reviewed certification report, including remaining non-conformities.
- Reporting - If the certification result is positive, the client receives the certification report and certificate. If negative, the client only gets the certification report.
Verification
Before the start of the verification process, the client must prepare by defining the product and agree with the verifier on the content of the activity. The agreement must include the type of verification, objectives, criteria, timeline, and scope. The client may request an on-site visit for verification.
Clients should also know the level of depth they need in an assessment. There are two types of verification: regular, and in-depth review. While a regular verification allows the verifier to form an opinion that the report generally conforms with the evidence checked, an in-depth review provides a higher level of confidence.
Clients may also switch from an in-depth verification to a regular one during the process.
The scope of the verification includes the following:
- Subject matter
- Functional or declared unit
- System boundaries
- Production process, technology, or facilities
- Life cycle inventories
- Greenhouse gas sources, removals, sinks, and reservoirs
- Impact assessment
- Reference time period. The recommended baseline for historical data is one year.
Meanwhile, these are the steps and activities in verification:
- Testing of control design - The verifier reviews the process description for PCF creation or risk control matrix, evaluating whether the control design is appropriate, and interviews with control owners.
- Testing of effectiveness - The verifier reviews the effectiveness of controls over the reference time period under review.
Substantive testing of data sources - The verifier tests samples for all relevant data inflows. - Testing of PCF system model - The verifier tests calculation logic, rules, and results, and reviews emission factors.
- Testing of IT controls - The verifier checks IT controls to ensure data reliability and security.
- Estimation testing - The verifier reviews estimation methods.
How TÜV SÜD can help
By working with TÜV SÜD, you can gain a competitive edge in sustainability reporting. Here’s why:
- Boosted credibility and trust. A TÜV SÜD-verified PCF report assures customers, stakeholders, and regulators that your data is accurate and reliable, by strictly adhering to the CX and TFS framework.
- Better preparation for regulatory changes. Environmental regulations are evolving quickly. By having TÜV SÜD verify and certify your PCF reports, you stay ahead of compliance requirements and are well-prepared for future sustainability regulations.
- Saved time, costs, and energy. A TÜV SÜD PCF Program Certification simplifies the sustainability reporting process. Ensuring your entire PCF reporting system meets CX and TFS standards helps you avoid repeated verifications, reducing costs and administrative efforts.
- Alignment with industry standards. Many companies in the automotive and chemical industries are already adopting CX and TFS PCF calculation standards. TÜV SÜD's verification and certification services ensure your compliance with these recognised industry standards, making your reports universally accepted.
In today's sustainability-conscious market, accurately reporting your carbon footprint data is essential. CX and TFS have provided a valuable reporting standard, and TÜV SÜD is here to ensure that you get it right.
Don't leave your PCF claim to chance. Contact us and partner with TÜV SÜD to ensure accuracy, transparency, and credibility today.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What is PCF?
- Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is a method for measuring, managing, and communicating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated with the lifecycle of products or services.
- The PCF is based on the methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), but focuses exclusively on the issue of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The result of a PCF analysis is an emissions value for the total greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in CO₂ equivalents in relation to a defined unit of a product or service.
- Many companies use the PCF method to identify phases or processes of a product lifecycle that generate a significant CO₂ footprint. A PCF can track the CO₂ footprint of your product from the extraction of the required raw materials through production and use to the end of the product's life.
Why is PCF reporting important?
- A Product Carbon Footprint is calculated and reported for many reasons, and third-party verification is often required. The most common reasons are:
Promoting environmental sustainability without compromising intellectual property
Direct emissions often contribute only a small part to the overall CO₂ footprint of the product, while emissions outside the control of individual companies can significantly impact the footprint due to a complex and globalized supply chain.
OEMs and brands that want to enhance their market reputation and product differentiation through statements about environmental sustainability can encourage upstream supply chains to provide accurate and reliable product emissions data. By involving TÜV SÜD, the intellectual property of suppliers is not compromised, as the PCF can be validated and/or verified by an independent and impartial third party.
Building credibility
To improve their market reputation and convince stakeholders, companies should ensure that the results of their CO₂ footprint calculation for products or services are trustworthy. PCF verification ensures the highest level of confidence in the PCF study.
Maintaining reputation
To avoid making unclear or false product claims about product sustainability and to prevent accusations of greenwashing, an investigation like a PCF study is essential. The next step to reduce the risk of false claims is to conduct extensive checks by an impartial third party – this is the only way a company can be sure that its claims are trusted.
Who can benefit from PCF verification?
- The topic of PCF is relevant for all manufacturing companies. This includes, among others, manufacturers of consumer electronics, textiles, batteries, household products, automotive components, and industrial goods. Trustworthiness is established through independent verification activities by third parties.
What is Catena-X and what are the goals of Catena-X?
- Catena-X is a collaborative network and data ecosystem specifically designed for the automotive industry. Its goal is to provide companies along the entire value chain—from manufacturers and suppliers to service providers—with a unified and standardized platform for secure data exchange. This promotes better collaboration and transparency in areas such as supply chain management, sustainability, and efficiency improvement.
- Catena-X is based on open standards and supports companies in jointly developing digital solutions that enhance both productivity and innovation within the industry. Through standardized data models, the supply chain can efficiently receive, process, and share sustainability data.
What is the Together For Sustainability (TFS) initiative?
- The Together for Sustainability (TFS) Initiative is an industry-leading network launched by procurement specialists in the chemical industry. The initiative aims to raise sustainability standards throughout the chemical supply chain. Members of the TFS Initiative are chemical companies committed to implementing sustainability improvements both in their own operations and with their suppliers.
- The TFS Initiative provides a platform for secure data exchange and supports companies in establishing sustainable procurement practices. Through assessments and audits, the management, environmental, health and safety, labor and human rights, and governance performance of suppliers are evaluated. Areas needing improvement are addressed through corrective action plans.
- A central focus of the TFS Initiative is the calculation and reduction of the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF). The TFS PCF guideline offers a standardized method for calculating the CO₂ footprint of chemical products. This guideline helps suppliers accurately calculate and report their emissions, increasing transparency in the supply chain and promoting collaboration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By implementing the PCF guideline, companies can capture and compare improvements in the value chain, enhancing innovation and sustainability in the chemical industry.
