PCF verification and LCA critical review

Move towards a sustainable future with Product Carbon Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment services.

What are Product Carbon Footprint verification (PCF) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) critical review?

Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) verification

Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is a technique used to calculate, manage and communicate greenhouse gas emissions produced in the life cycle of products and services. Based on the ISO 14067 standard, the PCF analysis produces a total GHG emission value, expressed in CO2-equivalents, that corresponds to a specified unit of product or service.

This is an essential process in the circular economy, ensuring the accuracy of primary data used to calculate the carbon footprint of a product or service. This process involves both on-site and on-desk assessments to confirm the truthfulness of a study's CO2 footprint claim. Through this methodology, companies can confidently communicate their products’ environmental impact and make informed decisions to improve their sustainability efforts.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) critical review

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the fundamental method to calculate, manage and communicate the environmental impacts of products and services. Based on ISO 14040 standard and ISO 14044 standard, LCA critical review examines the effects of a product or service on various impact categories, demonstrating the environmental consequences of a defined functional unit of a product or service.

A critical review of LCALCA critical review focuses on evaluating the methodology and the LCA report through an on-desk assessment. This review process aims to determine whether the LCA study conforms to ISO 14040 standards and ISO 14044 standards unambiguously. By verifying that the LCA adheres to these standards, companies can ensure the accuracy and reliability of their environmental impact assessments.

Why Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) verification and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) critical review are important

Organisations face myriad sustainability challenges, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of their products’ environmental impact. This is where Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Verification and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Critical Review come in. Assurance activities conducted by an impartial third party such as TÜV SÜD can help companies navigate through the complexities that come with their product lifecycle management.

Differences between PCF verification and LCA critical review

While PCF verification and LCA critical review are often interchanged, they have slightly different goals.

	Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) critical review	Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) verification
Standards used for the conformity assessment	All environmental impact categories are possible to assess (Climate change, land use etc.) Guidance through ISO 14071	Only greenhouse gas emission Guidance through ISO 14064-3, 14065, 17029
Focus	Focus on methodology & LCA report	Focus on the truthfulness of primary data
Results	We state unambiguously whether the LCA study is in conformance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044	We confirm the truthfulness of the study's CO2 footprint claim

How TÜV SÜD can help you with PCF and LCA

TÜV SÜD is an impartial third party who can reduce the risk of untrue claims and therefore help you avoid accusations of “greenwashing”.

Our experts show a deep understanding of environmental regulations and stay up to date with changes in regulations to help you measure and report your environmental impact. We help you enhance your brand reputation and reassure stakeholders that the results of your carbon footprint calculation are trustworthy. We help you boost your market reputation and product differentiation by influencing your upstream supply chain partners to make accurate and reliable product emissions data available.

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Sector-specific services: Applying the Catena-X & TFS PCF rules

What is Catena-X?

Catena-X is the first end-to-end, collaborative and open data ecosystem for the automotive industry, connecting all players along the value chain. The Catena-X association acts as a neutral governance to enable standardised, interoperable and data-sovereign collaboration and drive innovation, increase efficiency and compliance across the entire data ecosystem.

What is Together for Sustainability?

Together for Sustainability (TFS) is a global, collaborative, and open initiative for sustainable procurement in the chemical industry, connecting all stakeholders along the supply chain. The TFS association acts as a neutral governance to enable standardized, interoperable, and data-sovereign collaboration, driving innovation, increasing efficiency, and ensuring compliance across the entire sustainability ecosystem.

Catena-X and Together For Sustainability (TFS) PCF assurance services: PCF verification & PCF program certification

In the world of Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) assurance, the collaboration between Catena-X and Together For Sustainability (TFS) represents a major step forward. With our experience as the company leading the Product Carbon Footprint Verification workgroup we co-authored the ‘Catena-X and Together for Sustainability (TFS) PCF Verification Framework’.

We, as a third-party, offer you an independent and impartial verification process for your PCF data. This ensures that your data meets the highest standards of accuracy and compliance. Our PCF verification fulfils the strict requirements of the ‘Catena-X PCF Rulebook’ and the ‘Product Carbon Footprint Guideline for the Chemical Industry’ from TFS. This not only increases the credibility of your sustainability strategy, but also allows you to share PCF-compliant results across your entire supply chain in an efficient and standardised way. Moreover, with the Catena-X & TFS “PCF program certification” we can bring trust into your whole PCF calculation methodology.

How PCF and LCA apply to industries

PCF and LCA for Consumer Products and Retail

Consumers increasingly expect the products they use to be sustainable with reduced impact on the environment. Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provide measurable ways to assess a product’s environmental impact across its life cycle. This helps consumer businesses achieve global sustainability goals, satisfy all stakeholders with reliable data that dispels claims of “greenwashing”, and enjoy competitive advantage.

PCF and LCA for Medical Devices

Medical devices need to achieve positive patient outcomes while reducing their own impact on the environment. Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provide measurable ways to help medical devices ensure this.

PCF and LCA for Manufacturing

Manufacturing is a major source of carbon emissions. Consumers of a wide range of manufactured products expect those products to be sustainable with reduced impact on the environment. Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can help ensure this – from cradle to grave.

PCF and LCA for Automotive

Pictogram in .SVG for Automotive electronics testing

Sustainability and emissions reduction are increasingly vital for the automotive industry. Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provide measurable ways to assess the environmental impact of automotive products.