EU carbon rules / Regulations / TfS/Cefic Chemical Industry Product Carbon Footprint Guideline (2024)
Cradle-to-gate PCF accounting and supply chain transfer for chemical products
This regulation applies to:
This entry is voluntary industry guidance (TfS/Cefic Product Carbon Footprint Guideline for the Chemical Industry v3, 2024), not EU legislation.
The following provisions define its scope:
About the Guideline — purpose
This guideline aims to provide instructions for the calculation and implementation to the subsequent reporting of Scope 3.1 emissions, with the goal of creating transparency within the supply chain and comparability across the chemical sector.
2.1 Background and context
The global chemical sector initiative TfS, has developed a global open-source sector-specific guideline for the calculation of PCF and Scope 3.1 reporting. It can be applied in the chemical industry and beyond.
The PCF Guideline from Together for Sustainability
By applying the PCF Guideline, TfS members and their value chain partners can holistically approach the integration of PCFs of chemical products within their corporate GHG inventories, with a focus on Scope 3 Category 1 (Purchased Goods and Services) emissions.
| Duty | Trigger | Evidence | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calculate product carbon footprint on a cradle-to-gate basis Covers resource extraction to the reporting company's gate (including transport), excluding use and end-of-life stages. | Communicating PCF for chemical products externally | PCF report, system boundary and inventory description | Ongoing |
| Aggregate PCF of purchased goods and pass it downstream Aggregate the PCF of purchased goods into Scope 3.1 and pass the results downstream in the supply chain. | Annual corporate reporting and supply chain data exchange | Supplier PCF data, summary tables | Annually |
| Partial PCFs must not be used for comparative claims A cradle-to-gate PCF covers only one impact category and cannot be used for product comparisons. | Making comparative claims about products | Full LCA study | At the time of comparison |
Chapter 5 — cradle-to-gate system boundary
The product system of the cradle-to-gate PCF is the sum of GHG emissions, expressed as CO2 equivalents related to a product, from the extraction of resources to the gate of the reporting company, including transportation. The boundary of a cradle-to-gate life cycle inventory shall not include product use or end-of-life processes. The PCF calculation may include the transportation to the customer, but the respective GHG emissions must be stated as additional information separately from the cradle-to-gate PCF. — Reference: TfS PCF Guideline v3, chapter 5.
Chapter 4 — Scope 3.1 purchased goods and services
For chemical companies, the most emissions-intensive purchased goods are often raw materials used and transformed into products. For annual corporate reporting, the PCF values of each purchased good are aggregated to one value and reported in the category Scope 3.1. Based on the PCF information for those purchased goods, companies calculate the PCF for their end products to achieve a cradle-to-gate result, which becomes the calculation basis for the next producer in the supply chain. — Reference: TfS PCF Guideline v3, chapter 4.
Chapter 5.3.3 — no comparative assertions from a partial PCF
A PCF calculated using this guideline alone cannot be used in comparative assertions on products. Because the PCF covers only one impact category relevant to an LCA study and is calculated as a partial (cradle-to-gate) PCF, it may miss impacts arising from other life cycle stages or other impact categories and may therefore not provide a comprehensive and complete picture for making comparative assertions. — Reference: TfS PCF Guideline v3, chapter 5.3.3.