Determine a Product’s Carbon Footprint or Broader Environmental Impacts with LCA
Calculating a product’s greenhouse gas emissions—also known as carbon footprint calculation—is an established method for assessing the climate impact arising from the different stages of a product’s life cycle. This calculation helps identify emissions stemming from internal processes and the supply chain. It serves as a relevant metric for improving the efficiency of the value chain and operations, and it provides valuable insights for product design to make the product and its manufacturing process increasingly low-emission. This often results in cost savings as well. Once the carbon footprint of a product is known, its climate benefits can also be communicated reliably to stakeholders.
A broader version of product greenhouse gas emissions calculation is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, LCA provides results across several environmental indicators, such as acidification, eutrophication, water usage, and resource depletion. Life Cycle Assessment is a standardized method based on ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards. The assessment can cover either all life cycle stages of a product (cradle-to-grave) or only the production phase (cradle-to-gate).
The results of an LCA can, if desired, be reported in an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). An EPD is a standardized document governed by the ISO 14025 standard. In addition, relevant industry-specific standards (e.g., EN 15804 for construction products) and product category-specific PCR (Product Category Rules) guidelines must be followed in its preparation. The EPD must be verified and can then be published in various emissions databases.
Nordic Impact has carried out numerous product carbon footprint calculations, life cycle assessments, and the preparation of environmental product declarations. We also act as an officially approved EPD verifier by the Building Information Foundation (Rakennustietosäätiö).
