How Product Carbon Footprints uncovered a 39.7% reduction in one client's largest emissions category.
One of the things we keep seeing when we carry out Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) work is just how much the numbers can change when you move away from generic, spend-based estimates and start looking at the actual products being purchased. We saw this very clearly with a client recently when their purchased goods footprint had been calculated using spend-based factors. In simple terms, industry averages were being applied to what they spent with each supplier. As we increased their PCF coverage from 27.9% to 60.2%,we were able to replace those averages with product-specific carbon data wherever it was available. And the difference was significant. Emissions from their largest purchased goods category fell from 1,475.17 tCO₂e to 889.16 tCO₂e. That's a reduction of 586.01 tCO₂e, or 39.7%. That one category alone accounted for 87.1% of the client's entire year-on-year footprint reduction.
So, is that a "real" reduction?
Well, not in the way we normally think about carbon reduction. No supplier suddenly changed its manufacturing process. No product was redesigned overnight because of the PCF exercise. There were genuine procurement and volume changes too. What changed significantly was the quality of the measurement.
The previous figure had been calculated usingindustry-average assumptions. By replacing those averages with product-specificcarbon data, we were able to get a much clearer picture of the carbon impact ofthe products actually being purchased.
A carbon figure based on an industry average isn't necessarily wrong. But it isn't necessarily your figure either. It's an average for an industry. If your baseline, targets and reduction strategy are built around that average, you can end up managing a number that doesn't accurately reflect where your emissions really sit.
Getting the measurement right is one of the most important things an organisation can do before it starts trying to reduce emissions.
This is why PCF work has become such an important part of what we do. When product-specific data replaces spend-based averages, we often see material changes in the reported footprint. Sometimes emissions increase because an industry average has understated the impact. More often, they fall because products that cost a similar amount can have very different carbon footprints.
And once you have better data, you can start making much better decisions.
The objective was never to produce a smaller number it was to produce a number the client could trust. Once you have that, you can start asking the questions that really matter.
Which products have the greatest footprint?
Which suppliers are performing better?
Where are the biggest opportunities to reduce?
And where can procurement decisions deliver reductions thatare genuinely real, rather than simply better measured?
That's the real value of a Product Carbon Footprint.
If your Scope 3 footprint still relies heavily onspend-based calculations, we'd be happy to talk about where PCFs could make the biggest difference and help you build a more accurate baseline for genuinecarbon reduction.
A Product Carbon Footprint can change more than a number. It can change how an organisation understands its emissions, sets its targets and makes purchasing decisions, replacing assumptions with evidence and creating a stronger foundation for genuine carbon reduction.
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