The Importance of Accurate CO2 Information

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Why Measuring Carbon Emissions Remains a Major Challenge

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Reducing CO2 emissions is an urgent priority for businesses, people and governments around the world. Whether motivated by increasing costs (e.g., climate-related damage to manufacturing facilities, CO2 taxes and offsetting costs, etc.), by customers, leveraging competitive advantage, or simply because it is the right thing to do, it is clear that reducing CO2 emissions will not happen overnight, as companies struggle beyond measure between promises and actual implementation.

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What the BCG Survey Reveals About Carbon Measurement

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A recent BCG survey assessing the ability of companies to measure and reduce their CO2 emissions found that of 1,290 organizations, 85% were concerned about reducing their emissions, yet only 9% were able to comprehensively measure their emissions (Scope 1, 2 & 3). In fact, 76% of respondents reported that they were unable to measure the full carbon footprint of their products and services, including product use and end-of-life impacts. This could be mainly due to the fact that they lack accurate tools and data to measure Scope 3 and Product Carbon Footprints. In addition, respondents estimated that the average error rate in their emissions measurements was 30-40%. So even though companies comply with regulations to calculate their emissions, the outcome is probably incorrect.

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Why Companies Struggle to Measure Product Carbon Footprints Accurately

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Thus, it may be fair to ask where the real problem lies. In general, the difficulty might start with companies struggling to define emissions scopes that form the basis for accurate CO2 emissions reporting (To learn more about meaningful CO2 reporting and emissions scopes, read our blog article on the matter here). Consequently, a product's CO2 value becomes as relevant to a company as its financial cost, forcing them to take a closer look at the product's supply chain to understand its CO2 levers.

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Why Supplier Data Creates Carbon Measurement Gaps

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Supplier information is often incomplete, inconsistent, outdated, or entirely unavailable. This makes it difficult to calculate accurate Scope 3 emissions and Product Carbon Footprints.

Even when suppliers provide carbon data, companies must verify that the information:

• follows consistent calculation methods
• uses comparable system boundaries
• covers the relevant life-cycle stages
• is based on reliable and current emission factors

Without this consistency, carbon footprint results can be misleading and difficult to use for procurement, reporting, or product development.

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How Reliable CO₂e Databases Improve Carbon Footprint Calculations

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A scalable solution requires more than isolated supplier data or manually maintained spreadsheets. Companies need access to a consistent carbon database that combines expert knowledge, transparent reporting standards, intelligent data processing, and a bottom-up calculation methodology.

Such a system can help fill missing data gaps, improve comparability, and automate recurring Product Carbon Footprint calculations across large product portfolios.

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Automating Product Carbon Footprints with sustamize

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The sustamize Product Footprint Engine was developed to close this data and calculation gap. It combines a comprehensive CO₂e database with intelligent algorithms and an expert-led, bottom-up methodology for calculating Product Carbon Footprints.

This enables companies to:

• automate PCF calculations
• identify emission hotspots
• compensate for missing supplier data
• compare materials and production processes
• integrate carbon data into existing business workflows
• support Scope 3 and product-level reporting

By making reliable carbon data available at scale, the Product Footprint Engine helps manufacturers move from incomplete emissions estimates toward more consistent and actionable carbon management.