What are the key steps in calculating a Product Carbon Footprint?

Calculating a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) requires a systematic approach to ensure accuracy, comparability, and compliance with standards such as ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol Product Standard. The process involves several key steps across the entire product lifecycle:

1. Define the goal and scope of the assessment

Companies must first determine which lifecycle stages and emissions sources will be included. This involves selecting system boundaries (cradle-to-gate, cradle-to-grave, etc.), identifying relevant Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and defining data requirements for the analysis.

2. Collect lifecycle data

Data is gathered from multiple sources, including:

• raw material quantities and types,
• energy and fuel consumption during manufacturing,
• transport distances and modes,
• use-phase emissions (if relevant),
• end-of-life processes such as recycling, disposal, or recovery.

High-quality primary data from suppliers and internal operations ensures the highest accuracy, while secondary data fills unavoidable gaps.

3. Apply verified emission factors

Collected data is converted into CO₂-equivalent (CO₂e) values by applying emission factors from recognized, trustworthy databases. Choosing verified and up-to-date factors is crucial for achieving reliable and audit-ready PCF results.

4. Calculate and validate the PCF

Once all inputs are converted, the values are aggregated to determine the product’s total carbon footprint. The final PCF can then be reviewed for completeness, compared across scenarios, and used to support reduction planning.

5. Use results for reporting and improvement

PCF outputs support:

• sustainability reporting and CSRD compliance,
• supplier engagement and Scope 3 transparency,
• product design and material optimisation,
• strategic emissions reduction measures across the value chain.

Sustamize simplifies the entire PCF workflow

Sustamize provides automated PCF calculation tools powered by high-resolution, verified emissions datasets. These tools help companies:

• streamline data collection and mapping,
• automatically apply standardized emission factors,
• generate audit-ready PCFs aligned with ISO 14067,
• reduce manual work and calculation errors,
• identify carbon hotspots for targeted reduction strategies.

By digitalizing and standardizing every step of the process, sustamize enables businesses to calculate accurate, scalable, and compliant PCFs with minimal effort.

Ready to simplify your PCF calculation process?

Request access to sustamize’s automated PCF tools or speak with our team to start generating accurate, audit-ready carbon footprints at scale.