Product Carbon Accounting

Product Carbon Accounting

Overview

Distinct from Corporate Carbon Accounting, Product Carbon Accounting focuses on calculating and reporting the carbon emission impact of individual products that are produced within a company. This is also referred to as the “Product Carbon Footprint.”

While Corporate Carbon Accounting uses the methodology of the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, Product Carbon Accounting uses the methodology of the GHG Protocol Product Standard. Product Carbon Accounting may be relevant to organizations that produce physical goods and are interested in understanding the lifecycle emissions of the products they produce, from raw material extraction, manufacturing & processing, transportation & distribution, usage, and end of life.

Add-On Module

CarbonSuite offers a Product Carbon Accounting feature as an add-on module to the Corporate Carbon Accounting Product. This add-on module leverages the following data from your ERP and other systems:

The “Corporate Carbon Footprint” (energy consumption, business travel, refrigeration, etc.) from CarbonSuite’s Corporate Carbon Accounting Product
Raw material purchases on vendor bills and other purchase transactions
Transportation & distribution data from item receipts, transfer orders, and item fulfilments
Production data from work orders
Product usage and end of life data tracked at the item level

CarbonSuite allocates data from these and other data sources to create a “Life Cycle Bill of Materials” for items that you produce. This “Product Carbon Footprint” can give you insights about the environmental impact of your products. It can also act as a data input for value chain surveys that you receive (i.e. if your customers or suppliers request your product carbon footprints).