Framework for Carbon Footprints for paper and board products

May 18, 2017

In 2007, CEPI was one of the first to propose a common framework enabling companies to undertake carbon footprints for paper and board products, as there was no standardised approach for their development at that time. Since then, three major internationally-recognised product-related carbon footprint protocols and frameworks have been published, namely:

− The “Greenhouse gases – Carbon footprint of products – Requirements and guidelines for quantification and communication” technical specification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO/TS 14067:2013);

− The Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard (Product Standard) from the World Resource Institute (WRI) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) GHG Protocol published in 2011;

− The European Commission Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Category Rules (PEFCR) for Intermediate Paper Products (Final Draft PEFCR for stakeholder consultation, May 2016);1

A revision of this common framework has now been undertaken to update the methods in order to be more aligned with the methods proposed in these guidance documents.

Buyers are more and more asking for the “carbon footprint” associated with the supply chain for the manufacture, distribution and disposal of products provided to them. Customers are asking for “carbon footprints” for different reasons:

− to meet public concerns

− to increase their own available information

− to improve their image and reputation

− to position against competition

− to compare different products

− to reduce the climate effect of their own activities.

The common framework aims to bring forward the attributes of our products and show the way to obtain the most useful information possible.

Full document here.