oecd trade & agriculture 1 counting carbon in the marketplace product carbon foot-printing dale...

OECD Trade & Agriculture 1

Counting carbon in the marketplaceProduct Carbon Foot-printing

Dale AndrewOECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate

WTO Information SessionGeneva

17 February 2010


What is a product carbon footprint (PCF)?What is a product carbon footprint (PCF)?• Information about the total

amount of GHGs emitted during the life cycle of a good or service

• Grams CO2-eq. per unit of product

• Display of this information on packaging and websites – with other CC-related information

• Different from measurement of emissions “at source”

• Different from corporate and project level assessments

Source: Risø DTU, Technical University of Denmark


Life-cycle analysisLife-cycle analysis

• Dominant method for calculating the sum of GHG emissions from activities along the entire life cycle of a product

• From “Cradle-to-grave” or “Farm-to-fork” or “Field-to-Wheel”

Source: www.zespri.com

– PCF activities engages all value chain actors – in terms of data provision and GHG reduction efforts


The carbon footprint of a New Zealand kiwi fruit The carbon footprint of a New Zealand kiwi fruit (eaten in Paris)(eaten in Paris)

Data source: www.zespri.com

Total footprint: 1.74 kg CO2 Eq. per 1 kg of fruit

No generally accepted methodology: the quality of calculations differs greatly and there is ample scope for interpretation


What can PCF be used for? What can PCF be used for?

• Help prioritise GHG reduction efforts along the entire supply chain

Zespri Kiwifruit is focusing reduction efforts at the orchard, packhouse, coolstore and transport stages

• Compare footprints of “similar” products delivered by different supply chains to inform consumer choice and sourcing . Broccoli imported to Sweden from Ecuador have lower PCF than those imported from Spain due to higher CO efficiency of production, transport

• Compare the footprint of similar products with different attributes


What can PCF be used for? What can PCF be used for?

• Basis for designating products as “carbon neutral” through off-setting what emissions cannot be reduced

– e.g. the “Stop Climate Change” scheme in Germany

• Help consumers reduce their “personal” carbon footprint– “% of daily allowance”

• Help demonstrate corporate commitment to climate-change mitigation (often as part of Corporate Social Responsibility programme)

– to customers (product differentiation, green marketing)

– to (institutional) investors

– to lawmakers (threatening to introduce harsh regulatory measures)


Will product carbon information influence Will product carbon information influence consumer, buyer and investor behaviour?consumer, buyer and investor behaviour?

•72% of EU consumers support mandatory carbon labelling

•Eco labelling is important for 47% of EU consumers; 26% never read labels

•48% of EU consumers mistrust producers’ environmental claims

•Environmental concerns rank after quality and price in purchasing decisions

What sells a beer in Japan?


PCF schemes – spread and coveragePCF schemes – spread and coverage

• First schemes appeared in 2007• Small number of products footprinted to date

– Typically, between 1 and 70 products per scheme

– Usually, scheme users apply footprint to selected products

• Mostly food and drinks, but varied product coverage and announced intentions to grow– Bananas, orange juice, carpets, bank accounts, cell phones ….

– Country coverage (as of 4Q 2009): Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States


PCF schemes – standards and scopePCF schemes – standards and scope

• Use of publicised standards– Only about half of the schemes examined in study for the OECD

rely on published methodologies;

– quality and completeness of this documentation vary greatly

– Most complete standard is the PAS 2050 (used by other schemes)

• Scope of product GHG assessments– Most involve “full” life cycle analysis, but precise boundary of the

GHG calculation is often not clearly specified

– Most do not discriminate against products transported over long distances. However, some ignore short-distance transport.

• Meaningful comparison of PCFs across schemes: not possible


Carbon footprinting schemes

International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME), FranceWorld Resources Institute (WRI) Casino, FranceMigros, SwitzerlandLeclerc, FranceKRAV and Svenskt Sigill, SwedenBlauer Engel (Blue Angel), GermanyTÜV Nord, GermanyKoreaThailandPatagonia Clothes, USEuropean Ecolabel (Eco-Flower)PAS 2050, UKMinistry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan


Japon’s Carbon Footprint SystemJapon’s Carbon Footprint System

•In 2009, the Japanese Government launched the trial of a voluntary carbon footprint system for products

•During trial period, several retail products were sold with labels indicating their estimated life-cycle GHG emissions

•At same time, the Government has been engaging in consultations with major stakeholders and encouraging affected industries to develop rules for conducting LCA for product categories

•At end-2009, METI was considering establishing a 3rd party audit system.

•Meanwhile is working closely with ISO and following developments in other programmes (e.g. PAS 2050)


France: Casino et E. Leclerc schemesFrance: Casino et E. Leclerc schemes•C

omplex environmental legislation part of which is to provide genuine, objective and complete envt’l information– “l’affichage environmental” or environmental indications – Gov’t (ADEME) has been supporting private-sector initiatives– Sharing reference for developing a database to support CFP and

environmental impacts of products and servicesCasino Carbon Index – on Casino-brand products (goal all 3K )

CCI label: CO₂ equivalent emitted/100 gr; absolute scale on carbon intensity ; and the improvements achievable with recycling

E. Leclerc with Greenext: entire food range – 20K references (all food)

Focusses info’ on total CO₂ ; family’s average weekly CO₂ budget

Le bilan CO₂ de mes courses est de: 13,35 kg equ. CO₂

This info on CO ₂ appears on the price label on shelves & on receipt


Verified Sustainable Ethanol InitiativeVerified Sustainable Ethanol Initiative

•One private CFP label for a biofuel: SEKAB’s Verified Sustainable Ethanol Initiative (VSEI)

•Amongst its criteria, one calls for 85% reduction in CO2 compared with petrol (on a field-to-wheel basis)

•Other criteria relate to protection of environment or labour

•Scheme developed in consensus with Brazilian ethanol industry

– 7 sugar-cane mills were certified ; criteria excluded cane sourced by the plants from out-growers (1/3 of their supply)

•SEKAB pays for the audits (by 3rd party): first audit showed reductions in GHG emissions of 77-81% (not 85%). Ethanol still marketed as ‘verified sustainable’


ISSUES…ISSUES…


PCF Schemes – conformity assessmentPCF Schemes – conformity assessment

• All operators (auto-)certify products to their “own” standard

• And few schemes live up to consumers’ preference for 3rd party verification of PCFs (and other climate claims)

– Independent, 3rd party verification of the PCFs (4 schemes)

– Verification by scheme operator (6 schemes)– Self-verification by scheme user (3 proprietary

schemes)• A general lack of clarity and transparency on CA


PCF Schemes: communicating the informationPCF Schemes: communicating the information

Actual values displayed Carbon-free claim


ISSUE: FORMER LAND-USE Contribution of key variables to the CO footprint of sugar cane

(kg CO2e/t sugar cane) delivered to refinery Baseline calculated according to PAS 2050 Former land use: tropical dry forest.

1896


Issue: ShippingIssue: Shipping

•There is a significant range of emission factors being used to calculate shipping emissions:

•e.g. For both cargo and container ships generally there is a factor three difference between reported high and low carbon emission factors across major carbon footprint studies.


Issue: Allocation (Milk)Issue: Allocation (Milk)

•Allocation % for GHG emissions between milk and meat

• Milk Meat

•Biophysical 85% 15%

•Biophysical + system separation 86% 14%

•Economic 90-94% 6-10%

•System expansion* 60% 40%


Issue: Soil CarbonIssue: Soil Carbon

•Excluded from PAS2050 at this point, not sure how ISO14067 will treat it

•Difficult and costly to measure

•Lack of data

•But important to note: Soil carbon can be, in certain circumstances, a contributor to emissions

Example (g-CO2-e m–2 year–1) emissions (SC) (tot. orchard exc. SC)

organic orchard 568 305 integrated orchard 729 298


• Standards

• Labels

• Government Programmes

• Retailers

• NGOs

PAS2050

The Trading Environment


Currently developing countries are:Currently developing countries are:


Concluding observationsConcluding observations

• Rising number of PCF schemes, but still on a small scale. No clear trend on approach, coverage.

• What started as private voluntary standard with little involvement of national governments and international organisations seems to be evolving

• Great diversity in PCF approaches: this is not unusual as standards emerge

• PCF does not appear to create market access barriers for producers in developing or distant countries - thanks to use of LCA ; not “food miles”

• But data on developing countries is poor –leading to use of ‘default’ values for certain criteria

• Cost and capacity issues may pose questions for developing countries if PCF is adopted on wider scale


Some useful links on CPFSome useful links on CPF

France: ADEME: www2.ademe.fr/servlet/KBaseShow?sort=1&cid=96&m=3&catid=23735

E.Leclerc: www.jeconomisemaplanete.fr/actu.php

Casino: www.produits-casino.fr/developpement-durable/dd_accueil.html

Japan: JEMAI: www.jemai.or.jp/english/carbonfootprint.cfm

Verified Sustainable Ethanol Initiative (VSEI) and SEKAB:

VSEI: www.sustainableethanolinitiative.com/default.asp?id=1062

SEKAB: www.sekab.com/default.asp?id=1484

New Zealand Centre for Life Cycle Management for Food and Fibre: [email protected]

Climate Centre at Risø, Technical University of Denmark, Simon Bolwig, [email protected]

UK : www.carbontrust.co.uk


OECD Trade and AgricultureOECD Trade and Agriculture

www.oecd.org/tradeClick on : “environment & trade”

[email protected]

[email protected]

oecd trade & agriculture 1 counting carbon in the marketplace product carbon foot-printing dale...

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