Sixty international companies, including large corporations, began piloting two methods this year for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from products and their supply chains. These two methods and standards are named "Product Life Cycle Standard" and "ISO 14067," respectively.
ISO 14067, developed by the International Organization for Standardization, was expected to be completed in March 2011; the Product Life Cycle Standard was published in December 2010. Both approaches are primarily based on the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Agreement, which was established through a decade-long collaboration between the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
Initially, the development of greenhouse gas emission agreements has provided international organizations with tools to understand, quantify, and measure greenhouse gas emissions and electricity consumption. However, two approaches that are about to be adopted will more comprehensively cover corporate carbon emissions: product lifecycle reporting standards and product supply chain reporting standards.
WBCSD President Bjorn Stigson stated that the new methodology will help companies calculate their carbon footprint more precisely. He noted that "a more comprehensive approach to measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions will allow companies and policymakers to focus more on reducing carbon emissions across the value chain, while enabling companies to produce more reliable products."
These 60 international companies were selected from 120 applicants, including Airbus, Levi Strauss & Co., and Estée Lauder.
-Reference source: Environmental Expert, 2010-01-22
- Translated by the Plastics Industry Technology Development Center Foundation
-For reference only, please refer to the original text.
