Organisation Environmental Footprint Research Articles

Decarbonisation Index (DCI): an LCA-based key performance indicator for the automotive industry

PurposeRoad vehicles cause considerable amounts of CO2e emissions over their life cycle. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) report CO2e emissions of past years on corporate level according to the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol and produce vehicle LCAs to identify GHG hotspots on the product-level. However, no approach to combine this past and future orientation of emissions modelling on fleet and product level yet exists. We demonstrate that this research gap is closed by using the “Decarbonisation Index” (DCI).MethodsWe identify the missing elements of OEMs’ absolute emissions reporting and vehicle LCAs to develop a resource-efficient, dynamic and modular key performance indicator (KPI) addressing both past and future scope 1–3 GHG emissions of OEMs. We assess in how far other existing approaches such as the Organisational LCA (O-LCA), the Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF) and modular LCA can be used to develop these missing elements in a holistic modelling approach. After the derivation of the DCI, we provide a list of modelling options and data sources showing that the DCI can serve different means of an OEM, from a rough estimate of emissions to a basis for a detailed decarbonisation steering model involving several brands and departments.Results and discussionIn the case study, we compute a 2015 and 2035 DCI (in t CO2e per vehicle) by using the basic DCI calculation model and publicly available data of the Volkswagen Group as well as data derived from publicly available scenarios. We demonstrate that even with this simplistic approach, the DCI delivers meaningful results indicating the core measures for an OEM’s decarbonisation programme: an electrified fleet with renewable energy sources being used throughout the supply chain and use phase. A Monte Carlo simulation of the 2015 results demonstrate the DCI’s robustness regarding the identification of core measures but also its dependency on changing (external or internal) methodological requirements.ConclusionsThe DCI can be used by OEMs regardless of their company structure, powertrain portfolio or market coverage to monitor past emissions and model future emissions. The DCI combines the product-level of the vehicle LCA with the fleet-level necessary to develop a decarbonisation strategy. Its modular approach facilitates the use of generic LCA data or supplier-specific data on component level. Incrementally incorporating supplier-specific data is crucial to calculate the effect of real-world reduction measures in relation to generic databases used so far. An adaptation of the methodology to newly available data and regulations is thus possible and necessary. By adjusting past-reported DCI values to a new methodological set, an OEM’s decarbonisation progress can be analysed albeit the constantly developing methodology.

Electricity accounting in life cycle assessment: the challenge of double counting

PurposeIn grid electricity consumption models, the location-based method uses regional average emission factors to account for environmental impacts. The market-based method is based on contractual agreements, verifying the exclusive claim on electricity from specific energy sources. An inconsistent application of these methods in life cycle assessment (LCA) and GHG accounting can lead to double counting. Especially, double counting electricity associated with rather low environmental impacts, such as renewable energy, might lead to impact underestimations. The aim of this paper is to identify, describe and propose solutions to double counting challenges.MethodsA four-step procedure is carried out. First, the specifications on grid electricity mix selection in frequently applied standards for LCA and GHG accounting are analysed. Besides the ISO norms for LCA (14040/44) and carbon footprinting (14064/67), the GHG Protocol and the Product and Organizational Environmental Footprint (PEF/OEF) are considered. Based on this analysis, challenges of double counting electricity from specific sources are identified. In the third step, potential solutions for avoiding double counting are proposed. The last research step consists of an illustrative case study to demonstrate the calculation of market-based electricity mixes and identify potential adjustments necessities for LCA application.Results and discussionA parallel application of the location-based and the market-based method poses the main double-counting challenge. Thus, avoiding double counting demands consistent method application throughout the whole life cycle. Whereas this is relatively straightforward for the location-based method, consistent market-based method application is more challenging. LCAs rely on average life cycle inventory processes, which mostly include location-based electricity mixes. However, for consistent market-based method application throughout the life cycle, electricity-related environmental impacts in the inventory system also need to be market-based. This would demand a partial recalculation of LCI datasets using market-based residual electricity mixes. Besides illustrating the calculation of market-based electricity mixes, the case study is used to identify and propose solutions for two main challenges for residual mix application in LCA: countries without residual mix and electricity under a double marketing ban.ConclusionDouble counting of electricity from specific energy sources is a challenge, since it can lead to under- or overestimations of environmental impacts. Both the location-based and market-based method can avoid double counting. However, parallel or inconsistent applications of both methods lead to double counting. In order to avoid double counting, there is a need to enable and use consistent electricity accounting rules in LCA and GHG accounting.

Effects of personal environmental awareness and environmental concern on employees' voluntary pro-environmental behavior: a mediation analysis in emerging countries

PurposeSuccessful stimulation of employee engagement in pro-environmental behavior (PEB) at work can reduce organizational environmental footprint and boost its green performance. The aim of this paper is to investigate the individual factors that may promote such behavior at work, offering a complex model with mediating relationships not studied before.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper data was collected through a survey of 331 bank employees from different banks in Kazakhstan and Ecuador. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships between the different constructs.FindingsThe results identified that environmental values and attitudes mediate the relationship between (1) personal environmental awareness and (2) environmental concern and employees' voluntary PEB at work. Harmonious environmental passion (HEP) mediates the relationship between environmental values and attitudes and employees' voluntary PEB at work.Practical implicationsThis study presents important organizational policymaking implications with regard to organizational greening. The importance of environmental awareness is underlined, guiding managers to offer environmental education and training to the employees with the aim of improving environmental knowledge that may lead to employees' voluntary PEB at work. Also, managers should work on enhancing HEP.Originality/valuePrior literature on this topic is still scarce. This research presents important contributions by discussing how individual antecedents may act as stimuli of employees' voluntary PEB at work in the context of the banking sector in two emerging countries that are often neglected by prior literature.

Urban GHG accounting: discrepancies, constraints and opportunities

To date, many cities have engaged in efforts to become more sustainable. These efforts often are translated into measures to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, leading to a proliferation of standards and methods. Discrepancies exist between these various accounting approaches in terms of the definition of system boundaries, allocation procedures, quality of data, and the reporting and verification of results. This paper examines some of the most important theoretical and practical issues and challenges of urban-related GHG accounting and highlights how existing approaches deal with these. Three different GHG emission accounting standards are compared and critically analysed: the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GPC), Bilan Carbone and ISO 14064-1:2018. The Organizational Environmental Footprint (OEF) and a previous analysis about footprinting performed by the European Commission are used as analytical lenses. Based on this analysis, suggestions are made for enhancing comprehensiveness and transparency, and providing guidelines for driving cities towards a more low-carbon path. Practice relevance This critical analysis shows that each method has strong points, but practical issues remain for urban stakeholders undertaking GHG emissions inventories. First, the uniqueness of each urban system needs to be addressed in the goal and scope phase in order to provide meaningful terms of comparison between cities. The creation of different categories to provide similar clusters of cities would enable a more meaningful cross-city comparison as well as a proper formulation of targeted policies. Second, the inclusion of a life-cycle perspective in GHG accounting is essential for avoiding the risk of burdenshifting. Both production and consumption approaches are crucial in supporting the objectives of decarbonisation and the carbon neutrality of cities. If both perspectives are not acknowledged, ‘climate neutral’ targets can be misleading and impact negatively on decision-making and behavioural change of producers and consumers.

Reducing Waste in the Clinical Setting.

Nurses have the capacity and opportunity to alter their organization's environmental footprint. This article addresses how they can strengthen efficiency and environmental sustainability initiatives in their facilities by engaging in, monitoring, and supporting environmentally friendly clinical practices and programs at the point of care. Included are practical tips and examples of projects in which nurses identified sources of waste-the relaundering of unused linens; disposal of unused products; and improper sorting of pharmaceutical waste, recycling, and regulated medical waste-and realized significant cost savings as well as improved efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Sustainable supply chain management in a global context: a consistency analysis in the textile industry between environmental management practices at company level and sectoral and global environmental challenges

In a global context, it is crucial to measure and report the corporate sustainability impacts taking into account what is happening along the whole supply chains. The objective of this study is to analyze whether environmental measurement and reporting practices, currently developed by companies under a global supply chain context, are aligned with global environmental challenges and the environmental hotspots at the sectoral level. To tackle this objective, this study has been focused on the textile sector, due to the relevance of its environmental impacts. A research was conducted based on the analysis of global environmental challenges: (1) at company level, on the measurement and reporting of specific environmental indicators connected with the impact categories of the European Organization Environmental Footprint; and (2) on the analysis of textile industry environmental hotspots, through the technical tool SimaPro that allows their quantification and identification along the life cycle phases using different scenarios. The results show a consistency between global environmental challenges and company environmental disclosure; however, a disconnection between the specific environmental indicators reported by textile companies and the main hotspots of the sector are observed. This implies that companies could be managing environmental issues related to global environmental concerns but ignoring those critical environmental issues truly relevant from a technical point of view, according to the nature of their activity. The paper argues that is not only necessary to consider the corporate awareness regarding global environmental challenges, but also to address the real environmental hotspots at the sectoral level. This paper represents a contribution in the discussion about what sustainability management implies along the supply chains, emphasizing the need to advance in a consistent and science-based integration of global environmental challenges, environmental hotspots at the sectoral level and environmental management practices at company level. The results obtained help global chain actors and other organizations to address this challenge.

Life Cycle Approaches for the Environmental Impact Assessment of Organizations: Defining the State of the Art

Organizations play a key role in reducing anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment. The first step towards improving their sustainability performances is the implementation of methodologies that take into consideration multiple environmental impact categories, as well as the entire value chain. The attention of scholars and practitioners was initially addressed to the analysis of products and processes, yet in a few cases in which they were addressed, the approaches used for organizations had a limited scope and range of use. Only in recent years have they been framed in a life cycle perspective. This article analyzes two recent life cycle-based methodologies that have their focus on the organization, namely Organization Environmental Footprint (OEF) and Organizational Life Cycle Assessment (O-LCA). The goal is to define the state of the art of their methodological and current application developments and consider the relevance that these methodologies can have, both in terms of internal and external commitment (e.g., for the supply chain actors) and of reporting and communication requirements. The research was carried out starting from scientific databases, integrating technical legislation and secondary literature. The results obtained allowed tracing the first evolutionary trends, identifying the main authors and scientific journals and highlighting the relevant issues according to the researchers. A content and bibliometric analysis was performed that included all the contributions published so far. Projects and case studies that practically applied the two methodologies were also identified and analyzed. Finally, the main differences between the two methodologies were highlighted and future developments were hypothesized.

Product vs corporate carbon footprint: A case study for the spirit drinks sectors

The use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become a common mechanism to evaluate and report the environmental performance of services and products due to its holistic approach and for its standardised method which guaranteeing reproducibility. There is a huge ongoing effort to improve and promote the use of LCA in Europe, by means of the Single Market of Green Products Initiative, which promotes the use of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and the Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF). Although LCA has been applied in a great variety of industries, there is an even higher worldwide trend of simplification focussing on a single indicator, carbon footprint (CF), relevant to global warming, which is internationally considered as a critical environmental concern. The scope of the CF assessment could be corporate (when all production processes of a company are evaluated) or product (when one of the products is evaluated throughout its life cycle). However, sometimes product CF studies collect corporate data, since for most companies it is easier to report global annual consumptions and emissions instead of the product's specific inputs and outputs. In this framework, this study aims to apply and compare the product and corporate CF methodologies to the case study of the spirit drinks sector in Cantabria (Northern Spain). In particular, to a SME dedicated to the artisanal elaboration of premium spirit drinks such as gin and vodka.The value obtained of the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) was 0.57 kg CO2 eq. for a bottle (70 cl) of classic gin whereas the Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) presented a value of 4.58×103 kg CO2 eq. for Scope 2 and 5.58×104 kg CO2 eq. for Scope 3 in the year 2017. The results indicated that significant environmental impacts were caused during the production of the glass bottle as well as the production of the electricity required in the beverage company.

Science mapping on the Environmental Footprint: A scientometric analysis-based review

Abstract Over these past years, the degradation of the environment has led to an increasing awareness of human impacts on nature. This review adopts the bibliometric and scientometric analysis method to materialize the perception of the increasing interest in the Environmental Footprint domain and, more specifically, in the Environmental Footprint and Life-Cycle Assessment research area. Data retrieved from the Web of Science and mapped with the VOSViewer have been used to evaluate the evolutionary trend and current status of two datasets, the Environmental Footprint dataset and the Environmental Footprint and Life-Cycle Assessment dataset. The findings aimed at providing valuable information related to these fields, such as (1) the characterization of publications, (2) most relevant references cited, (3) most influential keywords in the research topics, (4) major journal sources and (5) main countries active in this particular research field. In addition, new emerging trends, such as the Product Environmental Footprint and the Organization Environmental Footprint were spotted in the analysis. A qualitative discussion is provided identifying main research areas and further research directions. This review may help practitioners and researchers by providing a better understanding of the current state of the Environmental Footprint research field and serve as a starting point for future studies.

Organization Environmental Footprint through Input‐Output Analysis: A Case Study in the Construction Sector

SummaryThe implementation of global sustainability has gained worldwide attention in recent years. The Organization Environmental Footprint, which encompasses 14 impact categories, is a multicriteria measure of the environmental performance of goods and services provided by an organization from a life cycle perspective. In this article, the focus is on quantifying the Organization Environmental Footprint of a construction company in Spain. By applying an environmentally extended input‐output approach, its total footprint and impacts along the supply chain from two consecutive years were calculated. The results show that the environmental impacts from the second year of implementation were significantly higher than those from the first year. The impact category climate change was found to have experienced the greatest increase from one year to the other, with a 31% increase. This work provides an overview of 14 environmental impact categories of the company assessed, as well as recommendations for the implementation of this indicator in companies and public procurement. This approach could pave the way to shape organizations’ action plans and meet the European environmental challenges.

Developing Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for shampoos: The basis for comparable life cycle assessment.

In 2013, the European Commission launched the Environmental Footprint Rules pilot phase. This initiative aims at setting specific rules for life cycle assessment (LCA: raw material sourcing, production, logistics, use, and disposal phase) studies within 1 product category, called product environmental footprint category rules (PEFCR), and for organizations, called organizational environmental footprint sector rules (OEFSR). Such specific rules for measuring environmental performance throughout the life cycle should facilitate the comparability between LCA studies and provide principles for communicating environmental performance, such as transparency, reliability, completeness, and clarity. Cosmetics Europe, the association representing the cosmetics industry in the European Union, completed a voluntary study into the development of PEFCR for shampoo, generally following the guidelines and methodology developed by the European Commission for its own pilot projects. The study assessed the feasibility and relevance of establishing PEFCR for shampoo. Specifically, the study defines a large number of modeling assumptions and default values relevant for shampoo (e.g., for the functional unit, the system boundaries, default transport distances, rinsing water volumes, temperature differences, life cycle inventory data sources) that can be modified as appropriate, according to the specificities of individual products, manufacturing companies, and countries. The results of the study may be used to support internal decision making (e.g., to identify "hotspots" with high environmental impact and opportunities for improvement) or to meet information requests from commercial partners, consumers, media, or authorities on product environmental characteristics. In addition, the shampoo study also highlighted many of the challenges and limitations of the current product environmental footprint (PEF) methodology, namely its complexity and resource intensiveness. It highlighted 2 areas where improvements are much needed: (1) data quality and availability, and (2) impact assessment methodologies and robustness. Many of the findings are applicable to other rinse-off cosmetic products, such as shower gels, liquid soaps, bath products, and hair conditioners. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:649-659. © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

An Assessment Tool to Integrate Sustainability Principles into the Global Supply Chain

The integration of sustainability principles into the assessment of companies along the supply chains is a growing research area. However, there is an absence of a generally accepted method to evaluate corporate sustainability performance (CSP), and the models and frameworks proposed by the literature present various important challenges to be addressed. A systematic literature review on the supply chain at the corporate level has been conducted, analyzing the main strengths and gaps in the sustainability assessment literature. Therefore, this paper aims to contribute to the development of this field by proposing an assessment framework a leading company can adopt to expand sustainability principles to the rest of the members of the supply chain. This proposal is based on best practices and integrates and shares efforts with key initiatives (for instance, the Organizational Environmental Footprint from the European Commission and United Nations Environment Programme and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry UNEP/SETAC); moreover, it overcomes important limitations of the current sustainability tools in a supply chain context consistent with the circular economy, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), planetary boundaries, and social foundation requirements. The results obtained create, on the one hand, new opportunities for academics; and, on the other hand, in further research, the use of this framework could be a means of actively engaging companies in their supply chains and of achieving the implementation of practical and comprehensive CSP assessment.

Organization environmental footprint applying a multi-regional input-output analysis: A case study of a wood parquet company in Spain

Wood has been presented as a carbon-neutral material capable of significantly contribute to climate change mitigation and has become an appealing option for the building sector. This paper presents the quantification of the organization environmental footprint of a wood parquet company. The multi-regional input-output (MRIO) database EXIOBASE was used with a further structural path analysis decomposition. The application of the proposed method quantifies 14 environmental impacts. Highly influential sectors and regions responsible for these impacts are assessed to propose efficient measures. For the parquet company studied, the highest impact category once normalized was ozone depletion and the dominant sector responsible for this impact was the chemical industry from Spain and China. The structural path decomposition related to ozone loss revealed that the indirect impacts embedded in the supply chain are higher than the direct impacts. It can be concluded that the assessment of the organizational environmental footprint can be carried out applying this well-structured and robust method. Its implementation will enable tracking of the environmental burdens through a company's supply chain at a global scale and provide information for the adoption of environmental strategies.

Using the product environmental footprint for supply chain management: lessons learned from a case study on pork

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to test the chain-organization environmental footprint (chain-OEF) approach by applying it to part of a pork production chain in Belgium. The approach is supposed to provide insight into the environmental impact of a specific production chain in an efficient manner by applying pragmatic data collection throughout the chain. This is achieved by allocating the environmental impact of each of the production sites to the product of interest using straightforward allocation rules.MethodsThe cradle-to-gate (up to retail) environmental impact of pork was determined by life cycle assessment (LCA), in line with the product and organisation environmental footprint guidelines (PEF and OEF; European Commission 2013b). Foreground data was gathered at a feed production site, two farmers, a slaughterhouse and a meat processing site. All foreground operations are part of the same pork production chain in Belgium. The chain was completed using background data from Ecoinvent v3.01 (Wernet et al. 2016), Agri-Footprint v1.0 (Blonk 2014), European Life Cycle Database v3.0, LCA Food Database (Nielsen et al. 2003) and OEF Sector Rules Retail (Humbert et al. 2015b). The impact was quantified using the international reference life cycle data system (ILCD) midpoint method for 14 impact categories, but focussing on climate change.Results and discussionThe total carbon footprint of the cradle-to-gate pork production system equals 0.46 kg CO2-eq. (100 g pork)−1. This result is quite similar to that of earlier studies analysing the pork production chain: 0.58 and 0.57 kg CO2-eq. (100 g pork)−1 (Bracquené et al. 2011, Agri-Footprint 2014). Most of the carbon footprint was caused by feed production and more specifically, by the feed ingredients and their transport. Grains, soy and palm oil have the largest impact contributions. The farms are responsible for most of the remaining impact. N2O and CH4 emissions are the largest cause of greenhouse gas emissions at the farms. Also, in the other 13 considered impact categories, feed production and farming are responsible for more than half of the total impact, mostly followed by meat processing.ConclusionsApplying the chain-OEF approach in this study has shown that a chain LCA can be performed successfully and pragmatic data collection allows obtaining LCA results relatively fast, especially for small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Whereas data availability was not such an issue, the main bottlenecks identified are data management and the link of LCA to other disciplines such as engineering, policy, etc. which could increase the added value of LCA studies.

Analysis of the main elements affecting social LCA applications: challenges for the automotive sector

Social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) applications have been growing during the last years. Most of the scientific articles published so far have addressed the applicability of S-LCA, focusing on selecting suitable indicators, and only recently, the developments in the area of impact pathway are increasing. However, a critical analysis of how to set an S-LCA study, in particular the goal and scope and inventory phase, is missing. This article critically analyses the most important elements affecting the goal and scope and inventory phase of S-LCA, with a focus on the automotive sector, with the ultimate goal of developing a structured approach to guide practitioners in the critical application of S-LCA. The literature review covers 67 publications from 2006 to 2015, including all the case studies published so far, to the best knowledge of the authors, in several sectors and the automotive one. The reviewed works have been structured along the key elements affecting the goal and scope and inventory phases of the S-LCA. The methodological and practical issues affecting S-LCA have been organized into a conceptual map, in which all the elements are sequentially placed. This sequence is an orderly procedure consisting of several nodes representing crucial points where a decision needs to be taken or a further reflection is necessary. The case studies of the automotive sector and the corporate-related documents have been used also for the discussion of the conceptual map nodes to identify which aspects are already covered by the literature and which ones need further research. Facing the inventory phase of S-LCA needs also to set specific elements of the goal and scope phase which are fundamental for approaching coherently the product system at hand and for supporting the selection of stakeholders, indicators, and data. Moreover, in order to foster S-LCA applications and make it a robust decision-support tool, the authors suggest to re-define its framework and approach according to the organizational perspective, as laid down in the recent Organisation Environmental Footprint and Organizational LCA. This implies that social aspects will be evaluated both in relation to the organization behavior and to the basket of products, thus reconciling the need to keep together the conduct-of-a-company perspective, typical of social evaluations, and the product-oriented approach, inherent to the life cycle and in particular to the functional unit concept.

Organizational Environmental Footprint in German construction companies

Besides the application of the life cycle assessment methodology in products and services, the consideration of environmental impacts at the organizational level in a holistic approach can also provide significant information about other environmental issues. In 2012 the European Commission developed the Organizational Environmental Footprint Guide, however there is still scarce experience with its implementation. In this research it was examined whether the conduct of an Organizational Environmental Footprint could be readily applied to construction companies, and additionally the corresponding costs and benefits were estimated. Using a case study within the former Bilfinger Construction Company, part of the Implenia Group since summer 2015, the feasibility of the application of the guide in construction companies was reviewed and possible adjustments were proposed. The main obstacle lies in the product portfolio of such companies, which can be very heterogeneous. It was observed that most data could be collected from the already implemented accounting and procurement software. Additional data were obtained through the environmental management system of the analyzed company. Difficult was the determination of resource use and emissions from upstream activities along the supply chain. Using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, decision supports were set to generate emissions data. The results of the case study were then generalized to construction companies, what can support such organizations to achieve a sustainable transition to a cleaner production.

Product environmental footprint in policy and market decisions: Applicability and impact assessment

In April 2013, the European Commission published the Product and Organisation Environmental Footprint (PEF/OEF) methodology--a life cycle-based multicriteria measure of the environmental performance of products, services, and organizations. With its approach of "comparability over flexibility," the PEF/OEF methodology aims at harmonizing existing methods, while decreasing the flexibility provided by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards regarding methodological choices. Currently, a 3-y pilot phase is running, aiming at testing the methodology and developing product category and organization sector rules (PEFCR/OEFSR). Although a harmonized method is in theory a good idea, the PEF/OEF methodology presents challenges, including a risk of confusion and limitations in applicability to practice. The paper discusses the main differences between the PEF and ISO methodologies and highlights challenges regarding PEF applicability, with a focus on impact assessment. Some methodological aspects of the PEF and PEFCR Guides are found to contradict the ISO 14044 (2006) and ISO 14025 (2006). Others, such as prohibition of inventory cutoffs, are impractical. The evaluation of the impact assessment methods proposed in the PEF/OEF Guide showed that the predefined methods for water consumption, land use, and abiotic resources are not adequate because of modeling artefacts, missing inventory data, or incomplete characterization factors. However, the methods for global warming and ozone depletion perform very well. The results of this study are relevant for the PEF (and OEF) pilot phase, which aims at testing the PEF (OEF) methodology (and potentially adapting it) as well as addressing challenges and coping with them.

The EC Organization Environmental Footprint and the Development of Sector-Specific Guidance Documents

The EC Organization Environmental Footprint and the Development of Sector-Specific Guidance Documents

Position paper (17th January 2014), by Technische Universität Berlin - Department of Environmental Technology - Chair of Sustainable Engineering, on behalf of The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and The German Federal Environment Agency, on EU Product and Organisation Environmental Footprint proposal as part of the Communication Building the Single Market for Green

Position paper (17th January 2014), by Technische Universität Berlin - Department of Environmental Technology - Chair of Sustainable Engineering, on behalf of The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and The German Federal Environment Agency, on EU Product and Organisation Environmental Footprint proposal as part of the Communication Building the Single Market for Green

Product environmental footprint—breakthrough or breakdown for policy implementation of life cycle assessment?

Did you hear about the latest footprint? It is not anymore about carbon footprinting (Finkbeiner 2009) or water footprinting (Kounina et al. 2013; Berger and Finkbeiner 2010); we now have to deal with environmental footprints. The EU Commission published the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF) methods (EU 2013a) as part of the Communication “Building the Single Market for Green Products” (EU 2013b). According to the documents released, the PEF and OEF methodologies build on existing life cycle assessment (LCA)-based methods and aim at harmonizing them. They purportedly aim at increasing comparability between products by predefining requirements for certain methodological aspects, thus decreasing the flexibility provided by ISO 14044 (2006). PEF and OEF were developed by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). But is PEF really the breakthrough for policy implementation of LCA? Close analysis of the PEF method reveals key concerns from the perspective of state-ofthe-art LCA practice and science. Rather than proposing a harmonized compromise of existing standards, it presents an entirely new one which is even in conflict with the existing ISO 14044 (2006). As such, PEF does not contribute to harmonization, but rather to confusion, proliferation, and mistrust. 1 Do we really need another footprint?