GHG Protocol Product Standard
The GHG Protocol Product Standard (2011) provides the methodology for calculating the carbon footprint of individual products and services — from raw material extraction through manufacturing, use, and end-of-life. Product carbon footprints feed into corporate Scope 3 Category 1 as supplier-specific emission factors.
The GHG Protocol Product Standard (2011) provides the methodology for calculating the carbon footprint of individual products and services — from raw material extraction through manufacturing, use, and end-of-life. The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard accounts for all emissions from a company's operations across all its products and services in aggregate.
Product Standard vs Corporate Standard — the key difference
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard accounts for all emissions from a company's operations across all its products and services in aggregate. The Product Standard accounts for the emissions from a single product or service across its entire lifecycle.
The two standards are complementary but not interchangeable. A company's Scope 3 Category 1 corporate inventory is built from the product carbon footprints of everything it purchases. A product manufacturer's Product Standard footprint is what their customers use as a supplier-specific emission factor in their own Scope 3 Category 1.
For ESRS E1-6 compliance: the Corporate Standard is mandatory. Product Standard footprints are used as inputs to improve Category 1 accuracy — they are not themselves required by ESRS, but they significantly improve the quality of your Scope 3 disclosure and reduce your customers' estimation burden.
Lifecycle stages and system boundaries
The Product Standard covers five lifecycle stages:
A1-A3 — Cradle to gate (product stage): Raw material extraction and processing (A1); transport to manufacturer (A2); manufacturing (A3). This is the minimum boundary for a supplier-reported product carbon footprint used in customer Scope 3 Category 1.
A4-A5 — Construction/installation stage: Transport from manufacturer to customer (A4); installation or assembly at customer site (A5). Relevant for construction products and industrial equipment.
B1-B7 — Use stage: In-use emissions over product lifetime — energy consumption, maintenance, repair, replacement. Critical for products with significant operational emissions (appliances, vehicles, heating systems).
C1-C4 — End of life: Deconstruction, transport, waste processing, disposal. Determines whether recyclable or biodegradable products have lower end-of-life footprints.
D — Beyond system boundary: Reuse, recovery, and recycling potential — often shown separately as a net benefit beyond the product system.
EU regulatory requirements for product carbon footprints
Product carbon footprints are moving from voluntary best practice to regulatory requirement in several EU contexts:
EU Battery Regulation: From February 2025, electric vehicle batteries above 2kWh must have a carbon footprint declaration calculated according to a delegated methodology (aligned with GHG Protocol Product Standard and ISO 14067). From 2027, batteries must meet maximum carbon footprint thresholds. This is the first EU product-level mandatory PCF requirement.
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR): Will establish mandatory product environmental footprint (PEF) requirements for priority product categories — textiles, electronics, furniture, construction materials. PEF methodology is based on lifecycle assessment aligned with GHG Protocol Product Standard principles.
Product Environmental Footprint (PEF): The European Commission's PEF methodology provides a standardised approach to product lifecycle assessment for EU market products. While broader than carbon footprint (covering 16 environmental impact categories), PEF includes climate change as a primary category using GHG Protocol-aligned methodology.
Frequently asked questions
Is ISO 14067 the same as the GHG Protocol Product Standard?
ISO 14067 (Carbon footprint of products) and the GHG Protocol Product Standard are aligned but not identical. Both follow lifecycle assessment principles and produce compatible results. ISO 14067 is the more widely used international standard for third-party verified product carbon footprints — if you need independent verification, use ISO 14067. The GHG Protocol Product Standard provides more detailed operational guidance.
How do we calculate a product carbon footprint without a full lifecycle assessment?
Screening-level PCFs use simplified approaches — spend-based EEIO factors for upstream stages, operational data for manufacturing, and average end-of-life factors. These give ±50% accuracy but are sufficient for initial Scope 3 Category 1 estimation. Full lifecycle assessment with primary data improves accuracy to ±10–20% but requires 3–6 months of data collection.
Do we need a product carbon footprint for every product we sell?
Not for CSRD compliance — the Corporate Standard approach aggregates all products. Product-level PCFs are required where: EU regulation mandates them (batteries, eventually other ESPR product categories); customers request supplier-specific emission factors for their Scope 3 Category 1; or you want to support eco-labelling or environmental product declarations (EPDs).