Guide to PAS 2050 How to assess the carbon ... - Aggie Horticulture

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Section II: Calculating product carbon footprints
Raw materials Manufacture Distribution/retail Consumer use Disposal/recycling
] All inputs used
] at any stage in
] the life cycle
] Include processes
] related to raw:
] materials
] – Mining/
] – extraction
] – (minerals)
] – Farming
] – Forestry
] – Pre-processing
] – Packaging
] – Storage
] – Transport
] Account for
] impact of raw
] materials:
] – Fertilisers
] – (production,
] – transport,
] – application)
] – Land use
] – change
] All activities
] from collection
] of raw materials
] to distribution:
] – All production
] – processes
] – Transport/
] – storage
] – related to
] – production
] – Packaging
] – Site-related
] – emissions
] – (e.g. lighting,
] – ventilation,
] – temperature)
] All materials
] produced:
] – Product
] – Waste
] – Co-products
] – (useful
] – by-products)
] – Direct emission
] All steps in
] transport and
] related storage
] Retail storage
] and display
] Energy required
] during use
] phase:
] – Storage
] – Preparation
] – Application
] – Maintenance/
] – repair (e.g. for
] – long use
] – phases)
] All steps indisposal:
] – Transport
] – Storage
] – Processing
] Energy required in
] disposal/recycling
] process
] Direct emissions
] due to disposal/
] recycling:
] – Carbon decay
] – Methane release
] – Incineration
Common materials/activities to include within a product’s life cycle boundary
The key principle for system boundaries is to include
all ‘material’ emissions generated as a direct or indirect
result of the chosen good or service being produced,
used and disposed of or recycled.
A material contribution is a contribution from any
one source resulting in more than 1% of the total
anticipated life cycle emissions of the product.
PAS 2050 allows immaterial emissions to be
excluded – any single source resulting in less than 1%
of total emissions. However, the total proportion of
immaterial emission sources cannot exceed 5% of the
full product carbon footprint. Detailed specifications of
the boundaries are described in PAS 2050 Section 6.
For further detail on inclusions and exclusions, see
Step 4: Calculating the footprint.
Boundaries: what not to include
• Immaterial emissions sources (less than 1% of total
footprint)
• Human inputs to processes
• Transport of consumers to retail outlets
• Animals providing transport (e.g. farm animals used
in agriculture or mining in developing countries)
Materiality and prioritisation
To decide whether an emission source is likely to be
material, it helps at this point to do a high-level
footprint analysis using estimates and readily
accessible data (see Step 3: Collecting data for
guidance on potential sources). This analysis includes
the full life cycle of the product but relies on estimates