Businesses can now assess the carbon footprint of their goods and services and play a greater part in fighting climate change, thanks to a new standard launched by BSI British Standards, the Carbon Trust and the Depart-ment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050 provides a consistent way of calculating the greenhouse gas emissions embedded in goods and services throughout their life – from sourcing the raw materials through to manufacture, distribution, use and disposal.

The standard aims to help businesses to move beyond managing the emissions their own processes create and to look at the opportunities for reducing emissions in the design, making and supplying of products. This will help businesses to make goods or services that are less carbon intensive and ultimately to develop products with lower carbon footprints.

The Carbon Trust piloted PAS 2050 with a wide range of companies, including Boots, Tesco and Cadbury. Boots redesigned its logistics network so its Botanics shampoo products could be delivered direct to stores, reducing road miles and packaging. This cut the carbon footprint of making the shampoo by 10%.

Fruit drinks maker Innocent helped a supplier set up a staff group tasked with increasing the amount of waste materials recycled at the factory. In the first month, landfill waste was cut by 15% and within six months by 54%.

Defra carried out research testing of the PAS on up to 100 food products during their production, manufacture and distribution, and is studying the greenhouse gas impacts of food preparation and consumption in the home. Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, said: “By looking at where the emissions are being created and reducing them, businesses can also save themselves money. You can’t see or count emissions when you buy a product. But consumers want to know that emissions are being cut by businesses and this standard will help businesses to do that.”

Tom Delay, the Carbon Trust chief executive, said: “For the first time, businesses have a robust, consistent standard for measuring the carbon footprint of their goods and services. This exciting development will help businesses to understand fully the carbon impact of their products and to follow this up with tangible ways to reduce carbon emissions across the supply chain.” n

A full copy of the PAS is available at www.bsigroup.com/pas2050

Original print headline - New standard helps you assess the carbon footprint of your goods and services

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Building Sustainable Design