Learning Ressources

The best way to learn Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is to start with high-level guidance from international institutions, then move into the core accounting standards and finish with comprehensive textbooks that teach full life cycle assessment foundations used by PCF studies [1][2]. The resources below are sequenced from overview to deep-dive so the concept, methods, and decisions behind PCF become clear step by step [3][4].

Start here

• UNEP Life Cycle Initiative — Carbon Footprint overview: A concise institutional primer on what a carbon footprint is within life cycle thinking, how it is used, and where standardized methods fit, ideal for getting oriented before standards and detailed methods [5]. The Initiative’s guidance frames carbon footprinting as part of life cycle approaches for business and policy, helping readers see PCF as one impact category within LCA [5].

• European Commission — Environmental Footprint Methods (EF/PEF) overview: The EC’s official landing page for the Product Environmental Footprint method explains scope, principles, and how impact categories (including climate change/PCF) are modeled across product life cycles, providing a policy-relevant orientation to PCF in Europe [3]. It links to method updates and supporting materials that align product studies with a harmonized life cycle approach expected in EU markets [3].

• JRC (European Commission) — Understanding Product Environmental Footprint and Organisation Environmental Footprint: This report from the Joint Research Centre gives a readable guide to PEF concepts, goal and scope, data, and interpretation, and shows how climate change results (i.e., PCF) sit within multi-impact footprinting and category rules [4]. It is a rigorous but accessible bridge from overview pages to the implementation details used in PEF-aligned PCF work [4].

• Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency) — Carbon Footprint und Treibhausgasneutralität von Produkten: A government research report introducing PCF background, current concepts, and practical challenges (like system boundaries and data quality), with a German and EU policy lens [6]. It also discusses how ISO 14067, the GHG Protocol Product Standard, and the EU PEF method relate in practice and where methodological choices matter for credible PCF results [6].

Core standards and metrics

• GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard (WRI/WBCSD): The foundational open standard for product life cycle GHG accounting, clearly positioning “product carbon footprint” as a life cycle, attributional inventory focused on the climate impact category and aligned with ISO 14040/14044 LCA principles [1]. It details goal and scope, boundaries, inventory, allocation, data quality, and public reporting requirements, and remains the most widely used free method to build robust PCFs [1].

• ISO 14067:2018 — Greenhouse gases: Carbon footprint of products — Requirements and guidelines: The international consensus standard specifying how to quantify and report a product’s carbon footprint consistently with ISO 14040/14044, including what to include across the life cycle and how to communicate results [2]. As a formal ISO standard, it is the reference for audited or certified PCFs and underpins many verification schemes and customer expectations [2].

• PAS 2050 (BSI) — Assessment of the life cycle GHG emissions of goods and services: The first widely used product carbon footprinting specification, maintained by the British Standards Institution and still referenced in programs and supply chains for product-level GHG accounting [7]. Background materials from WRI explain how PAS 2050 relates to and informed the GHG Protocol Product Standard and subsequent practice, making it a useful comparative resource when encountering PAS-based requests [8].

• IPCC AR6 — GWP100 values for converting gases to CO2e: PCFs rely on 100‑year Global Warming Potentials to express multiple greenhouse gases in CO2‑equivalents, and AR6 provides the latest metrics (including fossil vs non‑fossil methane) used by modern inventories and standards [9]. The AR6 Synthesis and Working Group reports confirm GWP100 as the common basis for emissions reporting, ensuring consistency of PCF results with current climate science [10].

Books to master the details

• Life Cycle Assessment: Theory and Practice (Springer, Hauschild, Rosenbaum, Olsen, eds.): A comprehensive, state‑of‑the‑art textbook that teaches the full LCA framework (goal/scope, inventory, impact assessment, interpretation) with dedicated sections on footprinting and policy applications relevant to PCF [11]. It is widely cited and provides methodological depth, worked examples, and practitioner “cookbook” guidance that directly transfer to rigorous PCF studies [12].

• Life Cycle Assessment Handbook (Wiley) and the Life Cycle Assessment Student Handbook (Wiley): Authoritative handbooks from a major publisher covering methodology, applications, and decision support, including clear treatment of carbon footprinting as an LCA subset and practical guidance on data, modeling, and reporting [13]. The Student Handbook version offers structured learning sequences and exercises that make the methods behind PCF accessible while maintaining professional rigor [14].

Sources

[1] Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/Product-Life-Cycle-Accounting-Reporting-Standard_041613.pdf

[2] ISO 14067:2018 - Greenhouse gases — Carbon footprint ... https://www.iso.org/standard/71206.html

[3] Environmental Footprint Methods - European Commission https://green-forum.ec.europa.eu/green-business/environmental-footprint-methods_en

[4] Understanding Product Environmental Footprint and ... https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC129907

[5] Carbon Footprint https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/starting-life-cycle-thinking/life-cycle-approaches/carbon-footprint/

[6] Carbon Footprint und Treibhausgasneutralität von Produkten https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/carbon-footprint-treibhausgasneutralitaet-von

[7] Newly revised PAS 2050 poised to boost international ... https://www.bsigroup.com/en-AE/About-BSI/Media-Center/press-releases/2011/10/Newly-revised-PAS-2050-poised-to-boost-international-efforts-to-carbon-footprint-products/

[8] GHG Protocol PAS 2050 Factsheet https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/2022-12/GHG%20Protocol%20PAS%202050%20Factsheet.pdf

[9] AII Annex II: Definitions, Units and Conventions https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_Annex-II.pdf

[10] CLIMATE CHANGE 2023 https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_FullVolume.pdf

[11] Life Cycle Assessment: Theory and Practice https://books.google.com/books/about/Life_Cycle_Assessment.html?id=S7szDwAAQBAJ

[12] Life Cycle Assessment - Theory and Practice https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/life-cycle-assessment-theory-and-practice

[13] Life Cycle Assessment Handbook | Wiley Online Books https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118528372

[14] Life Cycle Assessment Student Handbook https://www.wiley-vch.de/de/fachgebiete/ingenieurwesen/life-cycle-assessment-student-handbook-978-1-119-08354-2

[15] ISO 14067 Product Carbon Footprint Verification https://www.lrqa.com/en/iso-14067-greenhouse-gases-carbon-footprint-of-products/

[16] ISO 14067: Standard for Product Carbon Footprint ... https://www.tanso.de/en/glossary/iso-14067

[17] Carbon Footprint und Treibhausgasneutralität von Produkten https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/11850/publikationen/15_2025_texte.pdf

[18] ISO 14067 – Verifizierung des Product Carbon Footprint ... https://www.telusio.com/iso-14067

[19] Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting ... https://www.wri.org/research/greenhouse-gas-protocol-product-life-cycle-accounting-and-reporting-standard

[20] Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Guide https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/396125.pdf

[21] ISO 14067 https://www.din.de/de/meta/suche/62730!search?query=Footprint

[22] Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/ghgp/ghg-protocol-product-life-cycle-standard-draft-for-road-testing-january-2010.pdf

[23] ISO 14067 Verification - Carbon Footprint of Products https://www.sgs.com/en/services/iso-14067-verification-greenhouse-gases-carbon-footprint-of-products

[24] ISO/TS 14067:2013 - Carbon footprint of products https://www.iso.org/standard/59521.html

[25] Product Standard https://ghgprotocol.org/product-standard

[26] THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S PRODUCT ... https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/research-centres-and-groups/life-cycle-approaches/public/LCN-Seminar-30-May-2023---LCA-vs-PEF.pdf

[27] INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 14067 https://www.ditan.com/static/upload/file/20240522/1716345585128585.pdf

[28] Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard http://pdf.wri.org/ghgp_product_life_cycle_standard.pdf

[29] ISO 14067: Meaning, Standard and Requirements https://greenly.earth/en-gb/blog/company-guide/iso-14067-meaning-standard-and-requirements

[30] Product Life Cycle Standard Online Course https://ghgprotocol.org/product-life-cycle-standard-online-course

[31] Guide to PAS 2050 - co2-sachverstaendiger.de https://www.co2-sachverstaendiger.de/pdf/BSI%20Guide%20to%20PAS2050.pdf

[32] Guide to PAS 2050 How to assess the carbon footprint of ... https://www.wkcgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PAS-2050-Assessment-of-the-life-cycle-greenhouse-gas-emissions-of-goods-and-services.pdf

[33] Product Carbon Footprint, PAS 2050 https://gicgrp.com/sg/audit-services/product-carbon-footprint-pas-2050/

[34] for life cycle - impact assessment indicators volume 1 https://www.ecocostsvalue.com/EVR/img/references%20others/global-guidance-lcia-v.1-1.pdf

[35] Product Carbon Footprint – Eine Einführung https://www.vbw-bayern.de/Redaktion/Frei-zugaengliche-Medien/Abteilungen-GS/Wirtschaftspolitik/2025/Downloads/250324_Leitfaden_Product-Carbon-Footprint_final_Korrektur-Link.pdf

[36] Product Carbon Footprint standards: which one to choose? https://pre-sustainability.com/articles/product-carbon-footprint-standards-which-standard-to-choose/

[37] Global guidance on environmental life cycle impact ... https://orbit.dtu.dk/files/129909674/Frischknecht_2016a.pdf

[38] Produktbezogene Klimaschutzstrategien https://bdi.eu/media/presse/publikationen/PCF-Leitfaden_100810_Online.pdf

[39] Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) - TelusioTelusio https://www.telusio.com/product-carbon-footprint

[40] The Guide to PAS 2050:2011 - How to carbon footprint ... https://www.ccn.ac.cn/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/The-Guide-to-PAS-2050-2011.pdf

[41] Carbon Footprint Training https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/training-resources/carbon-footprint/

[42] Methoden zur Treibhausgasbilanzierung von Produkten in ... https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/11850/publikationen/09_2025_cc.pdf

[43] Carbon footprint measurement and labelling of products https://www.oeko.de/uploads/oeko/aktuelles/macleod_defra.pdf

[44] PAS 2050 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAS_2050

[45] Carbon Footprint – Teilgutachten „Monitoring für den CO2- ... https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/461/publikationen/4306.pdf

[46] IPCC Global Warming Potential Values https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/2024-08/Global-Warming-Potential-Values%20(August%202024).pdf

[47] IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) “Climate Change ... https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2023/03/Doc5_Adopted_AR6_SYR_Longer_Report.pdf

[48] IPCC AR6 Methane GWP Tables https://ghginstitute.org/ipcc-ar6-methane-gwp-tables/

[49] IPCC AR4, AR5, and AR6 20-, 100-, and 500-year GWPs https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/ipcc-ar4-ar5-and-ar6-20-100-and-500-year-gwps

[50] Life Cycle Assessment Student Handbook https://content.e-bookshelf.de/media/reading/L-3723705-bb43de7107.pdf

[51] Global Warming Potential Values https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/Global-Warming-Potential-Values%20(Feb%2016%202016)_1.pdf

[52] Life Cycle Assessment https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/life-cycle-assessment/14977258

[53] Technical Summary. In: Climate Change 2022 https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_TechnicalSummary.pdf

[54] Life Cycle Assessment—Theory and Practice https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/michael-z-hauschild-ralph-k-rosenbaum-and-stig-irvin-olsen-eds-l/15535244

[55] Life Cycle Assessment Handbook https://www.wiley-vch.de/de/fachgebiete/naturwissenschaften/life-cycle-assessment-handbook-978-1-118-09972-8

[56] Global warming potential https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming_potential

[57] Hauschild Et Al, 2018 - Life Cycle Assessment PDF https://www.scribd.com/document/454864010/Hauschild-et-al-2018-Life-Cycle-Assessment-pdf

[58] Life Cycle Assessment Handbook: A Guide for ... https://www.wiley.com/en-se/Life+Cycle+Assessment+Handbook:+A+Guide+for+Environmentally+Sustainable+Products-p-x000581440

[59] Climate Change 2022 https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_SPM.pdf

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