Carbon Footprint

What is a Carbon Footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted either directly or indirectly by an individual, organization, product, or activity. GHG emissions are derived from various sources, including energy consumption, manufacturing, waste production, and transportation. To protect the environment and become truly sustainable, it is imperative to calculate and reduce carbon footprints.

How Can a Manufacturer Measure and Reduce Their Carbon Footprint?

With a sustainability insights solution, manufacturers have access to CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions data. This data measures GHG emissions throughout a manufacturer’s supply chain (Scope 3). The carbon footprint is analyzed, and recommendations are provided for reducing it and optimizing costs and manufacturability through alternative designs, sourcing methods, and production processes.

To unlock real-world cost and carbon insights, sustainability software should complete the digital thread by connecting multiple digital twins—product, process, and factory twins. It should perform the following product carbon footprint calculations automatically:

• Material CO₂All GHG emissions, ranging from raw material extraction to material utilization, are captured.
• Process CO₂It is calculated by leveraging energy use, cycle time, and electricity CO2e mix factors.
• Total CO₂Material CO₂e and process CO₂e are factored in to calculate the total CO₂e. Manufacturing companies can then use the total CO₂e to identify the largest carbon offenders and focus on mitigation.

A four-stage sustainability maturity model integrates traceable green practices into manufacturing while balancing profitability and environmental impact. This framework guides manufacturers toward environmental stewardship using data-driven insights to make effective design, sourcing, and production choices. Equally important, it provides them with transparent and auditable reporting to meet compliance standards.

Sustainability insights ensure that manufacturers can meet reporting regulations with transparency and auditability of their product lifecycle’s sustainability.

What Is Embodied Carbon?

Embodied carbon is the GHG emissions that stem from the upstream stages of a product’s lifecycle. Embodied carbon – also known as embedded carbon – is primarily raw material extraction and refinement, manufacturing, and assembly. (Transportation typically only accounts for a low percentage of embodied carbon.)

What Are the Benefits of Reducing a Carbon Footprint?

In addition to protecting the environment for future generations, lowering the carbon footprint also:

1. Cuts CO₂e emissions
2. Improves environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance for greater customer satisfaction and enhances the manufacturer’s investor ratings
3. Eliminates waste and conserves energy
4. Enhances corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs through environmentally conscious manufacturing processes and material selection

Manufacturers can evaluate cost vs. carbon trade-offs and optimize manufacturability, cost, and sustainability in product development.

Is Lowering the Carbon Footprint a Legal Requirement?

Many governments are imposing stricter sustainability regulations and reporting requirements. The European Union (EU) put its Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive into effect in January 2023. They also enacted a carbon tax designed to level the playing field. The EU also introduced taxonomy, a classification system defining the criteria for economic activities aligned with net-zero goals by 2050 and environmental goals outside the climate change scope.

The Biden Administration has made various commitments and investments to cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 50% by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Recently, the administration introduced New Principles for High-Integrity Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs). Among the principles are that carbon credits and the activities generating them meet credible atmospheric integrity standards and reflect actual decarbonization. Several California sustainability regulations will be enforced in 2026.

In addition to legislation, consumers and investors are demanding organizations become more sustainable. Companies face greater scrutiny of their practices and penalties for non-compliance, which can compromise brand reputation. Some environmental and consumer groups are initiating lawsuits against companies that claim to be sustainable but are not. All underscore the need for sustainability traceability and transparency.