Why product carbon footprints (PCFs) are essential and why most companies still struggle to obtain them.
Across industries, decarbonization ambitions are hitting a common roadblock: lack of high-quality product carbon footprint (PCF) data from suppliers. Whether you’re targeting Scope 3 emissions, preparing for new regulations, or trying to get ahead of competitors, supplier-specific product data is critical. But if it’s so important, why don’t most companies already have it?
Sphera Supply Chain Transparency experts explored the biggest barriers to collecting PCFs, the emerging standards helping to close the gaps, and the tools available to make the process easier for suppliers and buyers alike.
The Five Big Barriers to PCF Adoption
- Inconsistent methodologies
Different suppliers use different calculation methods, making results difficult to compare or trust.
- Limited data availability
Many suppliers have never calculated a PCF and lack the data structure and centralized systems needed for a straightforward calculation.
- Knowledge gaps
Suppliers often lack the knowledge, guidance, and financial resources needed to calculate PCFs independently, leaving them unsure where to start and unable to invest in training or tools.
- Low engagement and communication
Suppliers may be unresponsive or have little incentive to share data.
- Time and resource constraints
Coordinating and validating data across hundreds or thousands of suppliers can be overwhelming and challenging.
Based on poll results from our recent webinarmost suppliers simply don’t have the data requested. Most of the time, they just don’t know where to look for it. This is where supplier friendly PCF calculation tools can help by guiding suppliers through the process using information they already have.
Standardizing Methodologies: A Critical Step Forward
For PCFs to be actionable, they need to be comparable. The ISO 14067 standard provides a consistent framework for calculating greenhouse gas emissions across a product’s life cycle (cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-grave).
Building on ISO 14067, sector-specific frameworks are emerging to improve alignment:
- PACT (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) – cross-industry PCF exchange and transparency.
- Together for Sustainability (TfS) – harmonized PCF methodology for the chemical sector.
- Catena-X – trusted data ecosystem for the automotive value chain.
A modern PCF collection solution should be able to support most standard frameworks, allowing suppliers to provide data once and share it across multiple customers.
The Role of Data Quality
A PCF is only as reliable as the data behind it. Our approach is built on Sphera’s Managed LCA Content – a leading life cycle assessment database with over 20,000 datasets, regularly updated and third-party DEKRA verified. This ensures supplier-calculated PCFs are backed by robust, credible emission factors.
The tool assigns suppliers a data quality score based on their responses, ensuring the rating is generated objectively rather than self-assigned, which increases credibility.
Making It Easy for You and Your Suppliers
Here are the three steps necessary for the process to work:
- Ask if a supplier has a PCF: If yes, collect it along with methodology and quality details.
- If not, calculate it together: Suppliers answer a few straightforward questions (such as energy use, material composition, transport).
- Calculate PCF using embedded emission factors: The tool calculates a PCF using verified datasets.
Once a supplier creates a PCF, they can store, update, and share it, reducing manual intervention and repetitive transactions.
Turning Data into Action
Collecting PCFs is just the start. With supplier data in hand, you can:
- Identify emission hotspots
- Improve Scope 3 category 1 emissions accounting using a granular, physical data basis from the low accuracy spend-base method
- Work with suppliers to improve PCF by switching to renewable energy or alternative materials.
- Apply internal carbon pricing to compare suppliers on both cost and carbon impact.
- Monitor progress and track reductions over time.
Starting with your top suppliers (the 80/20 approach) can deliver the fastest impact while building momentum for wider adoption. Turning insights into action, whether through supplier collaboration or carbon pricing, drives real emissions reductions.
The sooner you start, the faster you’ll build the supplier relationships and data foundation needed to lead in a low-carbon economy and compliance.
Are you ready to go ahead with your Scope 3.1 emissions calculations and reporting now? Talk to our expert.
