Working Group 3

Standardised calculation methodology for Product Carbon Footprint

A harmonized Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) methodology is the key requisite to enable a competitive, sustainable and accountable automotive aftermarket industry. By using a common and shared tool to exchange PCF data, actors in the aftermarket sector can assess the carbon footprint associated with their product lines and product portfolio, customers can make informed purchase decisions, and the overall sector can strive to reduce its footprint.

Furthermore, harmonization is a driver of competitiveness, as there can be no benchmarking when each player is using different data sets and different methodologies for calculating the same data point.

For all these reasons, FAAS PCF experts have joined forces in this fast-moving working group to develop a carbon footprinting methodology that responds to the following requisites:

• Be applicable in the short term: In the long run, full-fledged tools will be developed, allowing companies to exchange data across the entire value chain with full transparency regarding the individual emissions associated with each of the production steps. This is unfortunately not yet the case, and primary (reliable) data from the first Tiers of the automotive value chain are often difficult to retrieve, or of low quality. This should not stop us from doing our part already today: the FAAS is aiming at using information from trustworthy databases (used conservatively) as proxies where primary, reliable data are lacking.
• Be flexible: The automotive aftermarket is a highly diverse sector, with large multinationals as well as thousands of SMEs. What works for a widely structured company may not work for a family-owned factory or distribution centre: the FAAS is looking at viable solutions to allow for the needed flexibility across the sector.
• Be consistent with other initiatives: Consolidation is the name of the game, and PCF awareness will increase over time. We aim to solve today’s challenges and allow for scalability and incorporation into sector initiatives that may get more momentum in the future.
• Be recognised by third parties: Credibility comes from recognition – for this reason, the FAAS is closely collaborating with Research Centres and external stakeholders to ensure that the methodology that will be brought forward can establish itself as the go-to source for aftermarket stakeholders from day one.

To achieve these ambitious targets, the FAAS has decided to take the well-established Catena-X methodology as a basis. The working group has been developing clear amendments to the existing Rulebook to make it applicable to today’s aftermarket industry.

Revision of the FAAS guidebook is currently ongoing – join us in shaping the future of carbon footprinting in the automotive aftermarket!

For more information, contact s.vervoort@faasforum.eu.