The Carbon Trust is currently developing standard, framework and guidance documents designed to allow companies to measure, reduce and communicate the emissions of greenhouse gases associated with their products and services. Three core documents are being developed:
- A single standard method for the assessment of the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services (PAS 2050) – this defines how lifecycle GHG emissions of a product should be measured
- The Product-related Emissions Reduction Framework (PERF) (pdf, 1.12mb), which sets out the requirements for making credible claims regarding reduction commitments and achievements on lifecycle GHG emissions of products, as measured using PAS 2050
- A Product-related Emissions Communications Guidance (PECG) document to support companies implementing the PAS 2050, or the PAS 2050 and the PERF, to communicate the product-related lifecycle greenhouse gas.
The specification for the assessment of the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions in products and services is being developed by the British Standards Institution (BSI), at the request of the Carbon Trust and Defra, sponsors of the project. The result will be a Publicly Available Specification (PAS 2050) that may be used for a variety of formal and informal processes for improving and communicating the GHG performance of products and services.
The product-related emissions reduction framework (provisionally called the PERF) is being developed by the Carbon Trust, with the help of consultants Arup, OneWorldStandards, the Pacific Institute and E4Tech. It will build on PAS 2050 but is separate from it.
The communication guidance is being developed by the Carbon Trust and the Energy Savings Trust.
This initiative is being overseen by two independent steering groups: one covering the Publicly Available Specification for a measurement method (PAS SG), and another covering the development of the product-related emissions reduction framework and communication guidance (RCSG).
The PAS Steering Group will make decisions specific to the BSI PAS 2050 for a measurement method, while the Reduction and Communication Steering Group will make decisions relating to the PERF and the PECG. Both the PAS Steering Group and the Reduction and Communication Steering Group include members from a range of organisations, representing academia, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), business, Government, the Energy Savings Trust and the Carbon Trust.
Although the BSI PAS 2050 itself is a separate and distinct process concerned specifically with measurement methods, discussion on communication and reduction issues will help to inform the thinking on PAS development. Therefore, and to ensure that links are developed, there is some cross-membership between the PAS Steering Group and the Reduction and Communication Steering Group.
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