PCF (ISO 14067) — Product Carbon Footprint Automation

A PCF quantifies the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product across its life cycle, expressed in CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e). ISO 14067:2018 is the international standard that defines the requirements and methodology for calculating a PCF. It builds on the LCA framework of ISO 14040/14044 but focuses exclusively on climate change as the impact category - unlike a full LCA, which covers multiple environmental indicators. ISO 14067 specifies how to define system boundaries (cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-grave), collect primary and secondary data, apply emission factors, handle allocation for multi-output processes, and treat biogenic carbon. It also requires documentation of data quality, uncertainty, and the time period the PCF represents. For B2B supply chains, cradle-to-gate (partial PCF) is the most common scope.

Primary data comes directly from your own operations or your specific suppliers - actual energy bills, metered resource consumption, measured process emissions, transport records. Secondary data comes from generic databases like Ecoinvent or GaBi that represent industry-average emission factors for a given material or process. ISO 14067 requires primary data for processes under the reporting company’s control and prefers it for key upstream activities. Secondary data is permitted where primary data isn’t practicable or for processes of minor impact - but its use must be justified and documented. The practical incentive is clear: PCFs built on industry averages can’t differentiate your supply chain’s actual performance, which means you can’t demonstrate improvement over time or show that you’re better than the average. Industry initiatives like WBCSD Pathfinder (PACT), Catena-X, and Together for Sustainability (TfS) all track a "primary data share" indicator alongside the PCF value itself.

These are industry-led initiatives that build on ISO 14067 by adding prescriptive rules for how PCFs are calculated, shared, and exchanged across supply chains. Catena-X is the automotive industry’s data ecosystem - its PCF Rulebook specifies calculation methods, data quality requirements, and a digital exchange format for sharing PCFs across multi-tier automotive supply chains. WBCSD PACT (formerly Pathfinder) provides a cross-industry framework and a digital network for PCF data exchange. Together for Sustainability (TfS) offers sector-specific guidance for the chemical industry, now in version 3.0 and aligned with both Catena-X and PACT. Whether you "need" to follow them depends on your customers. Major automotive OEMs (Bosch, BMW, Volkswagen, etc.) are increasingly requiring Catena-X–aligned PCFs from suppliers. Chemical customers look for TfS compliance. All three are aligned with ISO 14067 at their core but add specificity on allocation, cut-off rules, and data exchange formats that the standard itself leaves open

ISO 14067 requires that the time period a PCF represents be stated and justified, but it doesn’t mandate a specific update frequency. In practice, industry frameworks are more prescriptive: the Catena-X Rulebook recommends annual updates during series production, with an earlier update required if the PCF changes by more than 5–10% compared to the previous period (e.g., due to a supplier change, energy mix shift, or material substitution). TfS v3.0 aligns with PACT’s three-year cycle or earlier if a greater-than-10% variance is detected. The key triggers are: changes in your Bill of Materials (new materials or suppliers), shifts in energy sourcing (switching to renewables, or a grid factor update), process modifications, and updates to the emission factor databases you use. Building PCF as a repeatable, automated process - not a one-time consultant project - is what makes annual recalculation feasible at portfolio scale.

PCF data is the connecting thread across multiple regulatory and disclosure frameworks. For CSRD/ESRS, climate-related disclosures under ESRS E1 require companies to report on GHG emissions including Scope 3 - and Scope 3 Category 1 (Purchased Goods and Services) is often the largest category for manufacturers, calculated directly from supplier-provided PCFs. For CBAM, importers of covered goods must report embedded emissions at the product level - the same cradle-to-gate boundary a partial PCF uses, though CBAM has its own calculation methodology that doesn’t directly accept ISO 14067 PCFs without adaptation. For customer reporting, OEMs and brand owners increasingly require product-level carbon data from their supply chains to populate their own Scope 3 inventories.

ISO 14067 requires a critical review for PCFs used in comparative assertions disclosed to the public (e.g., "our product has a lower footprint than competitor X"). For non-comparative external communication, the standard recommends but doesn’t mandate independent verification. In practice, verification requirements depend on who’s asking. Catena-X offers a PCF Program Certification for calculation software, but individual PCF datasets are not automatically verified through that certification - individual verification provides the highest trust level. TfS v3.0 includes a verification framework that chemical companies can apply. OEM customers like Bosch expect PCFs calculated per the Catena-X Rulebook but may or may not require formal third-party verification depending on the program. For CSRD, the sustainability report itself is subject to assurance, and the underlying PCF data will be in the auditor’s scope. For CBAM, actual (non-default) emissions values require accredited verifier sign-off.