On June 1, 2024, PCF STARTER, our joint offering with Association of German machinery and plant engineering (VDMA) To make it easier to get started with PCF calculation, expire as agreed.
Background to the development of PCF STARTER
For industrial companies, which are responsible for ~ 30% of carbon emissions in Germany, the pressure to decarbonize is increasing sharply. Regulators and customers are increasingly demanding environmentally related company information, including data on carbon emissions in Scope 1-3. Increasingly, the focus of inquiries is also shifting to the product level, which introduces new complexity and poses challenges for affected companies.
A successful green transformation requires sector players to be more transparent about carbon emissions caused by their products over the respective life cycle — a calculation that is considered extremely challenging. The reasons for this include, for example, the complexity of global value chains and a lack of supplier information, particularly for complex purchased parts, but also the lack of industry specificity of the established standards for product carbon footprint calculations (PCF). Like many others (e.g. in the automotive or electronics sector), the industry continues to find it difficult to reliably standardize PCF calculations across companies and thus make them comparable.
In order to find a solution for this, renowned German mechanical and plant engineering companies have formed a working group at VDMA association level, which together developed a joint guideline for PCF calculation in mechanical engineering over several months as a supplement and specification of existing standards such as ISO 14067. As a VDMA member, Tanso has actively contributed to this working group and worked with the companies to develop challenges in PCF calculation and best practices for solving them.
Building on the results of the working group, the PCF STARTER was jointly launched for VDMA members from April 2023. The aim of the joint product offering was to help industrial companies implement and optimize PCF calculations, with a particular focus on companies that are completely new to the topic.
What is Tanso's PCF STARTER?
The PCF STARTER is a pragmatic calculator that makes it possible to quickly and easily calculate the carbon footprint of a specific product and to identify the first emission hotspots.
The calculation focuses on the cradle-to-gate phase in the product life cycle and follows a hybrid approach. This combines top-down allocated emissions from production energy consumption with bottom-up emissions based on materials (parts list). There is also a surcharge factor for transports. The PCF STARTER is therefore particularly suitable for products whose emissions largely come from energy consumption and materials. The basis for this calculation approach is the VDMA guideline for calculating the PCF for mechanical and plant engineering and the ISO 14067 standard.
PCF STARTER — a resounding success
One year after the start of the collaboration, we look back on a successful project:
- 400 people from more than 270 VDMA companies used the software to calculate their PCFs
- 450 PCFs were created within a short period of time - this usually takes weeks or even months, with PCF Starter a few hours
Despite simplified calculation logic, the accuracy of the result is also impressive: Comparisons with existing PCF and LCA calculations show the validity of the approach:
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"Ich bin positiv überrascht über die Nähe der Ergebnisse zwischen dem von Tanso in Kooperation mit dem VDMA entwickelten PCF STARTER und der deutlich umfassenderen Lebenszyklusanalyse (LCA), die HEIDELBERG für Produkte erstellt. Aufgrund der Einfachheit des Tools empfiehlt sich PCF STARTER für alle Hersteller, die mit der produktspezifischen CO₂-Bilanzierung beginnen möchten. Hier können gut Hotspots identifiziert werden.”
- Franziska Peter von der Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Calculate scalable PCFs now with Tanso
On June 1, 2024, the PCF STARTER offer will end as planned. However, for VDMA members who are still interested in software solutions for PCF calculations, there is a seamless solution: The PCF module from Tanso, which was further developed based on feedback on PCF Starter by a €2.5 million European Union innovation funding extensively supported in its development.
This module was specifically designed for scalable PCF calculations and integrated into the Tanso sustainability platform, which also allows Scope 1 and 2 data from the core product Corporate Carbon Footprint to be taken into account. The software provides access to over 33,000 emission factors and introduces new functions such as parts list imports and an extensive component library that allows companies to more easily calculate PCFs for various product variants in accordance with ISO 14067.
Tanso PCF is currently in the TÜV certification process, which means that double certification to ISO 14064 and ISO 14067 will be achieved within the next few months.
About the VDMA
The VDMA With over 3,500 members in Germany and Europe, is the largest network association for machinery and plant engineering companies. It represents the joint economic, technical and scientific interests of this industry in Germany and around the world.
About Tanso
Tanso is a software company from Munich that, with its solution for Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF), and additional modules for Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), ESG management for CSRD compliance, and CBAM reporting, offers a carbon intelligence suite for medium-sized industrial companies. Tanso is an official VDMA member and part of the PCF expert group, who work together to develop the standard for PCF calculations.
Contact us
Would you like to find out how Tanso can also help you collect your product carbon footprint? Book here a non-binding exchange.
