The carbon footprint measurement toolkit for the EU Ecolabel

Established in 1992, the European Union Ecolabel, that is briefly called “the Flower” because of the mark, is a voluntary ecological product award issued by the 1980/2000 Regulation (EC 2000). Adopting the ISO classification, the EU Ecolabel belongs to the “Type I environmental labelling” (ISO 14024:1999). The possibility to include GreenHouse Gases (GHG) emissions (as of CO₂ equivalents) among the EU Ecolabel criteria is a news that is justified to the consideration that, in the last 30 years, their management and limitation assumed a relevant and strategic importance for greenhouse effect control. This paper introduces results of a project for the European Commission that aimed at developing and checking a carbon footprint calculator procedure suitable for the inclusion of the GHG emission issue in the EU Ecolabel criteria. The output tool is primarily aimed at the policy maker, i.e. the European Commission, the European Union Ecolabel Board and the Ad Hoc Working Group (AHWG, created to develop a transparent and wide discussion with reference stakeholders, see Fig. 2 for more details), but, in this step, not directly to the applicant yet.

The project structure followed four main tasks: (1) a preliminary desk top research, (2) the toolkit development, (3) the organisation of workshops and (4) diffusion and dissemination activities. A number of dissemination activities has been carried out, such as participation in key events in order to present the project and preliminary results, consultations with key stakeholders to get their opinions and input to the project work, issuing newsletters, setting up an ad hoc website with on-line consultation services and the organisation of a European-wide workshop.

The main outcomes of the project can be summarised in the availability of a simple, flexible Excel-based preliminary tool, which gives the possibility of a multilevel interpretation of the results for the different environmental parameters used, and in the definition of rules in order to provide the most suitable and scientifically correct approach that should be considered in general for the inclusion of carbon footprint criteria in the EU Ecolabel. The output tool has the unique scope to provide a basis for the AHWG in case the decision to include carbon footprint during the product group (PG) development criteria process is taken; the CO₂ figures that are provided in the database have the intention to support the execution of the five examples that are presented and included in the Excel file; it is a precise responsibility of the AHWG to verify/update/implement the data for the carbon footprint calculation of any PG under study. The dissemination activities have brought to some important decisions related to the possible use of the carbon footprint approach concerning the ‘EU Flower’ marketing and communication strategies.

The application of the life cycle thinking approach by means of the LCA methodology must always be strictly linked to the specific system (product group) under investigation. This means that the adaption of the rules and a creation of specific ‘calculation tool’ for certain product groups should be implemented during any process of criteria development or revision, where and if will be possible to define specific hurdles on carbon footprint.