Product Standard Background
The Product Life Cycle and Corporate Value Chain standards have been created through a broad, inclusive, multi-stakeholder process. Over a three year period:
- 2,300 participants were involved from 55 countries;
- 112 members formed technical working groups to draft the standards, and;
- 38 companies from various industries road tested the standards in 2010.
The standards provide a methodology that can be used to account for and report emissions from companies of all sectors, globally. They are accompanied by user-friendly guidance and tools developed by the GHG Protocol.
What is the Product Life Cycle?
The Product Standard can be used to understand the full life cycle emissions of a product and focus efforts on the greatest GHG reduction opportunities. This is the first step towards more sustainable products.
Using the standard, companies can measure the greenhouse gases associated with the full life cycle of products including raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, storage, use and disposal. The results can create competitive advantage by enabling better product design, increasing efficiencies, reducing costs, and removing risks.
The standard will also help companies respond to customer demand for environmental information and make it easier to communicate the environmental aspects of products.