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Carbon Footprinting
Let’s work together
If you are looking to meet your sustainability targets and reduce your product’s carbon footprint, our teams can help. We work with suppliers to obtain their product carbon footprints and to highlight the products with demonstrable emissions reductions.
Why does lower product carbon footprint matter?
Lowering emissions associated with your products helps you achieve your organization’s sustainability goals and meet regulatory requirements. It may also help you meet demand for sustainable products and keep up with industry best practices.
What it means
In the Univar Solutions Sustainable & Natural Product (SNP) framework, a product meets the Carbon Footprinting characteristic when its’ Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) or Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) calculation demonstrates a minimum of 5% reduction compared to a clearly defined and comparable baseline (e.g., industry average or conventional manufacturing route).
How it works
Carbon Footprinting status is determined at product level using supplier data. Demonstrating reduction of product carbon footprint should be meaningful and fair and should represent realistic substitutions. Carbon footprint comparisons can be made against industry averages, or against the manufacturer’s recent historic footprint. The following are examples of initiatives that typically lead to reduction of the product carbon footprint:
- Incorporating bio-based or circular feedstocks, compared to conventional or fossil-based materials.
- Production of material using a new high-efficiency manufacturing route, compared to production using a more conventional route.
- Production of a material using renewable energy, which lowers the PCF compared to production using the conventional energy mix.
Criteria and Standards
The following standards are conventionally used to calculate and report product carbon footprint:
- ISO 14067
- Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard Standard
- European Union Product Environmental Footpring (EU PEF) Method
- PACT Methodology
- Together for Sustainability (TfS) PCF Guideline
Supporting Documentation
Supporting documentation includes PCF or LCA documents provided by suppliers, ideally verified by a third party. Documents must demonstrate a reduction of at least 5% against a clearly defined and relevant baseline.
Let's Work Together
If you are looking to meet your sustainability targets and reduce your carbon footprint, our teams can help. We work with suppliers to obtain their product carbon footprints and to highlight the products with lower emissions.
Explore our Sustainable & Natural product framework
Carbon Footprinting is one of the characteristics within the Univar Solutions Sustainable & Natural Product (SNP) framework, alongside Bio-based, Natural, Circularity, Safer Substitutes, Biodegradable and/or Compostable, Social impact accreditation, and Environmental impact accreditation. Together, these characteristics help you see how feedstock choices, performance, and end-of-life behavior fit into a broader view of product-level sustainability attributes and trade-offs.
Explore our accredited products
Looking for products with reduced carbon footprint? Browse our SNP-classified portfolio to find materials supported by verified data and see how they can contribute to meeting your sustainability targets and regulatory requirements.
NOTICE: All product information is provided in good faith and is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication based on information received from the supplier and secondary databases. However, Univar Solutions is not able to verify whether third-party data is accurate, complete, and up-to-date and assumes no responsibility, obligation, or liability for the information provided. NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES ARE GIVEN AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SUCH AS THOSE OF MERCHANTABILTIY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED. Customer is solely responsible for determining whether products and/or the information provided are appropriate for Customer’s use, and Customer assumes all risk and liability in acting on the information provided.
Our Suppliers also sign our Supplier Code of Conduct so you can be assured that we are working throughout our supply chain to transparently create our Sustainable & Natural Products Portfolio.
