Smart Innovators: Product Carbon Footprinting

Executive Summary

Decarbonizing products has become a top priority for sustainability, procurement, product and supply chain professionals. To comply with emerging regulations such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and gain a competitive edge, firms must transition from estimated product carbon footprints (PCFs) to bottom-up supplier data, or at least accurate secondary data estimations. Simultaneously, suppliers are increasingly being asked to fulfil numerous product carbon footprinting requests from their customers, driving the adoption of specialized software solutions. This report benchmarks innovation across 16 providers from LCA, carbon management and supply chain sustainability backgrounds, covering three key areas: data collection and management, PCF calculation, and performance analysis and reporting. Software providers offering PCF functionality can use this report to understand the competitive landscape in which they operate. Sustainability, procurement and supply chain leaders and product managers can use the analysis to navigate the diverse landscape of solutions, assess their current and future product carbon footprinting needs, explore emerging capabilities, and compare vendors to inform their software selection process.