Getting ready to do your first Product Carbon Footprint

If you’ve bought your first Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), you’re already taking a solid step towards carbon transparency - and we’re here to make the process as straightforward as possible.

We know that for many manufacturers, this might be new territory. Carbon reporting can sound technical, even overwhelming at first. But don’t worry - you don’t need to be an expert. You just need to understand what’s needed, why it matters, and how to get started.

What is a PCF, and why does data matter?

A PCF measures the upfront carbon emissions associated with your product — from raw material extraction to when it leaves your facility gate. This is often called ‘cradle to gate’. It’s a practical way to understand your carbon impact, respond to customer demand, and future-proof your business.

To calculate your product’s footprint accurately, we need to understand all the possible sources of greenhouse gas emissions as it’s made. The more specific and evidence-based your data is, the more credible and useful your PCF will be.

You can request this data from your facility or supplier.

Click here for a template letter to request data from your facility or supplier.

If you can’t get the data you need, we can provide industry averages. This will complete your report, although it won’t be as specific to your business.

What makes data “good”?

We know not all data is easily available. But using the best evidence you can find leads to a more robust PCF and helps you to better compare and contrast your performance with others. Here’s how we rate the different types of data you can use:

Primary data (“Good”)

Facility specific data (invoices, energy bills, internal management systems, official logs)
Product specific information such as materials’ verified carbon footprint (eg EPD, PCF) and Bill of Materials (BOM)

Secondary Data (“Basic”)

Generic data or industry averages
Educated assumptions with provided logic

When preparing your data, you should consider:

You must account for more than 97% of all inputs into your product to meet the required standard.
Where you’ll source your data from. For example, it could be held by other internal departments in your organisation
What is the quality of that source? (see guidance below)
Is the available data all aligned to the same time period/financial reporting year? Ideally, The data must cover the same financial reporting period (eg 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024)
What data is available from your suppliers? Do they have EPD or PCF for their materials? The chances are, if you are asking, others are too.
Does your supply chain have existing certifications that can be provided for these purposes?

1. Site-specific information

What we need:

Manufacturing facility location
Production volume data

Why this matters: The carbon impact of energy use in your facility will be pro-rated by the production weight from the product relative to total production weight from the facility (assuming your facility also produces other products). Waste data helps account for emissions from scrap, rejects or by-products.

Good

NGER site ID or national registry info (if applicable)
Street address of manufacturing site
Third party verified production data OR published annual report showing annual production data
Production data from internal inventory management system

Basic

General location of the facility without street address
Estimated production data

2. Manufacturing processes

What we need:

Energy sources and fuel types used in the manufacturing facility (including vehicle fuel used within the facility)
Use of refrigerants and its annual leakage in the manufacturing facility

Why this matters: How your product is made — and how much electricity, gas, biomass and renewable energy it takes to produce it — has a major impact on its overall carbon footprint. This is also where we capture emissions from other chemical reactions or treatments with global warming potential (GWP)

Good

Energy bills showing actual energy use by utility provider
If claiming off-site renewables, proof of GreenPower purchase or REC registry showing confirmed LGC surrender.
Individual bills of all energy source (electricity, gas, diesel, off-site renewables etc)
Metered data from internal energy management system
List of fuels and energy sources used from internal system

Basic

Energy estimates for production process
Assumed energy types

3. Materials, transport and waste

What we need:

All materials and components used in product
Quantities used by weight, volume or area
Where materials are sourced from and how are they transported to facility
Waste generation, recycling or reuse (if applicable)
Direct CO2 emissions from chemical processes of materials (clay, carbonates, soda ash) during manufacturing (if any)

Why this matters: Every material has its own carbon footprint. Knowing exactly what’s in your product — and how much — helps us calculate the most accurate emissions data. It also gives you insight into which materials are the biggest contributors to your footprint.

Good

Publicly available product or material specification sheet showing product components
Material safety data sheet (MSDS)
EPD or PCF of the material
Purchase orders showing exact material quantities used
Invoice, receipts, chain of custody or delivery dockets clearly showing source location
Freight provider data with tonne-kilometre breakdowns
Third party waste reports (by waste contractors) or waste records used for government compliance
Inventory data from ERP or design system (such as BIM)
Supplier names and locations
Transport type by leg (e.g. rail to depot, then road by truck)
Internal waste tracking data

Basic

Industry-average material lists
Assumed weights or quantities
Quantity estimates from internal system
Generic supplier info without specificity on location
Assumed transport types, eg “by road” or “by sea”
Waste estimates or assumptions

4. Packaging materials

What we need:

Packaging materials and weights
Packing material origin and transport mode
Wasted packaging materials during production

Why this matters: Packaging materials are included in your product's carbon footprint. If they are heavy or non-recyclable, they add to your product’s carbon footprint.

Good

Weighed packaging with spec sheets or supplier details
Invoice, receipts showing packaging material, weight and source of origin
Freight provider data with tonne-kilometre breakdowns
Third party waste reports (by waste contractors) or waste records used for government compliance
Packaging material type and rough weight data from internal system
Packaging supplier name and location
Transport type by leg (e.g. rail to depot, then road by truck)
Internal waste tracking data

Basic

Estimated / assumed packaging material type and weight
Assumed source of origin
Assumed transport types, eg “by road” or “by sea”
Waste estimates or assumptions

Use our spreadsheet to make things easier

To help you gather the data you’ll need to submit in one place, we’ve created a simple spreadsheet. It’s designed to guide you step-by-step through the data we need.

You don’t have to fill in every cell — just do your best. If you're unsure about something, leave it blank and we’ll work it out together.

Download the spreadsheet here.

You will be prompted to upload it when you begin your PCF which will prefill fields on your behalf, saving you extra effort.

Before you start your PCF with us

We recommend collecting as much of this information as possible before you start.. It’ll save time, reduce back-and-forth, and help us deliver a faster, clearer and more accurate carbon footprint.

Here is a checklist on all the information you need to gather before starting your PCF:

Manufacturing facility information and production data from last financial year
Energy records in the facility
Bill of materials of your product
Packaging materials details
Waste records

And if you need help? Just ask — we’re here to guide you every step of the way.