Carbon footprint plans criticised by senior packaging figure

A senior packaging industry source has warned that proposals to revisit data used to measure the carbon footprint of products after two years could be prohibitively expensive.

The suggestion is included in a consultation on the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050 standard, which is being developed by BSI British Standards with the Carbon Trust and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).


The consultation, which closes today (28 March), says results from the implementation of PAS 2050 "shall be valid for a period of two years, unless there is a material change in the lifecycle of the product whose GHG emissions are being assessed".


The source said he could "in some sense understand the logic" for the two-year timeframe because BSI would hope for major changes during this period. However, reassessment after such a short time would be a "huge expense".


The source also warned that emissions from manufacturing should not be calculated by assessing each individual production line, as this would penalise industry, rather than taking an average, as is proposed for the consumer use phase.


"Is this going to be at a micro or a macro level?" the source asked. "Micro would be unaffordable."


For consumer goods or services, PAS 2050, which is due to be published in June, will measure the complete product lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, including in the use phase by consumers.


Brand owners will be able to show compliance with the standard on their products' packaging.


The lifecycle will encompass raw material production, product manufacturing, distribution, use and disposal.


The aim of the standard is to provide consumers with a greater understanding of products' carbon footprint when they make purchasing decisions and use products.


Feedback from the consultation will be reviewed by the PAS Steering Group.
Source: packagingnews