Dialogue Forum Low Carbon Food Chain, Part 1, “Insights from Emerging Climate Measurement and Certification Schemes in Europe”
18 May 2011, 10:00-18:00, at the Hotel Scandic Berlin Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany
Much of the carbon footprinting debates evolve around agriculture and food products. Significant efforts are undertaken to better measure and tackle emissions from food and agricultural products. In the dialogue forum initiatives and practitioners from the food chain were present and discussed status, approaches and prospects for promoting low carbon food chains.
On 18 May 2011 the PCF World Forum has been hosting Part 1 of the Dialogue Forum Low Carbon Food Chain “Insights from Emerging Climate Measurement and Certification Schemes in Europe” in Berlin, Germany. Food and agriculture are perceived to play an important role in worldwide climate mitigation efforts. Various initiatives have formed over the past years in response.
The Dialogue Forum is the start of a series of dialogue fora to assess the rapidly evolving measurement and certification landscape for food. It provided experts and practitioners from the food chain with an overview of current and emerging initiatives in GHG measurement, reduction and certification related to food chains. Indepth background information on the global GHG measurement landscape, the Swedish Climate Certification Scheme and the French Environmental Product Declaration Scheme were complemented by insights from practitioners in working with the emerging systems.
Jon Hillier form the University of Aberdeen introduced the Cool Farm Tool, a GHG calculator commissioned by Unilever for application by farmers, supply chain managers and companies to practically manage GHG emissions related to agriculture. The Cool Farm Tool is used by companies such as Unilever, PepsiCo, Heineken, McCain, Yara, Heinz, M&S, CostCo, Sysco, Starbucks and others.
Schedule:
10:00 – 10:45 Welcome and introduction
- Overview and identification of food chain initiatives for climate mitigation, Rasmus Priess, PCF World Forum/THEMA1
Participants and food initiatives are invited to contribute to the overview of climate mitigation related food chain initiatives.
10:45 – 12:00 Setting the stage
- Reducing GHG emissions in the food sector: Trends and challenges, Tara Garnett, Food Climate Research Network (remote/ recorded presentation)
- The global GHG measurement landscape with regard to food, Rasmus Priess, PCF World Forum/THEMA1
Q&A
12:00 – 13:30 Systems for measuring and reducing the climate impact of food chains
- Food Products in the French Environmental Product Declaration Scheme, Antonin Vergez, Environmental Ministry, France
- Climate certification for food in Sweden – criteria, background and perspectives, Anna Richert, Swedish Climate Certification System
- The Cool Farm Tool: An instrument for practically managing GHG emissions at farm level and in supply chains, Jon Hillier, University of Aberdeen
Q&A and dialogue
- What systems for measuring and reducing the climate impact of food chains are needed?
- What is the international dimension of national and regional climate standards for food?
- Do measurement and standard oriented food chain initiatives compete or complement each other?
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 17:00 Practicalities and implication of implementing climate and sustainability criteria in food chains
- Climate certification of the food chain – implications for imported products, Eva Mattsson, Grolink
- Practical experiences from climate certification of fish, Ulrica Wahlund, Domstein
- How can a major food company work with climate certification?, Enar Magnusson, Findus
Q&A and dialogue
- How can food chain participants prepare for the emerging climate measurement and certification schemes?
- What are the main benefits? What are possible risks?
17:00 – 18:00 Closing session
- What is the road ahead for measuring and reducing the climate impact of food chains?
- What major issues need to be tackled?
- Who is seen to take lead on these issues?
About the Swedish Food Climate Certification System
The Swedish Climate Certification System is a joint initiative by the Federation of Swedish Farmers, dairies, a cereal cooperative, and two existing labelling bodies: Svenskt Sigill/ Swedish Seal and KRAV and was launched in 2007. The certification states that significant efforts (defined as minimum criteria per food category) have been made to reduce the carbon emissions along the food chain (from production to the store). The criteria are implemented in Svenskt Sigill/ Swedish Seal as a voluntary add-on to the existing label. KRAV, the label for organic food, incorporates climate certification criteria in the standard for organic production. First products have been certified and are on the market.
www.klimatmarkningen.se/in-english
About the French Environmental Product Declaration Scheme
A comprehensive mandatory environmental labelling system is currently developed in France based on the laws Grenelle I and Grenelle II. It will cover a range of product categories, including food and require to quantify and declare the environmental impacts of products (CO2 and other environmental impacts). Before the design of the scheme is finalised, an experimentation phase is undertaken, starting in July 2011.
www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/Sustainable-Consumption.html
About the Cool Farm Tool
The Cool Farm Tool is a new greenhouse gas calculator for farming. It gives instant results and invites users to try out alternatives and ask ‘what if’ questions. The tool was commissioned by Unilever from the University of Aberdeen and is targeted at farmers, supply chain managers and companies interested in quantifying their agricultural carbon footprint and finding practical ways of reducing it. It calculates the greenhouse gas balance of farming, including emissions from fields, inputs, livestock, land use and land use change and primary processing. It uses ‘Tier2-type’ methods, offering users menu choices for parameters that farmers can influence to reduce their carbon footprint.
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The 2nd PCF World Forum Round Table Product Category Rules continued to address international alignment and harmonisation of product/ sector rules for product carbon footprints and environmental life-cycle assessments. The Round Table was an outcome of a dialogue process that was sparked off at the 3rd PCF World Summit to explore how transparency and alignment can be promoted in product category/ sector rule development. The on-going discussion involves representatives from major national and international PCR programs and standards. Current status and approaches to increased international alignment of PCRs/ sector rules were discussed.
2nd Round Table Product Category Rules (PCR)
Venue: Hotel Meierhof in Zurich, Switzerland.
Date: 6 April 2011, 10:00 – 16:00
10:00 Welcome and Introduction
11:00 (Short) updates on PCR related activities by participants, among others from
- Sustainability Consortium (Sustainability Management and Reporting System (SMRS))
- GHG Protocol (product rules and sector guidance in the GHG Protocol Product and Scope 3 standards)
- European Commission (Product Footprint Category Rules for environmental footprinting)
- GEDnet
- defra/ PAS 2050
- Horticulture Protocol
12:30 Input presentations on
- Comparing product category rules in different programs: what can we learn for their future alignment?, Wesley Ingwersen, US EPA Office of Research and Development (pre-recorded presentation)
- The presentation is an output of an activity stimulated/ supported by the PCR Task Force aiming to provide a better foundation for the cross-program comparison of product category rules
- It was conducted by Wesley Ingwersen (US EPA), Vee Subramanian (The Sustainability Consortium), Connie Hensler (Interface, Inc.), Heather Collie (DEFRA UK)
- Product categories considered in the comparison: Fresh horticultural products, Milk, Wood particle board, Laundry detergent, Washing machines (household)
- Aligning guidance for developing Product Category Rules, Rita Schenck, American Center for Life Cycle Assessment
13:30 Lunch
14:30 Round Table discussion
- How can future alignment of Product Category and Sector Rules be fostered?
- What steps are already taken?
- Who needs to take responsibility?
16:00 Closing
Participants:
- Companies and/or business associations involved or interested in developing product/ sector assessment rules for their industry or that are implementing assessment rules for their suppliers.
- Government representatives overseeing assessment/ communication programmes for environmental performance of products (goods and services).
- Civil society representatives involved or interested in product and sector environmental assessments.
Please email priess(at)thema1.de for any questions or comments.
Background: Product Category Rules in Product Carbon Footprinting and Environmental Assessments
Companies across all sectors increasingly assess and communicate about the environmental and climate impact of their goods and services.
To achieve comparability in results uniform and specific metrics are needed. International standards for product carbon footprinting (PCF) such as the GHG Protocol Product Standard or ISO 14067 “Carbon Footprint of Products” are currently developed and will provide basic rules for the assessment and communication of product carbon footprint results. However, various assumptions still need to be made in each assessment of a carbon footprint or full LCA.
Due to the lack of specificity, Product Carbon Footprints for identical products may therefore still lead to incomparable results. The major standards hence refer to the use of instruments such as Product Rules, Product Category Rules (PCR) or Sector Rules, which provide a set of specific rules for the assessment of a product in a certain product category or sector.
PCRs and sector rules are traditionally developed by industry groups and/ or national EPD programmes. As a consequence often many different rules exist for a certain product category internationally. The increasing uptake of product carbon footprinting and the application of the new standards further contributes to this situation. As a result, a company that wishes to assess the carbon footprint of a certain product may be confronted with a range of different possible PCRs. Also many product categories share the same underlying processes such as transport or agriculture, which in itself are subject to harmonisation.
The completion of the international standards for the assessment of product carbon footprints increases the need for rapid and comprehensive PCR development. This was recognised at the 3rd PCF World Summit and representatives from major international PCR programs and standards formed a PCR Task Force to investigate pathways to increased international PCR alignment and harmonisation. The group currently includes members from World Resources Institute, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, JEMAI, GEDnet, Environdec, the French Environmental Ministry, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the US Environmental Protection Agency, the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment, the Ministry for Economic Development, Innovation and Export of Québec, Earthster and is facilitated by Rasmus Priess from the PCF World Forum and Mark Goedkoop from PRé.
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Find information here.
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PCF World Forum Round Table on Product Category Rules, 19 October 2010 / Berlin
The PCF World Forum Round Table Product Category Rules takes up the issue of international alignment and harmonisation of product category rules for product carbon footprints and environmental life-cycle assessments. As a result of the 3rd PCF World Summit in March 2010 a discussion was stimulated on how transparency and alignment can be promoted in product category rule development. The on-going discussion involves representatives from major national and international PCR programs and standards. First outcomes of this discussion were presented at the round table and discussed with participants. Many business associations are currently developing product category rules or are planning to do so. The main aim of the round table is to collect input from business associations across sectors on the needs of businesses in PCR development and international harmonisation.
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Round Table Product Category Rules
PCF World Forum, 19 October 2010 / Berlin
14:00 Welcome and introduction
14:20 Issues and challenges in development and use of Product Category Rules
15:00 Proposals for fostering international alignment/ harmonisation of Product Category Rules
15:30 Gathering input from business associations/ stakeholders
19:00 Get together with PCF World Summit speakers
Major issues and challenges in PCF development were highlighted and approaches to fostering international PCR alignment were presented. Input from participating business associations were collected to inform the development of a more concrete proposal for international PCR alignment and harmonisation. The round table closed with an informal get-together with speakers of the 4th PCF World Summit, beginning the following day.
Background: Product Category Rules in Product Carbon Footprinting
Companies across all sectors increasingly assess and communicate about the environmental and climate impact of their goods and services.
To achieve comparability in results uniform and specific metrics are needed. International standards for product carbon footprinting (PCF) such as the GHG Protocol Product Standard or ISO 14067 “Carbon Footprint of Products” are currently developed and will provide basic rules for the assessment and communication of product carbon footprint results. However, various assumptions still need to be made in each assessment of a carbon footprint or full LCA.
Due to the lack of specificity, Product Carbon Footprints for identical products may therefore still lead to incomparable results. The major standards hence refer to the use of Product Category Rules (PCR), which provide a set of specific rules for the assessment of a product in a certain product category or sector.
PCRs are traditionally developed by industry groups and/ or national EPD programs. As a consequence often many different rules exist for a certain product category internationally. The increasing uptake of product carbon footprinting and the application of the new standards further contributes to this situation. As a result, a company that wishes to assess the carbon footprint of a certain product may be confronted with a range of different possible PCRs. Also many product categories share the same underlying processes such as transport or agriculture.
The completion of the international standards for the assessment of product carbon footprints increases the need for rapid and comprehensive PCR development. This was recognised at the 3rd PCF World Summit and representatives from major international PCR programs and standards are currently discussing approaches to driving international PCF alignment and harmonisation. The group currently includes members from World Resources Institute, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, JEMAI, GEDnet, Environdec, the French Environmental Ministry, defra, the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment, Earthster and is facilitated by Mark Goedkoop from Pré and Rasmus Priess from the PCF World Forum.
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4th PCF World Summit: From Standardisation to Communication, 20-21 October 2010 / Berlin
The challenges for reducing GHG emissions in the value chains are manifold. For the past years substantial methodological work has been undertaken to develop a basis for the uniform assessment of product carbon footprints. In fall 2010, major standards were moving closer to completion – the GHG Protocol Product and Scope 3 standards were expected for later that year after intensive road-testing by more than 70 companies. The ISO standard will likely soon have entered the status of a draft international standard.
With these standards moving to completion the debate on adequate communication and engagement with consumers for GHG reductions is in full swing – the discussions at the last PCF World Summit already expressed a clear need for more refined approaches and discussions. Clarity on standards and communication approaches and requirements is important to tackle the issue of low carbon consumption and production in an efficient, credible and effective way, for business, governments, civil society and solution providers alike.
The 4th PCF World Summit “From Standardisation to Communication”, dedicated two full days to raise and discuss important questions on the current status and perspectives of standardisation and communication in product carbon footprinting:
- WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol road-testing results
- Latest developments in the ISO 14067 standardisation process
- Perspective of PAS 2050. What will a revision bring?
- Product Category Rules: Status of international harmonisation
- Mandatory carbon labelling in France: What are the impacts?
- What drives climate conscious consumer behaviour? What role can product design play?
- Debate: Carbon labelling in the perception of the consumer
The two-day Fourth PCF World Summit “From Standardisation to Communication” took place on October 20-21, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.
The Summit Companion and further information can be found here.
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The announcement of France to introduce a mandatory environmental labelling scheme for products in 2011 has raised significant international attention from businesses, governments and civil society alike. Following up on developments in France is not trivial, given the extent of the scheme and the number of organisations involved.
The recent decision by the French National Assembly to postpone the start of the scheme by half a year and to introduce an experimental phase introduced more clarity on the next steps but also raised new questions. It was time to take a closer look at the French plan and its implications for international businesses and stakeholders.
The PCF World Forum therefore hosted a special update workshop on the French environmental labelling scheme on 23 June 2010, 10:30-16:00, at the Hotel Concorde in Berlin. The workshop aimed at shedding light on questions such as:
- What is Grenelle 2 / Le Grenelle Environnement in France?
- What does the decision by the French National Assembly actually mean?
- Mandatory environmental labelling: Pros & Cons.
- What is the progress of the project so far? What has been agreed upon, what issues are still open?
- What product categories are concerned and when?
- What environmental indicators are assessed for the different product categories?
- What does the scheme mean for international companies with and without activities in France?
- What does the scheme mean for SMEs?
- How will the scheme influence EU and member states policy?
- What do we learn from pilot projects undertaken in preparation of the scheme?
- How detailed will the assessments be? What tools are developed to decrease efforts involved in assessing the environmental indicators?
- What will the communication format look like?
- How do different interest groups view the initiative?
The workshop therefore provided an outstanding opportunity to deep-dive into and shape opinion on the French plans with participants from business, politics and civil society.
Sylvain Chevassus, Sustainable Development Ministry France on Grenelle 2.
To provide workshop participants with up-to-date insights on the French developments, we were very happy to have secured Olivier Jan, Director of Bio Intelligence Service, as distinguished speaker and expert of the French developments for the workshop. Bio Intelligence Service is involved in many of the core discussions and studies in France and has undertaken pilot studies and projects for French retailer Casino and the French retail and food federations. Bio Intelligence Service is furthermore strongly involved in the methodological work led by ADEME.
The workshop was facilitated by Rasmus Priess, Co-Founder of the PCF World Forum and closely involved in many of the international discussions on product carbon footprinting. Rasmus is part of the WRI / WBCSD (Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard) and the ISO 14067 (Carbon Footprint of Products) processes. To promote intensive dialogue and learning, participants were invited to submit questions on the French scheme beforehand to be discussed at the workshop.
Karin Kilk from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment provided a perspective from the German Government on the French developments.
Programme
- Introduction
- Background information on French Environmental Labelling Scheme
- Collection of questions
- Pilot studies: Experiences and results
- Retailer Casino: L’Indice Carbone
- Retailer E.Leclerc: Bilan CO2
- France Telecom Orange: Environmental indicators for phones
- French Retail and French Agrifood Associations: Feasibility studies on 300 products
- Product Category Rules: Status of working groups
- Tools development: Databases and software
- Outlook: What do we know about the future?