Renewable Resources in the Value Chain A Viable Option for Reducing Environmental Footprints?

Use of natural resources and materials in products is pursued as an important option for responding to stakeholder demand and for improving product sustainability and longterm viability of business cases.
As a consequence natural resource targets are becoming more commonplace. At the 8th PCF World Summit the viability of natural resource use in products will be explored, particularly in relation to carbon and environmental footprinting, including

• case studies on renewable energy and resource use: Experience, evidence and insights

• use of biobased materials in products: Initiatives, developments, best practices

• land-use and land-use change: Relevance and treatment in carbon and environmental footprinting

As always, the PCF World Summit will feature updates on carbon and environmental footprinting initiatives and international Product Category Rule development.

Save the date and register online or via fax form for the 8th PCF World Summit on 26-27 September in Berlin!

The 7th PCF World Summit “From Environmental Footprinting to Implementation: Renewable Energy in the Value Chain” took place in Berlin on the 17-18 April 2012 in the Quadriga Forum.

More than a dozen speakers from international NGOs, governmental agencies or leading corporations presented the developments, standpoints and achievements of their organisations in relation to product carbon footprinting and renewable energy use in values chains.

Engaged discussions followed throughout the Summit.

For further information on the 7th PCF World Summit, click here.

You can find information about the assessment of the national experiment if you click on “L’évaluation de l’expérimentation” on the left hand side.  
 

Day 2, 18 April
Unfortunately Andrea Brown from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development cannot provide the update on the GHG Protocol. Instead we are happy to have Mary Sotos from the GHG Protocol Team at World Resources Institute talk about current worldwide efforts for GHG Protocol implementation and capacity building. Also Henry Garthwaite from the Carbon Trust will update on the Carbon Trust Carbon Reduction Label, particularly in light of Tesco’s recent decisions around its carbon labelling programme. And Sophie Hennes from Alstom Power will speak about “The abatement perspective: Carbon footprint performance of Alstom Power offerings” in the session on “(Renewable) energy in carbon and environmental footprinting.

We are really looking forward to interesting talks and discussions at the 7th PCF World Summit and to seeing many familiar faces!

Bill Gates on “Innovating to Zero” at TED 2010:

You may also download the summit companion here.

The 7th PCF World Summit “From Environmental Footprinting to Implementation: Renewable Energy in the Value Chain” takes place in Berlin from 17-18 April 2012 and will provide insights into recent international developments in carbon and environmental footprinting as well as the use of renewable energy in products and value chains. The PCF World Summits, organised by the neutral international PCF World Forum, will provide ample opportunities for participants to discuss recent and future developments and collectively engage and network towards low carbon production and consumption.

We are excited about the topics and speakers and look forward to fruitful Summit discussions.

Please find the updated detailed programme and more background information in the document below. Secure your place!

You may also download the detailed programme.

RENEWABLE ENERGY USE IN PRODUCTS AND VALUE CHAINS

• In their keynotes Thierry Berthoud, Director Energy & Climate from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Stephan Singer, Director Global Energy Policy at WWF International will address the role of companies and private markets across sectors in worldwide renewable energy development.

• Case studies from Deutsche Bahn and Ritter Gruppe will exemplify relevance of energy in carbon footprinting and how companies answer through ambitious renewable energy targets.

• Currently green power purchases are not fully recognised to reduce carbon footprints of companies and products. Rasmus Priess will explain existing regulations in international carbon footprinting standards and Mary Sotos will introduce the GHG Protocol work on developing guidelines for power accounting.

• Initiatives such as the WindMade Label and the upcoming Renewable Supply Chain Project specifically address renewable energy use by companies in value chains. They will be presented.

DEVELOPMENTS IN CARBON AND ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINTING

• Martin Bortzmeyer from the French Ministry of Sustainable Development will speak about preliminary outcomes of the experimentation phase of the French Environmental Labelling Scheme.

• Rana Pant from the Joint Research Center/ European Commission will update on the European Guidelines for measuring the environmental footprint of products and organisations.

• Andrea Brown will explain how the international implementation of the GHG Protocol for Product and Scope 3 GHG Accounting is pursued.

• Asami Miyake from JEMAI will explain the important transformation the Japanese Carbon Footprint of Products Project is currently undergoing.

• Nancy Gillis from the US General Services Administration will introduce and gather feedback on the guidelines for use of product standards and labels for sustainable public procurement in the USA.

• Sophie Fallaha from CIRAIG in Québec/ Canada will announce a large scale GHG Protocol based Government project on Product Carbon Footprinting to cater for future comparable carbon footprint certification.

INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT CATEGORY RULE DEVELOPMENT

At the 4th PCR Round Table, international Product Category Rule development for the comparable quantification of carbon and environmental footprints will be reviewed and discussed with input presentations on:

• Global survey of product and sector guidance by Karen Fisher,

• an initiative to create a global PCR registry by Sven-Olof Ryding and Anne-Marie Kerkhof,

• the relationship of the Sustainability Consortium SMRS to PCR development by Euan Murray,

• current PCR developments within the French Environmental Labelling Scheme by Martin Bortzmeyer,

• the LCA public database that is created for the application of Product Category Rules in the French scheme by Michael Ooms,

• and the ongoing development work for an environmental footprint measurement protocol for the food sector (ENVIFOOD Protocol) by Jean-Christophe Bligny.

CREATING BUSINESS VALUE THROUGH CARBON FOOTPRINTING

In a dedicated track parallel to the 4th PCR Round Table, Kevin Ramm from SAP with the support of Michael Spielmann from PE International will explore with interested participants how carbon footprint information can be employed to maximise business value in companies.

Besides ISO 14040, ISO 14044 and ISO 14025, which the Japanese CFP program has always been based on, the new program will be operated in conformance with ISO 14067 (Carbon footprint of products –Requirements and guidelines for quantification and communication). Until its publication, the program will be tentatively performed in a manner consistent with ISO/DIS 14067.

Full-scale operation will start on 1st July. Until then, the new scheme will be gradually developed starting with the release of program instruction on 2nd April. Active discussion with a range of stakeholders is anticipated in this transitional period.

Asami Miyaki from JEMAI will explain the changes to the Japanese CFP Program at the 7th PCF World Summit in Berlin (17-18 April 2012).

These are some of the questions that will be addressed at the upcoming 7th PCF World Summit on 17-18 April 2012 in Berlin.

We are happy to provide you a quick update on the PCF World Summit Programme including:

Antonin Vergez from the French Environmental Ministry will almost one year into the ongoing French Environmental Labelling experiment inform on first results and reflections.
Sophie Fallaha from CIRAIG, Canada will introduce the recently launched Product Carbon Footprint Pilot Project in Québec which will as part of a comprehensive carbon footprint certification system be based on the GHG Protocol and also aims to contribute to international alignment of Product Category Rules.
Nancy Gillis from the General Services Administration will speak about the Guidelines on use of environmental product standards and labels in the US government procurement process that are currently under development and will include provisions on GHG emissions in supply chains.
Asami Miyake from JEMAI, the future program holder of the Japanese carbon footprint system will explain the transformation the Japanese system will be going through and how it is integrated into a more comprehensive Environmental Declaration system.
Euan Murray from The Sustainability Consortium will update on the Sustainability Measurement and Reporting System (SMRS) under development by The Sustainability Consortium and how this relates to other carbon and environmental footprint programmes.
Stephan Singer from WWF will open Day 2 with a reflection on the importance of ambitious renewable energy use in companies.
Henrik Kuffner from the recently launched WindMade label initiative will introduce their motivation and approach for assessing and rewarding renewable energy use in companies and products.

In dedicated tracks perspectives for the international alignment of Product Category Rules and Sector Guidance will be discussed, including an introduction by Annemarie Kerkhof from Pré and Sven-Olof Ryding from SEMCo to a newly established international PCR library. Kevin Ramm from SAP will explore with participants the question how to best leverage carbon and environmental footprinting efforts for maximising environmental benefits and business value. The Summit will provide participants furthermore with ample opportunities to engage with each other, in discussions on particular questions and individual networking breaks, particularly the Low Carbon Networking Dinner in the evening of Day 1.

Please find the updated programme overview and more background information in the document below. Secure your place!