Please download the agenda for the two-day conference
Implementing the International PCF Standards: Building Credibility in Carbon Footprint Information
PCF World Summit 2011, Zurich/Switzerland, 7-8 April 2011
Carbon footprinting plays an increasingly important role in environmental and sustainability strategies of companies. The upcoming international standards constitute an important milestone in its uniform implementation for carbon management and for communication with customers and stakeholders. Addressees of such information, be it customers, end-consumers or stakeholders need to have trust in the information provided. This is particularly important when carbon footprint information is used in marketing claims and corporate communication. But also the data infrastructure needs to be robust enough and reliable so that companies undertaking carbon footprint calculations have trust in their underlying integrity.
The 5th PCF World Summit has addressed the issue of Credibility in Carbon Footprint Information, as related to assurance and verification, the emerging international standards, its consideration in different international initiatives and programmes and its practical relevance and implication for emerging economies and international trade.
The 5th PCF World Summit took place at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Zurich, on the 7-8 April 2011. 150 international delegates and speakers were in attendance, from fields of business, government, non-government organisations and academic institutions, to continue the work in the development and understanding of Product Carbon Footprinting.
We were honored to open the Summit with keynotes by Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, Head of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC), Switzerland; Hans-Peter Fricker, CEO of WWF Switzerland; Herbert Bolliger, President of the Executive Board of Migros; and Markus Naegeli, CEO of Canon Switzerland. We would like to thank them and all the speakers listed below for their valuable contribution to the 5th PCF World Summit.
A first session on Building Credibility in Carbon Footprint Information highlighted issues around credibility, assurance and verification of carbon footprint information and tackled questions such as: How should carbon footprint assessments be organised for maximum credibility? How can companies evaluate and trust information provided by suppliers? What levels of assurance for carbon footprint data and information are possible and desirable? How can consumers‘ trust in climate-related product information be built? How do common databases treat data quality and consistency? How can exchange of credible carbon footprint data be facilitated? With contributions from:
- Rasmus Priess, PCF World Forum / THEMA1, Germany
- Ahmad Ansari, SGS, Germany
- Holly Lahd, World Resources Institute/ GHG Protocol Initiative
- Greg Norris, Sylvatica and New Earth, USA
- Walter Klöpffer, LCA Consult & Review, Germany
- Roland Hischier, ecoinvent Centre, Switzerland
- Malcolm Fox, Sustainability Consortium, USA
Providing and using carbon footprint information in a credible and relevant manner is a challenge for verification and corporate communications. In a panel and plenary discussion on the future of credibility in carbon footprinting: Verification vs. Transparency? , particular emphasis was placed on the general trend of increased demand for value chain transparency: What kind of assurance can be provided in the future? What are the pros and cons for comprehensive transparency versus verification? Can verification reduce the need for transparency? What are the limits of verification? What are the limits of disclosure? The discussion was chaired by: Rasmus Priess, PCF World Forum / THEMA1, with panellists:
- Cynthia Cummis, World Resources Institute/ GHG Protocol Initiative
- Jonathan Hall, SGS
- Roland Hischier, ecoinvent Centre
- Klaus Radunsky, Federal Environment Agency, Austria and Convenor ISO 14067
- Mayta Villafane, DNV Climate Change and Environmental Services
Insights into the emergence of carbon footprint standards from an emerging economy and small farmer point of view and their implications for international trade were provided by:
- Vesile Kulaçoglu, World Trade Organisation
- Katharina Plassmann, German Institute of Agricultural Climate Research
- Luis Fernando Samper, Colombian Coffee Growers Federation
- Norma Tregurtha, ISAEL Alliance
- Hans-Peter Egler, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO Economic Cooperation and Development
Case Studies highlighting practical experience with carbon footprint exercises and communication were shared with participants with a particular emphasis placed on credibility and assurance by:
- Bruno Vanderborght, Holcim Senior Vice-President Climate Change
- Ralph Huggel, Chiquita Country Manager Switzerland
- Heinz Schmid, Managing Director of Climatop
Perspectives and updates on international standardisation processes and developments in carbon footprinting were provided. Particular emphasis was placed on their treatment of assurance and verification: What new provisions have been incorporated in the draft standards and revisions? How do the standards treat the need for assurance and / or verification of models, data and claims? How is the need for product category specifications currently incorporated? With contributions from:
- Maureen Nowak, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (defra), UK
- Sylvain Chevassus, Ministry of Sustainable Development, France
- Rasmus Priess, PCF World Forum / Thema1, Germany
- Pascal Gréverath, Vice-President Environmental Sustainability of Nestlé and Co-Chair of the European Food SCP Roundtable
- Pierre Sicsic, EMEA Energy Efficiency Programme Manager of Hewlett-Packard Company and Sustainability Consortium PAIA Project
- Shabbir H. Gheewala, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand
- Klaus Radunsky, Federal Environment Agency, Austria and Convener ISO 14067
- Cynthia Cummis, World Recources Institute/ GHG Protocol Initiative
- Nathalie Creste-Manservisi, DG Climate Action, European Commission
- Michele Galatola, DG Environment, European Commission
Open Space Discussions provided participants with the opportunity to raise and facilitate issues of broader interest, which may help to stimulate innovation. The following topics were discussed:
- Radical Disruptions of Value Chains, facilitated by Stephen Heal, SCI / Hackwood Consulting
- Consumer Behaviour, facilitated by Heinz Schmid, Climatop
- Quality, Assurance, Credibility, Holly Lahd, WRI / GHG Protocol Initiative and Annette Köhler, PE International
- Break Out Group Debate on Carbon Offsetting, facilitated by Richard Walker, Producer/Anchor, Deutsche Welle TV, with Panellists René Estermann, CEO of myclimate; Eva Filzmoser, Programme Director at CDM Watch; Marcel Hänggi, Journalist and Author; and Mattias Leisinger, Head of CSR at Kuoni
- Data Exchange in the Value Chain, Kevin Ramm SAP
- Credible and Transparent Environmental Footprinting, facilitated by Ivo Mersiowsky, Dekra
As a tradition at the PCF World Summits, the Low Carbon Network Dinner on the evening of the first conference day gave the participants a special opportunity to network in a relaxed atmosphere while experiencing exquisite low carbon cuisine. This time, it took place at the guild house “zur Saffran” in the centre of Zurich, the traditional meeting place of Zurich traders and wholesale merchants since 1445, who have profoundly influenced the city of Zurich’s politics and society.