Catena-X and Together for Sustainability (TfS) have launched the long-awaited PCF Verification Framework, a pioneering initiative designed to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data across the automotive and chemical supply chains. This groundbreaking framework is the result of radical collaboration between two initiatives representing these key industries and aims to build trust among various stakeholders, including customers, investors, and regulators, by ensuring that reported PCF results are reliable and in line with recognised standards.
The PCF Verification Framework offers a structured approach for verifying PCF results and datasets or certifying PCF programmes within a company. It aims to establish a common approach for ensuring the trustworthiness of PCF data exchanged across supply chains. The framework introduces three levels of trust, each with specific procedures, purposes, and scopes, providing clear guidance for companies seeking verification or certification, as well as for verifiers and certifiers.
Three Levels of Trust Defined:
- Trust Level 1: Entry-level, focusing on automated solutions for PCF dataset completeness checks, ensuring conformity with PCF data models without formal verification or certification.
- Trust Level 2: Certification of PCF programmes operated by companies, demonstrating through third-party certification that a company can perform PCF calculations according to a a recognised industry standard (for example the TfS PCF Guideline or the Catena-X PCF Rulebook).
- Trust Level 3: Verification of specific PCF datasets by an independent party, providing the highest level of trust in the PCF data.
Alessandro Pistillo
Co-Chair, TfS Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions programme
"In the last couple of years, we have collaborated with Catena-X in setting interoperable standards for PCF determination along complex supply chains. With this new pioneering work, we have been jointly developing a unified approach to PCF verification and certification. Value chain actors building sustainability claims require comparable, consistent and trustworthy data.”
Niels Angel
Lead Sustainability Committee, Catena-X
"By establishing clear guidelines and trust levels, we aim to empower companies to generate and share credible PCF data. This framework will allow participating companies to use PCF data from their supply chain and support suppliers in achieving significant CO2 reduction of the carbon emissions in production.”
This pioneering initiative helps companies develop their scope 3 inventories using reliable PCF data. The PCF Verification Framework offers clear indicators of digitally exchanged PCF data within the supply chain, specially designed for seamless digital data exchange. This will significantly ease the efforts of companies to enhance the quality of product emission data and ultimately steer reliably towards net-zero.
About Together for Sustainability (TfS):
Together for Sustainability is a global initiative aimed at improving sustainability practices within the chemical supply chains. TfS provides a framework for sustainable procurement and helps member companies implement sustainability strategies.