stages and not as much with production. Also, consumers prefer that the company
takes care of the responsibility for the emissions of the product even in terms of
usage, eventually through off-setting, than that responsibility being assumed by
themselves [45]. Consumers may appreciate carbon footprint labels but they would
be more effective when combined with lower or equal prices of conventional
products [46]. Another use of the carbon footprint concept that has been broadly
expanded is associated with its calculation for a large variety of services and events
in different businesses and other organizations, with a higher visibility in the case of
sporting events such as the Olympic Games, starting particularly with the London
Olympics where a lot of measures concerning transportation of construction
materials, energy use and the athlete’s participation were conditioned by a
low-carbon strategy effort.
4.2.6 Carbon Footprint ISO Standards and Calculators
At both the organization level and project level, an international standard was
developed (ISO 14064) with two parts associated with each of the two components,
respectively. ISO 14064-1:2018 includes all the “requirements for the design,
development, management, reporting and verification of an organization’s greenhouse gas inventory”, while ISO 14064-2:2019 “specifies principles and requirements and provides guidance at the project level for the quantification, monitoring
and reporting of activities intended to cause greenhouse gas emission reductions or
removal enhancements”. It also “includes requirements for planning a GHG project,
identifying and selecting GHG sources, sinks and reservoirs (SSRs) relevant to the
project and baseline scenario, monitoring, quantifying, documenting and reporting
GHG project performance and managing data quality”.
In 2018, and after an extended work of several years, an international standard
was approved with the principles, requirements and guidelines for the overall and
partial quantification and reporting of the carbon footprint of a product (ISO
14067:2018), in full and consistent articulation with the previous standards approved
for life-cycle assessment (LCA). This standard was an important step forward to try
to harmonize the different results that have been obtained through the application of
slightly different methodologies to the calculation of product LCA and subsequently
to the carbon footprint. Only climate change and in particular greenhouse emissions
are included within the standard, without procedures and considerations related with
carbon off-setting and communication aspects, including social, economic or other
environmental concerns related with the product life cycle.
With higher concerns with the emission of GHG gases associated with personal
activities and consumer options, the need for evaluation of the carbon footprint at the
individual scale has been growing considerably. From food to travel, only as a
curiosity or as an educational resource, a decision support tool or even as a
requirement by certain organizations for tracking and eventual emissions off-setting,
individual carbon footprint calculators are now a major tool extensive used [47].
Indeed, many of these online tools are used for business purposes where the main
objective is to support a variety of projects, from renewable energies to forestation,
where carbon emissions can be offset through the payment of such a service.
24
J. Seixas and F. Ferreira
takes care of the responsibility for the emissions of the product even in terms of
usage, eventually through off-setting, than that responsibility being assumed by
themselves [45]. Consumers may appreciate carbon footprint labels but they would
be more effective when combined with lower or equal prices of conventional
products [46]. Another use of the carbon footprint concept that has been broadly
expanded is associated with its calculation for a large variety of services and events
in different businesses and other organizations, with a higher visibility in the case of
sporting events such as the Olympic Games, starting particularly with the London
Olympics where a lot of measures concerning transportation of construction
materials, energy use and the athlete’s participation were conditioned by a
low-carbon strategy effort.
4.2.6 Carbon Footprint ISO Standards and Calculators
At both the organization level and project level, an international standard was
developed (ISO 14064) with two parts associated with each of the two components,
respectively. ISO 14064-1:2018 includes all the “requirements for the design,
development, management, reporting and verification of an organization’s greenhouse gas inventory”, while ISO 14064-2:2019 “specifies principles and requirements and provides guidance at the project level for the quantification, monitoring
and reporting of activities intended to cause greenhouse gas emission reductions or
removal enhancements”. It also “includes requirements for planning a GHG project,
identifying and selecting GHG sources, sinks and reservoirs (SSRs) relevant to the
project and baseline scenario, monitoring, quantifying, documenting and reporting
GHG project performance and managing data quality”.
In 2018, and after an extended work of several years, an international standard
was approved with the principles, requirements and guidelines for the overall and
partial quantification and reporting of the carbon footprint of a product (ISO
14067:2018), in full and consistent articulation with the previous standards approved
for life-cycle assessment (LCA). This standard was an important step forward to try
to harmonize the different results that have been obtained through the application of
slightly different methodologies to the calculation of product LCA and subsequently
to the carbon footprint. Only climate change and in particular greenhouse emissions
are included within the standard, without procedures and considerations related with
carbon off-setting and communication aspects, including social, economic or other
environmental concerns related with the product life cycle.
With higher concerns with the emission of GHG gases associated with personal
activities and consumer options, the need for evaluation of the carbon footprint at the
individual scale has been growing considerably. From food to travel, only as a
curiosity or as an educational resource, a decision support tool or even as a
requirement by certain organizations for tracking and eventual emissions off-setting,
individual carbon footprint calculators are now a major tool extensive used [47].
Indeed, many of these online tools are used for business purposes where the main
objective is to support a variety of projects, from renewable energies to forestation,
where carbon emissions can be offset through the payment of such a service.
24
J. Seixas and F. Ferreira