Pioneering in dynamic Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)
As the drive for sustainability intensifies, companies including Givaudan face mounting pressure to accurately trace their Product Carbon Footprint (PCF).
Accurately characterising PCF gives companies the tools they need to meet rigorous regulatory demands as well as decarbonisation commitments, which are voluntary pledges that exceed legal requirements.
Givaudan, like many companies, has set-up an in-house PCF calculation tool which allows us to calculate PCF in alignment with industry methodology for a wide range of our product portfolio. To improve data quality and ensure comparability between results, it is essential to establish cross-sectoral collaboration and share PCF results upstream and downstream of every company operation. SiGreen is the Together for Sustainability (TfS) approved PCF exchange solution that facilitates this continuous data exchange across the entire value chain. By facilitating continuous data exchange across the entire value chain, these innovations give businesses the ability to monitor emissions per raw material.
Monitoring emissions per raw material
Givaudan is pioneering in the application of such technology, being among the first in TfS-community to employ the TfS PCF exchange solution, SiGREEN, at larger scale.
We are using the tool to contact around 160 vendors to request their Raw Material Product Carbon Footprint (RM PCF) and to provide our own data according to requests, helping our customers calculate their own scope 3 emissions related to the purchase of raw materials. Actively engaging with our suppliers, we requested their PCF data by the end of summer 2024.
These SiGREEN activities are a joint effort by around 45 category managers currently onboarding relevant suppliers, the Environmental Sustainability team, who provides support by addressing methodological questions, and the Sustainability Excellence team that helps with the technical questions on the tool. We have trained more than 100 colleagues working on raw materials.
Quantifying emissions on-site and aggregating them along the entire value chain produces dynamic PCFs that give a more accurate picture and support quantifiable reduction measures backed by solid data.
The SiGREEN solution, based on an advanced management platform, ensures reliable and secure data exchange of PCFs between companies, customers, and suppliers. Partners maintain full control over their data, ensuring that sensitive information is protected. They can request and receive structured data compliant with the TfS PCF Guideline, enabling companies to compare supplier data, calculate their PCF, and share results with downstream customers.
This is an essential first step in being able to act on the most meaningful areas for improvement, helping businesses reduce their carbon emissions and achieve their decarbonisation goals.