Product carbon footprint (PCF) and life cycle assessment (LCA) explained
What a product carbon footprint is, how life cycle assessment works under ISO 14040, 14044 and 14067, cradle-to-gate versus cradle-to-grave, EPDs, and why export buyers ask Indian suppliers for PCFs.
How is a product footprint different from a company footprint?
A company footprint (a GHG inventory) answers "how much did our whole business emit last year?", split into Scope 1, 2 and 3. A product footprint answers "how much is linked to one unit of what we make?", for example one tonne of forged steel parts, one shirt or one litre of paint.
| Company footprint | Product carbon footprint | |
|---|---|---|
| Unit | Whole organisation, one year | One unit of product (functional unit or reference flow) |
| Main rules | GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (2004), ISO 14064-1:2018 | ISO 14067:2018, GHG Protocol Product Standard (2011) |
| Covers | Scope 1, 2 and 3 by category | Life cycle stages, from raw materials to end of life |
| Typical user | Investors, regulators, BRSR | Customers, product labels, tenders |
The two are linked. Your company's Scope 1 and 2 feed the "manufacturing" stage of your products' footprints, and your PCF becomes your customer's Scope 3, Category 1 data.
Sources: ISO 14067:2018 Greenhouse gases: Carbon footprint of products (ISO catalogue); ISO 14040:2006 Life cycle assessment: Principles and framework (ISO catalogue); ISO 14040:2006/Amd 1:2020 (ISO catalogue); ISO 14044:2006 Life cycle assessment: Requirements and guidelines (ISO catalogue); ISO 14044:2006/Amd 2:2020 (ISO catalogue); ISO 14064-3:2019 (ISO catalogue); GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard (2011); European Commission: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism; Regulation (EU) 2023/956 establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism (EUR-Lex); Central Electricity Authority, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector, User Guide Version 22.0 (August 2026); ISO 14068:2026 Climate change management: Carbon neutrality (ISO committee page; replaces ISO 14068-1:2023)
This article was prepared with AI assistance and checked by the GreenEye team against the sources shown in each section.
Related articles
Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions explained: a guide for Indian companies
What Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions mean under the GHG Protocol, how location-based and market-based Scope 2 differ, the…
How companies measure emissions: building a GHG inventory step by step
A step-by-step guide to a company greenhouse gas inventory: boundaries, activity data, emission factors from CEA and…
EU CBAM explained for Indian exporters: what it is and how to prepare
A plain guide to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism as of October 2026: covered goods, the 2026 definitive…
Carbon neutral vs net zero: what the claims mean and how to spot greenwashing
A neutral guide to carbon neutral, net zero and climate positive claims, the standards behind them (ISO 14068, SBTi,…
What is a carbon footprint?
A plain guide to what a carbon footprint is, what it includes, how big the average Indian footprint is, and what the…
Want to understand this for your home or company?
Talk to us. We are happy to explain what this means for you in plain words. We do not sell carbon credits and we cannot promise any result, but we can help you think it through.
Talk to usShare this article