Look behind the number.

What is a product carbon footprint?

A product carbon footprint is an estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product across the lifecycle stages included within the calculation.

The result is commonly expressed as kg CO₂e.

CO₂e means carbon dioxide equivalent. It provides a common unit for expressing the climate impact of different greenhouse gases.

What does the number represent?

Where a product carbon footprint is displayed, the number represents the calculated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the product within the scope, data and assumptions of the applicable calculation.

It should not be interpreted as a direct measurement of every emission generated by that exact individual item.

Depending on the available methodology and product data, calculations may use a combination of:

• product information
• material information
• manufacturing information where available
• logistics information
• packaging information where available
• recognised emissions data or factors
• modelling
• reasonable assumptions where required

The actual inputs and boundaries depend on the calculation used for the particular product.

Lifecycle stages

A product carbon footprint may consider different stages of a product's lifecycle depending on the applicable methodology. These can potentially include:

Potential lifecycle stages — actual calculation scope varies.

Why does scope matter?

Imagine two products both displaying a carbon number.

One calculation includes materials, manufacturing and transport.

Another includes only materials and manufacturing.

Those numbers are not necessarily directly comparable simply because they both use kg CO₂e. That's why understanding the calculation boundary matters.

Same unit does not automatically mean same methodology.

Where does the data come from?

Product carbon calculations can only be as informative as the data available to support them. Depending on the product and calculation, underlying information may come from:

• product specifications
• supplier or manufacturer information
• material composition data
• product weights
• packaging information
• logistics information
• production information where available
• emissions factors or datasets used by the applicable methodology
• assumptions required to complete the calculation

Not every product will have the same level of primary data available.

Where more specific information becomes available, calculations may be updated or refined.

Supplier-provided information vs calculated information

It is important to distinguish between information provided about a product and information calculated from product information.

It should not automatically be described as a directly measured or independently verified supplier carbon footprint unless that is actually the case.

What happens when information is missing?

Real-world product data isn't always complete.

Where specific information required by a calculation is unavailable, an appropriate methodology may require assumptions, proxy information, averages or other modelling approaches. This introduces uncertainty.

That does not automatically make the calculation useless. It means the result should be interpreted as an estimate based on the information and methodology available, rather than as a perfectly measured absolute value.

Estimates aren't the enemy

A carbon footprint does not need to pretend to be perfect to be useful. Estimates can help:

• identify areas of impact
• provide greater visibility
• support better questions
• highlight where better data may be needed
• improve sustainability conversations

The important part is being clear that an estimate is an estimate.

Transparency is more useful than false precision.

What are carbon hotspots?

Where the underlying methodology supports it, a carbon footprint may be broken into different contributing areas. These are sometimes referred to as hotspots.

A hotspot can help indicate which lifecycle stage or input contributes more significantly to the calculated footprint.

Illustrative only — contributing areas differ by calculation.

Hotspots can be useful because they help move the conversation from:

“What's the number?” to “What's driving the number?”

Ecosource displays product-specific hotspots only where they are supported by the underlying calculation.

Can I compare two products?

Potentially — but comparisons need care.

Two carbon footprint values are most meaningful when the calculations use sufficiently compatible:

• methodologies
• lifecycle boundaries
• units
• datasets
• assumptions
• product definitions

A smaller number should not automatically be interpreted as proof that one product is more sustainable overall. Before making comparative claims, the basis of the calculations needs to be understood.

What about recycled materials?

A product containing recycled material may have a different carbon profile from a comparable product using virgin material, depending on the methodology and relevant inputs.

But recycled content and carbon footprint describe different things.

One should not be substituted for the other.

What about longevity?

How long a product remains useful can be an important sustainability consideration.

However, longevity should not be automatically converted into a carbon reduction unless the applicable methodology specifically models and supports that calculation.

We therefore keep longevity and product carbon information conceptually separate unless there is a defensible methodological basis for connecting them.

What about transport?

Freight can contribute to a product's carbon footprint where transport falls within the calculation boundary. Actual transport impacts can vary according to:

• origin
• destination
• freight mode
• distance
• shipment size
• consolidation
• weight
• other logistics factors

Where a product footprint uses assumed logistics rather than the customer's final actual shipment, the result should not be represented as the exact emissions of that customer's delivery.

What about the quantity I order?

Product-level carbon information and order-level carbon information are not necessarily the same thing.

An individual product footprint may represent a calculated footprint per unit under a defined methodology. An order-level calculation may need to consider quantity, packaging, freight, destination and other order-specific information.

Do not simply multiply a product number and describe the result as an exact order footprint unless the methodology supports that approach.

Where does AI fit?

Ecosource may use technology, including AI-assisted tools, to help process, structure, analyse or explain sustainability and carbon information.

AI can help make complex information easier to work with. But AI does not independently verify an environmental claim simply by processing the information.

The reliability of a carbon calculation depends on the underlying data, methodology, emissions factors, scope and assumptions used in the calculation.

AI is a tool in the process — not the evidence behind the claim.

Are Ecosource carbon footprints independently verified?

Unless a product or calculation is specifically identified as independently verified, customers should not assume that it has been independently audited, certified or verified by a third party.

Where independent verification exists and Ecosource has appropriate supporting information, that status may be identified separately.

We will not describe calculated carbon information as independently verified unless we have evidence supporting that statement.

Why might a footprint change?

Carbon calculations can change when better or more current information becomes available.

Changes could result from:

• updated product specifications
• material changes
• revised product weight
• packaging changes
• manufacturing information
• logistics assumptions
• improved datasets
• updated emissions factors
• methodology updates
• correction of previous information

Updating a footprint when better information becomes available is part of improving the quality of the data.

Can I use the carbon number in a client presentation?

Carbon information may be useful when discussing product options with clients, but the context should remain attached to the number.

Those are different claims.

Likewise, do not describe a product as carbon neutral, net zero, climate positive or carbon negative based solely on the existence of a product carbon footprint. Those claims require additional evidence and methodology.

Why are we publishing the information?

Because we'd rather provide useful information with appropriate context than rely on vague environmental language.

Publishing carbon information allows customers to:

• see more
• ask better questions
• understand potential hotspots
• have more informed conversations with their clients

We don't expect a carbon number to make the decision for you. We expect it to give you another useful piece of information.

Our approach to carbon transparency

Questions about a product footprint?

If you need additional information about carbon data displayed for a particular Ecosource product, contact us.

Where additional methodology, calculation or supporting information is available, we'll help you understand what the figure represents.