Definition 1
Carbon Footprint means the [total [GHG Emissions] from the life cycle of the [product] [event] OR annual [GHG Emissions] OR [Scope 1, 2 and 3 Emissions] relating to the [Company] [party].]
Definition 2
Organisational Carbon Footprint means total annual [worldwide] Scope 1, 2 and 3 Emissions originating from all the activities, including energy used in buildings, industrial processes and business travel, across the organisation, including its supply and value chains.
Definition 3
(cradle to grave)
Product Carbon Footprint means the total [greenhouse gas emissions] from the processes used in the whole life cycle of the [product OR service], from the extraction of raw materials and manufacturing through to its use and final re-use, recycling or disposal, including Greenhouse Gas Emissions associated with the raw materials and services purchased by the Supplier in order to deliver the [product OR service].
Definition 4
(cradle to customer gate)
Product Carbon Footprint means the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions, associated with the production and delivery of a product from the extraction of raw materials (cradle) through all processing, manufacturing, packaging, and transportation stages, up to the point where the product reaches the customer (gate).
Definition 5
Supply Chain Carbon Footprint means the total annual associated with the extraction, processing and transportation of raw materials and the provision of services purchased by [insert organisation name] in order to deliver its service[s] [[and/or] product[s]].
Drafting notes and guidance
Carbon footprint is often used as an umbrella term for more specific carbon emission measurements, such as organisational carbon footprint, supply chain carbon footprint, and product carbon footprint. Therefore, the common use of ‘carbon footprint’ often means these more specific terms are obscured or conflated.
An overall carbon footprint accounts for all of the greenhouse gases controlled under the Kyoto Protocol – see the definition of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs).
Option 3 – Product Carbon Footprint
The product carbon footprint sums up the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by a product over the different stages of its life cycle, ‘from cradle to grave’ – see the definition of Embodied Carbon (Embedded Carbon).
Various standards have been developed to determine the CO2 balance of products. See TCLP’s definition of Carbon Footprint Standards.
Larger companies might favour this product-specific definition of carbon footprint when assessing the overall environmental impact of their products (goods and/or services) and meeting their corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations.
Product Carbon Footprint is sometimes abbreviated to ‘PCF’.
Option 5 – Supply Chain Carbon Footprint
This definition is appropriate for definitions of carbon footprint in supply chain contracts that seek to reduce carbon emissions at each stage of a manufacturing process.