CFP (Carbon Footprint of Products) is a metric used to quantify the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a specific product throughout its entire life cycle—from raw material acquisition through production and use to end-of-life treatment.
While CF (Carbon Footprint) is the broad concept of total GHG emissions for entities like individuals or companies, CFP specifically quantifies the life-cycle emissions of a single product unit.
For many organizations, the CFP of the materials they purchase (such as steel or components) falls under their Scope 3 emissions (Category 1: Purchased Goods and Services). By providing accurate CFP data, suppliers enable their customers to calculate their corporate value chain emissions more precisely.
International standards govern the quantification and reporting of CFP, primarily ISO 14067, which builds upon the life cycle assessment (LCA) principles of ISO 14044 and the GHG Protocol. The process is generally structured as follows:
To ensure accuracy across industries, these calculations often use Product Category Rules (PCR), which provide specific, ISO-compliant methodologies tailored to particular product types.