PAS 2050

PAS 2050 provides a consistent method for assessing the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions (carbon footprint) of goods and services.

What is PAS 2050?

PAS 2050 provides a consistent method for assessing the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions (carbon footprint) of goods and services.

PAS 2050 is a publicly available specification and was co-sponsored by the Carbon Trust and DEFRA, and developed with significant input from international stakeholders and experts drawn from academia, consultants, business, government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

PAS 2050 is supported by an implementation Guide and a Code of Good Practice (CoGP) for the communication of product GHG emissions and reduction claims.

What can PAS 2050 do for you?

For your organisation, it provides:

• a consistent and reproducible method for measuring and communicating product life cycle GHG emissions

• internal assessment of the entire product life cycle GHG emissions

• evaluation of alternative product configurations on the basis of their life cycle GHG emissions

• a benchmark for reducing product life cycle GHG emissions

• for comparison of different product GHG emissions using a consistent, recognised and standardised approach
  support for corporate responsibility reporting

For your consumers it provides:

• confidence and trust in your brand because you are using a consistent, standardised and robust method to measure, monitor and reduce your product GHG emissions

• greater understanding of life cycle GHG emissions to inform their purchasing decisions and using goods and services

Who can use PAS 2050?

PAS 2050 can be used by any organisation that produces goods or provides services to customers.

The assessment method has been tested by companies across a diverse range of product types, sectors and business models, including:

• Manufactured goods and service providers

• Producers, manufacturers, traders and retailers

• Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) organisations

• UK and international supply chains

How can LRQA help?

We can offer you certification to the PAS 2050 (and CoGP) , briefings and training that will help you understand what it means to your organisation, how to implement it and how to prepare for verification to PAS 2050.

In addition, we offer certificate renewal visits for whenever you reassess the life cycle GHG emissions of your products to ensure that you continue to meet the requirements of the PPAS 2050 (and CoGP).

Resources to aid implementation

• Documentation: PAS 2050 Specification, the Guide to PAS 2050 and the Code of Good Practice.

• Video interview: PAS 2050 - Carbon Footprinting of Products Interview

In this video Paul Smith, Project Leader for Carbon Labelling and Footprinting at Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), talks about how PAS 2050, can benefit organisations. He explains the verification and certification processes and the value to a brand's image and reputation that independent assurance can offer. He also talks about how PAS 2050 relates to existing environmental standards, such as ISO 14001 and ISO 14064.