The challenge
Global metal packaging company needed a scalable, transparent solution to calculate and communicate product-level emissions across their portfolio
The solution
Development of an ISO-aligned product carbon footprint (PCF) calculator using client-specific Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions data
The impact
Empowering the client to allocate emissions at the customer level, respond to disclosure requests and understand emissions hotspots
56
product types included in the PCF calculator covering 24 global manufacturing facilities.
4
years of PCF calculations completed.
3
levels of results granularity provided at regional, facility and customer levels.
The challenge
Amid increasing regulatory pressures and rising consumer demand for transparency, companies across industries are facing growing challenges in accurately measuring and disclosing the environmental impact of their products. In the metal packaging sector, where carbon-intensive supply chains are common, credible product sustainability disclosures have become a critical differentiator, influencing both customer trust and market access.
A global metal packaging producer with manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and South America needed an in-house product carbon footprint (PCF) calculator to estimate their cradle-to-gate GHG emissions across their entire portfolio of produced product. The calculator was also required to support customer facing carbon disclosures and enable emissions allocation based on procurement data.
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To ensure credibility and communication in line with heightened customer requests around GHG emissions data, the client turned to Arcadis, building on our strong expertise in GHG accounting and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). A key requirement for the solution was for it to be grounded in verifiable methodology aligned with ISO 14067 and other leading carbon footprinting standards. In addition, the solution had to be scalable and easy to maintain over time, tapping into Arcadis’ digital tooling expertise for an automated and future-proof tool.
The solution
Arcadis brought a global, integrated team of experts across GHG accounting, life cycle assessment, data analysis, and custom-led digital tooling implementation. Together with the client, we co-developed a robust and scalable PFC calculator built to last, including:
- Detailed GHG emissions estimates for each metal can type and size produced, broken down by Scope 1, 2 and 3; as well as lifecycle stage
- Summarized reporting capabilities at global, regional, and facility levels
- Facilitation of customer-specific emissions allocation based on actual sales data
- Built-in Python scripts to automate data upload, cleaning and transformation for future use
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The process entailed an in-depth review of the client’s production data, sales data, and GHG inventory methodologies. The Arcadis team then reviewed the client’s requirements against industry standards including ISO 14067, the GHG Protocol Product Standard, Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT) and relevant Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs). From this understanding of the client requirements and global standards, Arcadis created a robust calculation methodology and process for allocating corporate GHG emissions at the facility level.
This helped the team to build a custom Excel-based PCF calculator, enhanced with Python code to extract data from multiple sources, and transform and clean that data prior to loading into Excel. This was done in an automated way, supporting future data integration. Through a series of collaborative workshops with the client, the team also defined user interface needs to build custom key metrics, visual summaries and filtering capabilities directly into the tool.
The impact
The client can now confidently share product level carbon emissions with customers and key stakeholders - meeting disclosure requests quickly and accurately, reinforcing their commitments and reducing any reputational risks with credible, verifiable product level claims. This has not only strengthened client relationships but improved their visibility into facility-level emissions drivers.
As the tool was built on dynamic, standardized and verifiable methods, aligned with industry leading practices, it is currently undergoing third-party validation, positioning the client in a strong market position moving forward. With automation and scalability embedded into our delivered solution, the PCF calculator is transparent, credible and future-ready – supporting annual updates, as well as additional features and functionalities over time.
Used capabilities
