More and more companies need to know the impact of their products. 

Especially with legislation such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the Digital Product Passport coming up. 

And there are various methods and opportunities to choose between. 

>Here, we want to take at look at PEF. 

What does PEF mean?

Before we answer that, we need to briefly sum up what an LCA is. 

Last week, we looked at the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) – what it is, what goes into it, and its pros and cons. 

An LCA looks at the entire life cycle of a product, either from cradle to grave or cradle to gate, and the environmental impact and resource consumption of each part involved in creating and using the product. 

This is where PEF comes in. 

PEF, short for Product Environmental Footprint, is a methodology created by the EU. 

Just like life cycle assessments, it aims to help assess the environmental impact of products throughout their life cycle. 

Similarly to the general LCA, PEF looks at factors like resource use, emissions, waste generation, and end-of-life treatment. 

Seems like PEF is just another LCA. 

So what makes PEF different? 

Standardized LCA

There is one thing that makes PEF stand apart. 

Unlike the more general LCA, PEF focusses more on product-specific requirements and standardized specifications. 

The benefit of this is even greater comparability. 

In fact, PEF is considered a methodological framework with guidelines on how to perform an LCA – kind of like a standardized LCA study. 

It’s a go on PEF then, isn’t it?

Well, yes and no. 

PEF is still in its pilot phase, meaning it is not mandatory (yet). 

Studies are underway to finalize PEF measurement rules, which are likely to be industry specific. 

The plan is to have the rules ready by the end of 2024.

Even though PEF is not officially adopted, it might not be a bad idea to consider getting one. 

Why? 

As we said earlier, the Digital Product Passport is coming up, and PEF could play a central role when it comes to adding the required information to the passport. 

So what should your next steps be? 

Reach out to us and we will help.

Or if you think that an LCA/PEF sounds like too much for you right now but still want to know more about your environmental footprint, carbon accounting might be the thing for you.