Product Carbon Footprint

A product carbon footprint (PCF) is a life cycle inventory that considers and reports the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions during the life cycle of a product based on an input/output analysis. There are several frameworks that describe the scope of a PCF, such as ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.
These standards provide clear guidelines and principles to standardize the determination of emissions during the entire life cycle or a part of it. They define not only the methodological steps, but also the importance of cut-off criteria to limit the scope of the calculations. This system allows greenhouse gas emissions to be measured in a comparable, transparent, and reliable manner, enabling organizations to accurately assess their environmental impact and take targeted action to reduce emissions.

The methodology for calculating the PCF is based on the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards. It is important to note, however, that full compliance with the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards has not been achieved. Our own calculation method allows an initial estimate of the PCF. The method uses the energy cost distribution to allocate the Scope 1 and 2 emissions of the K+S production sites to the individual products. The relevant Scope 3 emissions are also taken into account. The PCF thereby comprises the greenhouse gas emissions that arise during the extraction of raw materials, including the relevant upstream chains and preliminary products (cradle), until they leave our factory gates (gate). This includes the steps involved in extracting the crude salt, the processing and refining of the products, and the related internal transportation between primary and secondary sites.

When considering Scope 3 emissions in the upstream value chain, a materiality assessment is carried out with the definition of cut-off criteria.

As K+S is at the beginning of the value chain and the extraction of raw materials is part of our own business segment, the share of upstream emissions is relatively low and only includes a few preliminary products. In addition to the production of primary energy sources, these include in particular the explosives used in the extraction of raw materials and the use of chemicals in our production processes.

A Critical Review of our calculation methodology was performed by DEKRA Assurance Services GmbH on the basis of ISO 14040 and 14044. On this calculation basis, the individual PCFs are aggregated at the main group level and reported with the declared unit "kg CO₂e per tonne of unpackaged product" . 

Below you will find the Critical Review of DEKRA Assurance Services GmbH.