Climate change impacts of its products
Press release - 22nd March 2012
BSI has developed the first internationally applicable methodology for carbon footprinting of horticulture products.
PAS 2050-1: 2012 offers invaluable assistance and clarity to organisations within the horticulture sector for the assessment and management of the climate change impact on their products.
Businesses are already reaping benefits from the internationally recognised PAS 2050 standard which provides a framework for assessing the carbon footprint of goods and services, thereby enabling emission reductions, implementing efficiency programmes, improving reputation and realising cost savings opportunities.
A new derivative of this framework standard has now been developed to take into account the unique characteristics of the horticulture sector and to address the specific needs of organisations from the sector wanting to quantify the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the goods and services they provide.
Used in conjunction with the overarching requirements of PAS 2050, 2050-1 will help horticulture organisations around the world:
- Carry out internal assessments of the existing life cycle GHG emissions of their products, thereby getting a better understanding and control over their supply chains, identifying “hotspots” and related cost/energy saving opportunities
- Devise ongoing programmes aimed at reducing GHG emissions
- Measure climate change improvements over time
- Improve relationships with their stakeholders and achieve greater co-operation with peers, suppliers and customers by providing GHG emissions information for their products that are used in other products further down the supply chain.
The supplementary requirements for product carbon footprinting provided in PAS 2050-1 are applicable wherever assessment of emissions from horticultural products is to be made, by horticulture organisations of all sizes. Recognizing the global nature of the industry, and product carbon footprinting in general, the development of PAS 2050-1 has been undertaken with participation by experts from different countries led by the Dutch Product Board of Horticulture (Productschap Tuinbouw; PT) and the Dutch ministry of economic affairs, agriculture and innovations (Ministery of EL&I) who sponsored the standard. An international group of experts representing grower, academic research and commercial interests contributed to the development of the specification and feedback from horticulture organisations from around the world was sought during the period of expert review and public consultation in September/ October 2011.
Agnes van Ardenne, President of the Product Board of Horticulture said: “Entrepreneurs from the horticultural sector have, in recent years, been confronted with questions about the carbon footprint of their products. This new standard is the first step towards calculating the GHG emissions consistently across the whole chain of the horticulture industry to facilitate verifiable and comparable results. We are very pleased that it was possible to develop it through collaboration between countries, including government departments, research institutes and companies.”
Shirley Bailey Wood, Director of Publishing at BSI said: “PAS 2050-1 is the first of what is expected to be a new series of sector focus specifications that will enhance the application of PAS 2050 following its revision in September 2011. BSI is committed to providing current, technically relevant and up-to-date tools, which enable organisations to effectively manage the carbon footprint of their products, as well as their wider environmental and social impacts. As such we will continue to engage with individual industries and organisations to help them scope out and devise solutions that meet their climate change needs through a transparent, consultative and collaborative development process.”
