Product Environmental

Footprint (PEF) Test Kit –

3rd edition

July 2014

Dr. Thilo Kupfer

• Contains methodological aspects of the Product Environmental Footprinting Initiative that haven’t been finalized yet are being tested in the pilot phases.

It contains:

• GaBi plans in English & German

• Official PEF guide by the European Commission

• Guidance Document 4.0

• Installation guide

Download the PEF Test kit here

You can watch the PEF test kit video here

In case of technical problems please contact support@gabi-software.com

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If you haven’t downloaded the PEF Test kit yet

PEF test kit III

1. Update PEF Initiative

2. 2 new EoL allocation approaches

1. Hybrid approach

2. Integrated approach

3. Normalization and weighting

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Update PEF

Initiative

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EC Environmental Footprinting Initiative: Possible

Timeline

EC Environmental Footprinting Pilot Projects provide the framework to

establish binding product category rules/procedures for dairy industry.

Year

KW

2010

H2H1

2011

H2H1

2012

H2H1

2013

H2H1

2014

H2H1

2015

H2H1

2016

H2H1

2017

H2H1

2018

H2H1

2019

H2H1

Standard available PEFCR Drafting

ILCD Handbook

Lead Time/Voluntary

Regulation in place, expert estimation (earliest date)

EC Environmental Footprinting Guides

Definition of Product & Sector Category Specific Guidelines

Pilot Evaluation/Integration in existing policy

Pilot Projects 2nd wave

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Regulation in placeEC Drafting

ENVIFOOD Protocol

Pilot Projects 1st wave

Verification Rules & Communication Testing

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• Review of progress of all projects: The majority of pilots are in time, but some projects

have taken a lot of time to start their Technical Secretariat (organization and funding).

Many documents to propose the scope and model for validation are accepted by the

steering committee.

• Many PEF pilot projects can now enter the PEF Screening Phase (July to September

2014 for the first wave of PEF pilot projects)

• Guidance Document 4.0 published, giving further information on

• Representative product

• Modularity of PEFCRs

• Use of secondary data

• Normalisation and weighting

• Verification

• …

Summary of PEF/OEF related activities

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• Representative product “A PEFCR may include more than one representative product

if appropriate.” Declared unit shall be based on the function of a product (product PEF),

except for intermediate products that can fulfill multiple functions (intermediate PEF). “This

difference is important because it entails further methodological differences at a later stage.

For example whilst for a final product it is allowed to focus the communication of the

environmental performance only on the most relevant impacts, processes and life

cycle stages, this is not possible for intermediate products […].”

• Modularity of PEFCRs “In case of intermediate products the PEFCR becomes a

“module” to be used when developing PEFCRs for products further down that supply chain”

(horizontal approach, the industry sectors may not use datasets independent to each other)

• Verification Verification of PEFCR and PEF profile are two separate processes. The

reviewer qualification is set to “indicative only” during the PEF pilot phase (evaluation and

decision about rules only after the PEF pilot phase?)

Guidance Document 4.0

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Guidance Document 4.0 delivered w/ PEF test kit III

2 new EoL

allocation

approaches

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• Mandatory ”one fits all” formula

• 50:50 approach (not in use by PE and its customers up to now, that’s

cut-off or avoided burden)

• Not implemented in PE datasets. But it CAN be used in any model.

• The formula contains inconsistencies/mistakes/debatable items

• under debate during the pilot projects

• 2 new alternative formulas that have been proposed by stakeholders in the

PEF pilot projects in addition to the 3 alternative formulas proposed by the EU

• Take part in the debate via the official channels (e.g. public consultations)

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Multi-functionality in recycling in the PEF guide

• The 2 new alternative formulas include

1) Hybrid approach that follows the logic of Module D of EN 15804

2) Integrated approach that introduces quality correction factors for recycled

content also for used secondary material

• There is no right or wrong in choosing an approach, the decision is

value based (“who shall get the benefits – the one using recycled

materials or the one using recyclable products?”)

• The formulas MAY be tested in the PEF pilot projects

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Multi-functionality in recycling

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Secondary

as 50%

primary

Primary

Mate

rial p

rod

uctio

n

Pro

du

ctio

n

Use

Co

llectio

nLandfill

Material

recycling

Energy

recycling

Credits

50%

Credits

50%

System boundaries

% % Credits

50%

EoL allocation – the idea behind the 50:50 approach

Qs/

Qp

15

Secondary

as 100%

primary

Primary

Mate

rial p

rod

uctio

n

Pro

du

ctio

n

Use

Co

llectio

nLandfill

Material

recycling

Energy

recycling

Credits

100%

Credits

100%

System boundaries

% %

Looping back of the secondary material

Credits

100%

EoL allocation – Hybrid approach

Qs/

Qp

16

EoL allocation – Integrated approach

Sec. as

100%

primary

Primary

Mate

rial p

rod

uctio

n

Pro

du

ctio

n

Use

Co

llectio

nLandfill

Material

recycling

Energy

recycling

Credits

100%

Credits

100%

System boundaries

%% Credits

100%

Qs/

QpQsin/

Qp

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Multi-functionality in recycling: PEF guide Annex V

• Input: Production of primary material (amount: primary material plus 50% of

secondary material used)

• Input: Production of secondary material (amount: 50% of secondary material

used) only collection sorting, transports… are in the system boundaries.

Additionally credits are given for the avoided landfill of the secondary material.

• Output: Material recycling. Secondary material substitutes primary material

(where required using a value corrected substitution), credits for primary material

(amount: 50% of secondary material generated). A quality factor 𝑄𝑆

𝑄𝑃allows to

adjust for upcycling or downcycling

• Output: Energy recycling. Credits for energy (electricity and thermal energy),

(amount: 100% of material generated)

• Output: The rest is landfilled, energy credits are given.

The formula can generate burdens and credits for landfill, even

if no material is landfilled. The credits for the avoided landfill

of the secondary material are considered consequential LCA.

No looping back of the secondary material output to saturate

the secondary material input (no net scrap approach)

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Multi-functionality in recycling: Hybrid approach

• Input: Production of primary material (amount: primary material without secondary

material used)

• Input: Production of secondary material (amount: 100% of secondary material

used) only collection sorting, transports… are in the system boundaries

• Output: Material recycling. Secondary material substitutes primary material

(where required using a value corrected substitution), credits for primary material,

but only in cases where the amount of material recycling is higher than the used

secondary material, else the credit becomes a burden. A quality factor 𝑄𝑆

𝑄𝑃allows to

adjust for upcycling or downcycling

• Output: Energy recycling. Credits for energy (electricity and thermal energy),

(amount: 100% of material generated)

• Output: The rest is landfilled, energy credits are given.

Looping back of the secondary material output to saturate

the secondary material input (net scrap approach)

The approach follows the logic of EN 15804 and can be considered a

compromise between 0:100 and 100:0 approaches

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Multi-functionality in recycling: Integrated approach

• Input: Production of primary material (amount: primary material without secondary

material used)

• Input: Production of secondary material (amount: 100% of secondary material

used) only collection sorting, transports… are in the system boundaries. An

additional quality factor 𝑄𝑆 𝑖𝑛

𝑄𝑃allows to adjust for upcycling or downcycling

• Output: Material recycling. Secondary material substitutes primary material

(where required using a value corrected substitution), credits for primary material

(amount: 100% of secondary material generated). A quality factor 𝑄𝑆

𝑄𝑃allows to

adjust for upcycling or downcycling

• Output: Energy recycling. Credits for energy (electricity and thermal energy),

(amount: 100% of material generated)

• Output: The rest is landfilled, energy credits are given.

No looping back of the secondary material output to saturate

the secondary material input (no net scrap approach)

The approach can be considered a compromise between 0:100 and 100:0

approaches

(1-R1) 𝗑 EV + R1 𝗑𝑄𝑆 𝑖𝑛

𝑄𝑃𝗑 EV + R2 𝗑(ErecyclingEoL – E*

V 𝗑𝑄𝑆

𝑄𝑃) + R3 𝗑(EER- LHV 𝗑 XER,elec𝗑ESE,elec – LHV 𝗑XER, heat 𝗑ESE,heat) + (1-R2-R3) 𝗑ED)

GaBi Demonstration

End of Life formulas

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Normalization

and weighting

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• The European Commission published Guidance document 4.0, further

specifying the open framework set by the PEF guide with regard to

normalization and weighting [European Commission (EC): Product Environmental Footprint Pilot

Guidance - Guidance for the implementation of the EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) during the Environmental

Footprint (EF) pilot phase, Version 4.0]

• Normalization factors are used to set the environmental performance of

a product into perspective of the environmental performance of EU-27

in 2010

• Weighting allows to make a single point indicator from the 15

recommended LCIA categories

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Normalization and weighting

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Normalization and weighting

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Normalization

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Normalization

• Example global warming: One person in the EU-27 in the year 2010

was in average responsible for emitting 9,100 kg CO2-equivalents

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Weighting

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Weighting

• PEF guidance document 4.0, chapter 3.12.2 : „Until there is an agreed

set of European weighting factors, all impact categories shall receive

the same weight (weighting factor = 1).”

Now, in the PEF screening study it is possible to:

• Answer the question which of the LCIA potentials are the most

important ones for a certain product or product category and the ones

that shall be communicated to the customers

• Do a hot spot analysis to identify the most relevant

parameters/datasets/processes

• Find out whether the foreground system where primary data needs to

be measured/collected covers the hot spots or if it needs to be

discussed with the EC to expand the foreground system

• Do a „reality check“ if the numbers match our day to day experience

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Normalization and weighting

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Normalization and weighting - example

Unit issue?

Unrealistic?

SOM not covered

GaBi Demonstration

Normalization and weighting

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• Next test kit will be available early next week

• Download link in webinar follow up

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How to get the new test kit & outlook

z

• For technical questions:

support@gabi-software.com

• Please post any other questions in the

GaBi user group on LinkedIn

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Thank you for your attention!