A European buyer asked for product-level data
Procurement now asks for a figure with a method behind it, not a marketing number.
How much carbon does your tonne carry — and will your buyer accept it?
We test the functional unit, system boundary, allocation rules, primary and secondary data, model assumptions, calculation files and the reported product claim.
Standards applied
A limit stated first, not in a footnote
Eligibility confirmed before engagementOur accreditation for this activity is recorded for the oil and gas extraction, production, refining and pipeline distribution sectors, including petrochemicals. We are not accredited to verify product footprints in general. If your product sits outside those sectors, we tell you before contract — and Accreditation Schedule 1225009B is the controlling record.
When it is needed
Four triggers we see most often.
An EPD requires verified data
An Environmental Product Declaration is issued through a programme operator and needs data that has been independently examined.
A customer needs Scope 3 inputs
Your product figure becomes a line in someone else's inventory, and it will be tested there.
CBAM preparation
Product-level carbon data is the foundation for embedded-emissions work, even before the CBAM verification route opens.
What we examine
The number is only as good as the model behind it.
- Functional unit or declared unit
- System boundary, what was excluded and why
- Allocation rules between co-products
- Input data quality and its temporal and geographic representativeness
- Primary versus secondary data sources, and the database version used
- The calculation model and its assumptions
- Sensitivity analysis
- Applicable product category rules, where they exist
What you prepare
The study pack.
- The footprint study report and its methodology.
- Process flow diagram.
- Energy and material consumption per production unit.
- Primary supply-chain data sources.
- The secondary database used, with its version.
- The LCA model, open.
- Allocation justifications.
- Product category rules, where they apply.
The output
What you receive — and what it does not mean.
A verification statement covering a defined product carbon footprint, for a defined functional unit, within a defined system boundary, for a defined period.
What it does not mean: It is not an EPD and does not replace one. It does not support comparison with another product unless the same rules were applied. It does not extend to other products on the same line.
Frequently asked
No. An EPD is published through a programme operator against product category rules. A verification statement addresses the footprint itself. The two are related but neither replaces the other.
Only where both were produced under the same product category rules, the same functional unit and the same boundary. Otherwise the comparison is not supported by either statement.
We say so at enquiry. Depending on the case we may still be able to help through non-accredited routes, but we will not present that work as accredited verification.
Read next
Describe the claim — not the service.
Tell us what must be relied on, who will rely on it and by what date. We will confirm the correct programme, evidence requirement and responsible entity — or tell you it is outside our scope.