How can companies measure and improve their environmental impact beyond CO₂?
When it comes to sustainability, carbon footprint often takes centre stage. But it’s only part of the picture. Just as ISO 14064 and ISO 14067 set the standard for greenhouse gas accounting, there are other ISO frameworks—14040, 14044 and 14072—that take a multi-criteria approach, enabling companies to evaluate their environmental performance with a more holistic lens.
The European Union has gone a step further, creating its own methodology to meet this need: the Environmental Footprint. With specific approaches for products (PEF – Product Environmental Footprint) and for organisations (OEF – Organisational Environmental Footprint), this framework is gaining traction in both policy and the marketplace. Its goal? To harmonise environmental measurement across the entire life cycle.
So, what does that actually mean in practice? And how does it differ from traditional life-cycle assessment or the carbon footprint approach? In this insight, we break down how the methodology works, the opportunities it creates, and how it can reshape environmental management within organisations.
What is the Environmental Footprint?
The Environmental Footprint is a multi-criteria methodology based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) that quantifies the environmental impacts associated with products, services, or organisations across their entire value chain. Unlike approaches that focus on a single indicator—such as the carbon footprint—this tool considers multiple impact categories, including resource use, acidification, and human toxicity, alongside climate change.
In doing so, it evaluates three areas of protection: human health, ecosystems, and resources. This approach helps identify the most material environmental aspects across different impact categories, while minimising the risk of shifting environmental burdens from one category to another.
Measurement is typically supported by tools such as SimaPro, GaBi, or OpenLCA, combined with life cycle inventory (LCI) databases like ecoinvent or Agri-footprint, which enable precise modelling of each stage in the life cycle.
Product Environmental Footprint: A Life-Cycle Approach
The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) measures the environmental impact associated with a product or service throughout its entire life cycle. This makes it possible to identify which activities, processes, or stages in the value chain generate the most significant impacts—providing valuable insights to guide decision-making in design, production, and communication.
PEFCR
PEFCRs (Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules) are specific rules that tailor the PEF methodology to each product category. They define how to conduct inventories, which data to use, which indicators to prioritise, and how to interpret the results—ensuring consistency and comparability across similar products.
The updated list of PEFCRs, including those currently in force, under development, or under review, can be found at the following link.
Organisational Environmental Footprint: A Corporate Approach
The Organisational Environmental Footprint (OEF) assesses the environmental impact associated with all activities of an entity over a given period. It provides an aggregated view that can be highly valuable for integrating sustainability into a company’s strategy and overall management.
OEFCR
OEFCRs (Organisation Environmental Footprint Category Rules) are sector-specific rules that complement the OEF methodology, setting out detailed criteria for applying impact calculations to organisations within the same sector.
The updated list of OEFCRs, including those currently in force, under development, or under review, can be found at the following link.
Alignment with ISO 14040, ISO 14044 and ISO 14072 Standards
The Environmental Footprint methodology complements the core life-cycle assessment (LCA) principles set out in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 for products, and ISO 14072 for organisations, by adding key elements: the mandatory use of standardised databases, predefined impact categories, and sector-specific rules (PEFCR / OEFCR) that enhance comparability.
Opportunities and future outlook
Beyond their technical complexity, the OEF and PEF methods open the door to a new model of environmental management—one that is more structured, comparable, and aligned with both regulatory demands and the European market. Key advantages include:
- Regulatory compliance: Aligns with current regulatory frameworks and helps anticipate future environmental requirements at both European and national levels, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires large companies to disclose detailed information on their environmental performance.
- Support for environmental management systems (ISO 14001, EMAS): Results from OEF and PEF can be integrated into environmental assessments, continuous improvement objectives, and sustainability audits.
- Operational efficiency improvements: Impact quantification helps identify inefficient or environmentally intensive processes, enabling the implementation of energy optimisation measures and cost reductions.
- Competitive and reputational advantage: Transparently communicating the environmental footprint enhances corporate image, builds consumer and client trust, positions the company as a sustainability leader, and opens doors to sustainable markets and financing.
Support for circular economy strategies: By mapping material, energy, and waste flows across the life cycle, these methods reveal opportunities to redesign processes, reuse resources, and close production loops.
Future developments in environmental labelling
One of the main drivers behind the development of the European Environmental Footprint is the ambition to create a common environmental labelling system that is clear, reliable, and comparable across the entire European market. Although the proposed Green Claims Regulation has lost the formal backing of the European Commission, the debate on how to regulate environmental claims remains very much alive.
Thanks to its scientific basis, methodological rigour, and institutional alignment, the Environmental Footprint remains a robust technical benchmark for supporting labels, claims, environmental comparisons, and transparency strategies. Its voluntary use continues to grow in strategic sectors and could well become the standard in contexts where environmental traceability and methodological credibility are increasingly demanded.
In a context where measuring and demonstrating environmental performance is critical, the Environmental Footprint is emerging as a technical and strategic tool—fully aligned with the most demanding current and future regulatory and market frameworks.
Measuring, comparing, and improving your environmental profile is no longer just an advantage—it’s a strategic necessity. At Baisma, we work with organisations seeking a comprehensive assessment, integrating leading methodologies such as OEF and PEF into their management, design, and environmental communication processes.
Ready to move towards measurable, comparable sustainability aligned with current and future requirements? Contact us.
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