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How is a carbon neutral product different to a carbon neutral organisation? You might be surprised to hear it, but this is a question we get a lot. There is a lot of confusion around the term 'carbon neutral' and our customers often ask when they can and cannot say they are carbon neutral. 

The bottom line is that there is no official definition. You can say you are carbon neutral and mean pretty much anything. The UK government is trying to address this through a consultation on a 'good practice' definition of the term - but this will not imply any legal obligation.

Some organisations might see this as an opportunity to use a term with high market recognition (if low understanding) without incurring large costs or onerous responsibilities. But this approach is risky. If you claim to be carbon neutral, you are likely to be questioned by switched-on customers, journalists or environmental campaigners. Your reputation will benefit if you have a good answer. If you don't, you'll be accused of greenwash. 

While a lot of companies claim to be carbon neutral, there aren't many carbon neutral products. Interface, a large company that produces flooring, introduced one of the first, 'Cool Carpet', in 1999. You can read about it on their website. 

"'Carbon neutral' is a term that has come to be used so extensively and in so many different contexts that its meaning has become somewhat obscured. [...] We determine their footprints using the life cycle assessment process. This helps us look at every part of the carpet's life cycle - from the raw materials harvested, to Interface manufacturing, through shipping and even vacuuming, and finally, the end of life recycling or disposal. All of which contribute to global warming, so all must be measured. We balance the amount of CO2 in the footprint by buying and retiring carbon offsets."

This approach - that a product's carbon footprint should include the emissions from the whole life-cycle: the supply chain, product use and disposal - is becoming recognised as good practice. Standards are emerging, including PAS2050, a BSi specification for measuring embodied carbon emissions. Standards help, but a life-cycle analysis of a product still involves a lot of work. It can be a useful process for a mass market product with a large total carbon footprint. For a smaller product line, life-cycle analysis (and hence a 'carbon neutral' product claim) may be more effort than it's worth.

Becoming carbon neutral as an organisation is less problematic, because it is easier to draw a boundary around what is included in the footprint. You primarily need to account for the emissions directly attributable to the organisation. In most cases, this means emissions from company vehicles and on-site energy use. Including emissions from the supply chain and from customers is optional. The World Resource Institute has developed some straightforward guidelines on what should be included.

If you are thinking about becoming carbon neutral, here is a three point guide:

• Make sure you have a rigorous approach to reducing the product or organisation's carbon footprint. It is important that carbon offsetting is the last stage of carbon management. Direct emission reductions should always be prioritised.
• Be transparent. Publish information on your website about your approach to carbon neutrality. Interface's website (linked above) is a good example.
• Follow a voluntary standard for measuring the emissions you are offsetting. While there are no rules about the methodology, using an accepted standard shows you are following good practice.

If you'd like to discuss what carbon neutrality could mean for you, get in touch.