As electronics manufacturers face growing pressure to disclose product-level carbon emissions, inconsistent approaches to collecting and reporting CO2e data are emerging as a significant barrier to credible sustainability reporting. The Global Electronics Association is seeking to address that challenge with IPC-1783-CO2E, a new international standard for data collection and reporting across the electronics manufacturing supply chain.
The standard provides industry-specific guidance for measuring, estimating, collecting and reporting the emissions data used in product carbon footprint calculations. Its focus is particularly relevant to electronics, where products typically depend on complex, multi-tier networks of suppliers, materials and manufacturing processes.
IPC-1783-CO2E aims to establish a more consistent foundation for carbon data, enabling companies to improve data quality and make product-level emissions information more comparable and useful for decision-making.
A key element is the use of data-quality indicators alongside methodology choices, giving organisations greater visibility into the reliability of the information underpinning their carbon calculations. The standard also incorporates activity and process models to support product carbon footprint development.
“Product carbon footprint data is becoming an essential part of how electronics companies communicate with customers, manage their supply chains and prepare for changing market and regulatory requirements.” — Francis D’Souza, Task Group Chair, IPC-1783-CO2E and CEO, banyan.eco
The approach is aligned with recognised Greenhouse Gas Protocol and International Organization for Standardization principles, while addressing the practical requirements of the electronics industry.
The standard is relevant not only to sustainability teams but also to environmental compliance, supply-chain, procurement, manufacturing and product-management functions. That cross-functional relevance reflects the growing shift of carbon accounting from a reporting exercise to an operational supply-chain issue.
Chris Jorgensen, Senior Director, Standards, Global Electronics Association, said the standard provides a common foundation for more reliable product carbon footprint data while reducing unnecessary complexity for manufacturers and suppliers.
IPC-1783-CO2E is now available, giving electronics companies a common framework to strengthen the credibility and consistency of product carbon footprint data.