About the Carbon Trust

The Carbon Trust is an independent company setup by government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by helping organisations reduce their carbon emissions and developing commercial low carbon technologies. The Carbon Trust works with UK business and the public sector through its work in five complementary areas: insights, solutions, innovations, enterprises and investments. Together these help to explain, deliver, develop, create and finance low carbon enterprise. The Carbon Trust is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and Invest Northern Ireland.

Over the last three years the Carbon Trust has been working to develop a process that will help companies to reduce the emissions from their supply chains and drive investment in new low carbon products and services. To achieve this aim the Carbon Trust is working with the UK Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and BSI British
Standards to develop a universal standard to measure the embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from products and services. The Carbon Trust is also developing a separate carbon reduction labelling scheme to help companies to communicate the carbon footprint of the products as well as a commitment to reduce the emissions over time. your carbon footprint

In March 2007, the Carbon Trust announced the development of these two projects including a broad two stage public consultation process and a range of pilot projects with companies to test the draft standard and the carbon reduction label. These pilot projects will run until the final standard is completed in 2008. These companies will help to test and develop the draft standard to measure the embodied GHG emissions of products and services and its communication through a carbon label, empowering consumers by giving them choice.

Both the development of the standard and the carbon reduction label will be overseen by independent Steering Groups, who members have been drawn from NGOs, government, academia and industry. This aims to ensure that the final products are both scientifically rigorous and yet applicable to ensure their widespread usage and positive impact.

For more information on the Carbon Trust visit www.carbontrust.co.uk

The Carbon Trust Case Study

Carbon Footprinting Pioneers