HR: 09:30h
AN: U41D-06    [Abstracts]
TI: Using Market Forces to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through Product-Level Life Cycle Analysis and Eco-Labeling
AU: * Sweeney, J F
EM: jsweeney@climateconservancy.org
AF: The Climate Conservancy, 765 San Antonio Rd. #47, Palo Alto, CA 94303, United States
AU: Davis, S J
EM: sjdavis@stanford.edu
AF: Stanford University, Stanford University School of Earth Sciences, 450 Serra Mall, Bldg 320, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
AB: Established protocols allow entity-level accounting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The information contained within GHG inventories is used by entities to manage their carbon footprint and to anticipate future exposure to compulsory GHG markets or taxes. The efficacy of such inventories, as experienced by the consumer, can be improved upon by product-level GHG inventories applying the methods of traditional life cycle analysis (LCA). A voluntary product-level assessment of this type, coupled with an eco-label, would 1) empower consumers with information about the total embodied GHG content of a product, 2) allow companies to understand and manage GHG emissions outside the narrow scope of their entities, and 3) drive reduction of GHG emissions throughout product value chains. The Climate Conservancy (TCC) is a non-profit organization founded to help companies calculate their GHG emissions at the level of individual product units, and to inform consumers about the GHG intensity of the products they choose to purchase. With the assistance of economists, policy experts and scientists, TCC has developed a useful metric for reporting product-level GHG emissions that allows for a normalized comparison of a product's GHG intensity irrespective of industry sector or competitors, where GHG data are often unavailable or incomplete. Using this metric, we envision our Climate Conscious label becoming an important arbiter of choice for consumers seeking ways to mitigate their climate impacts without the need for governmental regulation.
UR: http://www.climateconservancy.org
DE: 1699 General or miscellaneous
DE: 6699 General or miscellaneous
SC: Union [U]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting