Why Characterisation Factor Updates Matter
When the EU's Joint Research Centre (JRC) updates characterisation factors in the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method, it reflects genuine advances in life cycle assessment science. These updates ensure that the way we measure and compare environmental impacts stays aligned with the best available knowledge. With the transition from EF3.0 to EF3.1, several important changes have been introduced that affect how product-level footprints are calculated and reported.
At Sustained, we automated the EF3.0 to EF3.1 update across our platform, ensuring that all assessments reflect the latest scientific consensus without requiring manual recalculation from our users.
LCA Fundamentals: A Quick Refresher
Life Cycle Assessment quantifies environmental impacts across a product's entire life cycle, from raw material extraction through manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life. The PEF method standardises this process across the EU, providing a common framework for environmental claims and comparisons.
Characterisation factors are the conversion coefficients that translate inventory data (e.g., kilograms of CO2, grams of methane) into impact category results. They are the bridge between what a process emits and what that emission means for the environment.
What Changed in EF3.1
The EF3.1 update includes several significant revisions:
- IPCC AR6 Global Warming Potentials: The climate change category now uses the latest GWP values from the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report. This adjusts the relative weighting of greenhouse gases, for example, the GWP of methane has been updated to reflect new atmospheric chemistry research.
- Metals consolidation: Several metal-related impact categories have been consolidated and recalibrated to better reflect resource scarcity and toxicity pathways.
- Normalisation and weighting revisions: The reference values used to normalise impact results have been updated to reflect more recent global and European emission inventories.
These changes can shift product footprint results, sometimes significantly, even when the underlying product and supply chain have not changed.
What This Means for Your Business
If you are reporting PEF-compliant environmental data, the transition to EF3.1 is not optional, it is a matter of staying current with the regulatory framework. Results calculated under EF3.0 are no longer directly comparable to EF3.1 results, so consistency across your portfolio matters.
For companies managing hundreds or thousands of SKUs, manually updating characterisation factors is impractical. Automation ensures that your entire product portfolio is recalculated consistently and promptly when the methodology evolves.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PEF method?
The Product Environmental Footprint method is the EU's standardised approach to measuring and communicating the environmental performance of products across 16 impact categories.
Do I need to recalculate all my footprints?
Yes. If you are reporting under the PEF framework, your results should reflect the latest characterisation factors to remain compliant and comparable.
How do characterisation factors affect my results?
They determine how raw emissions and resource use translate into impact scores. Even small changes in characterisation factors can shift the relative importance of different impact categories and alter which ingredients or processes are your biggest hotspots.
Will EF3.1 change my product rankings?
It can. Products with high methane-intensive supply chains, for instance, may see shifts in their climate change scores relative to products dominated by CO2 emissions.