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PCF Calculator & Validator (Carbon Footprint)

Calculate Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) values and validate against IDTA 02023 specification requirements. This tool appears automatically when editing Carbon Footprint templates.

PCF Calculator Live Demo

PCF Declaration

Set required PCF metadata for the active ProductCarbonFootprint instance:

  • Reference impact unit (e.g., piece, kg, kWh) writes to ReferenceImpactUnitForCalculation
  • Quantity of measure writes to QuantityOfMeasureForCalculation
  • Publication date writes to PublicationDate
  • Active instance targeting supports templates with multiple ProductCarbonFootprint entries
  • Lifecycle phase awareness shows how many LifeCyclePhases are selected and flags when none are set

CO₂e Calculator

Build emission activity tables and compute total CO₂e with a few clicks:

  • Add emission activities with name, GHG Protocol category (Scope 1/2/3), quantity, and unit
  • Search emission factors from a curated dataset with source, region, and year metadata
  • Dataset transparency shows the emission factor dataset version and factor count in the UI
  • Unit-aware calculations with kg↔t conversion, freight tkm support, and warnings for incompatible units
  • Per-activity + total CO₂e plus support for negative quantities (offsets) with warnings
  • Apply to form writes the calculated total directly to the active PcfCO2eq field
  • Activity traceability stores the full calculation payload (activities + factor metadata) in metadata.pcf
  • PCFActivities list auto-injected on export when missing (toggle via PCF_ACTIVITY_LIST_INJECTION_ENABLED), populated with activity details and ActivityCO2eKg
  • Export trace adds PCF calculation qualifiers and attaches pcf-calculation.json for audit-ready provenance
Screenshot Description
Add Activities Add emission activities with quantities and factors
Search Factors Search and select from 20+ emission factors
Calculate PCF Declaration + calculation totals with per-activity CO₂e

IDTA 02023 Validator

Validate your Carbon Footprint data against the official IDTA 02023 specification:

  • Blocking errors for required fields: PcfCO2eq, ReferenceImpactUnitForCalculation, QuantityOfMeasureForCalculation, PublicationDate, LifeCyclePhases
  • Warnings for recommended fields, value list conformance, and invalid date order
  • Cross-field validation: ExpirationDate must be after PublicationDate
  • Completeness score shows percentage of PCF fields filled
  • Export-time enforcement: Carbon Footprint exports are blocked if validation fails

Emission Factors Database

The built-in database includes common emission factors from recognized authorities:

Category Examples Sources
Electricity US/EU/UK/Germany grid averages EPA eGRID, EEA, UBA, DEFRA
Fuels Natural gas, diesel, gasoline EPA, DEFRA
Transport Road freight, air freight, sea freight DEFRA
Materials Steel, aluminum, plastics (primary & recycled) ecoinvent
Water Supply and treatment DEFRA

Factors include value, unit, source reference, region, and year for full traceability. The UI surfaces dataset version/count via /api/pcf/health.

API Endpoints

  • POST /api/pcf/calculate - Calculate CO₂e emissions from activity data
  • POST /api/pcf/validate - Validate PCF form data against IDTA 02023 rules
  • GET /api/pcf/factors/search - Search emission factors by name, source, or region
  • GET /api/pcf/factors/{factor_id} - Get a specific emission factor by ID
  • GET /api/pcf/health - PCF service health + emission factor dataset metadata