IEC TR 62725:2013

IEC/TR 62725 ®
Edition 1.0 2013-03
TECHNICAL
REPORT
colour
inside
Analysis of quantification methodologies for greenhouse gas emissions for
electrical and electronic products and systems

IEC/TR 62725:2013(E)
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IEC/TR 62725 ®
Edition 1.0 2013-03
TECHNICAL
REPORT
colour
inside
Analysis of quantification methodologies for greenhouse gas emissions for

electrical and electronic products and systems

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
PRICE CODE
XB
ICS 13.020.30; 19.040 ISBN 978-2-83220-690-4

– 2 – TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E)
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 4
INTRODUCTION . 6
1 Scope . 7
2 Normative reference . 7
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 Principles . 11
4.1 General . 11
4.2 Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) . 11
4.3 Relevance . 11
4.4 Completeness . 12
4.5 Consistency . 12
4.6 Accuracy . 12
4.7 Transparency . 12
5 Comparative study on the existing relevant documents . 12
6 Quantification framework . 13
6.1 General . 13
6.1.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards . 13
6.1.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance for basic steps of CFP study . 14
6.2 Goal and scope definition . 15
6.2.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards . 15
6.2.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance. 15
6.3 Unit of analysis . 16
6.3.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards . 16
6.3.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance. 17
6.4 System boundary . 18
6.4.1 General . 18
6.4.2 Life cycle stage and process map . 20
6.4.3 Attributional and consequential approaches . 25
6.4.4 Time boundary . 26
6.4.5 Specific GHG sources and sinks . 27
6.4.6 Cut-off criteria . 28
6.5 Trial estimation and decision on boundary to be cut-off . 30
6.5.1 Electrotechnical industry guidance. 30
6.6 Data collection and quality assessment . 31
6.6.1 General . 31
6.6.2 Primary data . 34
6.6.3 Secondary data . 34
6.6.4 Data quality . 35
6.7 Calculating GHG emissions . 36
6.7.1 General . 36
6.7.2 Allocation . 38
6.8 Uncertainty . 39
6.8.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards . 39
6.8.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance. 40
6.9 Use and maintenance scenario. 41
6.9.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards . 41

TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E) – 3 –
6.9.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance. 42
6.10 End-of-life stage scenario . 42
6.10.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards . 42
6.10.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance. 43
7 CFP-PCR . 45
7.1 Provisions in CFP standards . 45
7.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance . 46
8 Documentation . 46
8.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards . 46
8.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance . 47
9 Communication and verification . 48
9.1 General . 48
9.1.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards . 48
9.1.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance. 49
9.2 Options of communication . 50
9.2.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards . 50
9.2.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance. 50
9.3 Verification and assurance . 51
9.3.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards . 51
9.3.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance. 52
Annex A (informative) Example of existing databases which can be used for
quantification as secondary data . 54
Annex B (informative) Study results of comparison analysis on selected existing
relevant documents including International Standards and regional and national
initiatives . 57
Annex C (informative) Examples of PCRs/Sector specific rules . 65
Annex D (informative) Additional information on trial estimation approach and
uncertainty . 73
Bibliography . 75

Figure 1 – Basic steps of CFP study related to LCA framework . 15
Figure 2 – Analysis of relationship of three types of data according to ISO/DIS 14067 . 33

Table 1 – An example of BOM . 25
Table 2 – Example of applicable data types . 37
Table 3 – Example of applicable emission factors for each life cycle stage/unit
processes . 37

– 4 – TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E)
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
ANALYSIS OF QUANTIFICATION METHODOLOGIES
FOR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FOR ELECTRICAL
AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS AND SYSTEMS

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
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The main task of IEC technical committees is to prepare International Standards. However, a
technical committee may propose the publication of a technical report when it has collected
data of a different kind from that which is normally published as an International Standard, for
example "state of the art".
IEC/TR 62725, which is a technical report, has been prepared by IEC technical committee
111: Environmental standardization for electrical and electronic products and systems.
The text of this technical report is based on the following documents:
Enquiry draft Report on voting
111/266/DTR 111/291/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this technical report can be found in the
report on voting indicated in the above table.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E) – 5 –
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed,
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A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

IMPORTANT – The 'colour inside' logo on the cover page of this publication indicates
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– 6 – TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E)
INTRODUCTION
Electrical and electronic products and systems (hereinafter referred to as “EE products”) are
widely used in our society, hence raising awareness of their environmental impacts.
Consequently customers in the market and other stakeholders are requiring or requesting that
the electronics sector take actions to address the quantification and reduction of
environmental impacts through environmental conscious design during the product
development phase.
Among those environmental impacts, climate change is an important issue. A number of
initiatives at local, national, regional, and international levels are being developed and
implemented, aiming to curb the concentration of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which is
understood to be a major contributing factor.
A basic and generic methodology to quantify Carbon Footprint of Products (hereinafter
referenced as “CFP”) is under development in ISO 14067. It specifies principles and
requirements for studies to quantify CFP, based on the methodology of life cycle assessment
(LCA) specified in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. In addition, major standardisation activities, and
private, government and industry driven initiatives have started work on establishing
methodologies for CFP, quantifying GHG emissions and related issues.
This plurality of initiatives highlights the necessity of developing guidance, which facilitates
the understanding of existing methodologies and suggests workable and implementable
options that address the specific characteristics of EE products, for example;
• Supply chains can be dynamic, long, complicated and global. Some product categories are
associated with significant impacts from raw material acquisition, production stage, or end-
of-life. Reasonable and consistent methodologies are needed to be shared with all the
relevant actors along the global supply chain.
• Many products have relatively long lives, extending over many years, with associated
energy consumption, which underlines the significance of the use stage. For such product
categories, specific attention is paid to energy efficiency. It should be noted that the
assumptions behind use scenarios are critical to achieve consistency.
• In addition to associated CO emissions, some products use substances that have the
potential for additional GHG emissions (e.g. SF used in switchgear).
These characteristics support the market relevance for providing generic guidance in the form
of this Technical Report (hereinafter referred to as TR) for the quantification, documentation
and communication of GHG along the life cycle of EE products.
The contents and features of this TR are as follows:
• A study and review of relevant standards, regional initiatives and practices are provided to
clarify and compare the differences and similarities in multiple existing methodologies for
CFP studies.
• This Technical Report, based on relevant International Standards, Draft International
Standards, especially ISO/DIS 14067, and other standards, gives a comprehensive
additional guidance which enable readers to carry out CFP study for EE products.
It should be also emphasized that CFP addresses the single impact category of climate
change and does not assess other potential social, economic or environmental impacts.
Therefore CFPs do not provide an indicator of the overall environmental impact of products.
The information in this TR is entirely informative in nature and does not establish nor is it
intended to imply any normative requirements.
NOTE 1 This TR may be used as quantification guidance for GHG emissions as a part of the environmental
impact categories in a multi-criteria environmental assessment.
NOTE 2 This TR is not directly intended for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) as defined by EU regulation
therefore this TR uses the term "electrical & electronic products (EE products)."

TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E) – 7 –
ANALYSIS OF QUANTIFICATION METHODOLOGIES
FOR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FOR ELECTRICAL
AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS AND SYSTEMS

1 Scope
This Technical Report is intended to provide users with guidance to understand
methodologies and to evaluate carbon footprint of products (hereinafter referred to as CFP),
by quantifying the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions (hereinafter referred to as CFP study)
for Electrical and Electronic products (hereinafter referred to as EE products) based on life-
cycle thinking.
This TR is applicable to any type of EE products, which are new or modified (e.g.
reconditioned, upgraded, etc.).
This TR is based on the result of a comparative study on existing methodologies published or
under discussion in representative international organizations.
This TR is intended to be used by those involved in design and development of EE products,
and their supply chains regardless of industry sectors, regions, types, activities and sizes of
organizations. This TR may also be used as guidance to prepare a PCR of each product
category in EE sector.
NOTE 1 In this TR, ISO/DIS 14067, ITU-T L.1400 and L.1410, GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and
Reporting Standard (hereinafter referred to as (GHG Protocol Product Standard), BSI PAS 2050, and other
international, regional and national initiatives are studied and compared since these documents and initiatives are
regarded as the most influential ones worldwide at the moment.
NOTE 2 This TR refers to requirements relevant to EE products in the existing documents and quotes them with
boxes. The boxes are followed by guidance applicable to EE products. The documents which this TR refers to (e.g.
ISO/DIS 14067) may be revised in the future. These boxes do not capture the full text of the standards referred to
and readers are encouraged to read these standards for thorough understanding of their requirements.
NOTE 3 This TR is programme-neutral. If a programme (e.g. a specific Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP)
Initiative) is applicable, some requirements of that programme may be additional to the guidance provided in this
TR.
2 Normative reference
There are no normative references. Informative references are noted in the bibliography.
NOTE This clause is included so as to respect IEC clause numbering.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
allocation
partitioning the input or output flows of a process or a product system between the product
system under study and one or more other product systems
[SOURCE: ISO 14040:2006, 3.17]

– 8 – TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E)
3.2
attributional approach
an approach to LCA where GHG emissions and removals are attributed to the unit of analysis
of the studied product by linking together attributable processes along its life cycle
[SOURCE: GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting & Reporting Standard: 2011]
3.3
biogenic carbon
carbon derived from biomass
[SOURCE: ISO/DIS 14067:–, 3.8.2]
3.4
carbon dioxide equivalent
CO2 equivalent, CO2e
unit for comparing the radiative forcing of a greenhouse gas to that of carbon dioxide
Note 1 to entry: The carbon dioxide equivalent is calculated by multiplying the mass of a given greenhouse gas by
its global warming potential.
[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2006, 2.19]
3.5
carbon footprint of a product-product category rules
CFP-PCR
set of specific rules, requirements and guidelines for quantification and communication on the
CFP for one or more product categories
[SOURCE: ISO/DIS 14067:–, 3.4.12]
3.6
consequential approach
an approach to LCA where processes are included in the life cycle boundary to the extent that
they are expected to change as a consequence of a change in demand for the unit of analysis.
[SOURCE: GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting & Reporting Standard: 2011]
3.7
functional unit
quantified performance of a product system for use as a reference unit
Note 1 to entry: As the CFP treats information on a product, the functional unit can be a product unit, sales unit or
service unit.
[SOURCE: ISO/DIS 14067:–, 3.4.7]
3.8
global warming potential
GWP
characterization factor (ISO 14050:2009, 7.2.2.2) describing the mass of carbon dioxide that
has the same accumulated radiative forcing over a given period of time as one mass unit of a
given greenhouse gas
[SOURCE: ISO/DIS 14067:–, 3.3.4]

TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E) – 9 –
3.9
greenhouse gas
GHG
gaseous constituent of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorbs and
emits radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the
earth's surface, the atmosphere, and clouds
Note 1 to entry: Greenhouse gases include, among others, carbon dioxide (CO ), methane (CH ), nitrous oxide
2 4
(N O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF ).
2 6
[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2006, 2.1]
3.10
greenhouse gas emission
GHG emission
total mass of a greenhouse gas released to the atmosphere over a specified period of time
[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2006, 2.5]
3.11
greenhouse gas removal
GHG removal
total mass of a greenhouse gas removed from the atmosphere over a specified period of time
[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2006, 2.6]
3.12
intermediate product
output from a unit process that is input to other unit processes that require further
transformation within the system
[SOURCE: ISO 14044:2006, 3.23]
3.13
life cycle
consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system, from raw material acquisition or
generation from natural resources to the final disposal
[SOURCE: ISO 14040:2006, 3.1]
3.14
life cycle assessment
LCA
compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a
product system throughout its life cycle
[SOURCE: ISO 14040:2006, 3.2]
3.15
life cycle stage
element of a life cycle
Note 1 to entry: The phrase ’life cycle phase’ is sometimes used interchangeably with ‘life cycle stage’.
Note 2 to entry: Examples of life cycle stages are: Raw material acquisition and production; manufacturing;
packaging and distribution; installation and use, maintenance and upgrading; and end of life.
[SOURCE: IEC 62430:2009, 3.10]

– 10 – TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E)
3.16
life cycle thinking
LCT
consideration of all relevant environmental aspects during the entire life cycle of products
[SOURCE: IEC 62430:2009, 3.11]
3.17
organization
group of people and facilities with an arrangement of responsibilities, authorities and
relationships
[SOURCE: ISO 9000:2006, 3.3.1]
3.18
primary data
data collected from specific processes in the studied product’s life cycle
[SOURCE: GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting & Reporting Standard: 2011]
3.19
process
set of interrelated or interacting activities which transform inputs into outputs
Note 1 to entry: Inputs to a process are generally outputs of other processes.
Note 2 to entry: Processes in an organization are generally planned and carried out under controlled conditions to
add value.
[SOURCE: ISO 9000:2006, 3.4.1]
3.20
product
any goods or service
Note 1 to entry: This includes interconnected and / or interrelated goods or services.
[SOURCE: IEC 62430:2009, 3.14]
3.21
product category
group of technologically or functionally similar products where the environmental aspects can
reasonably be expected to be similar
[SOURCE: IEC 62430:2009, 3.15]
3.22
product category rules
PCR
set of specific rules, requirements and guidelines for developing Type III environmental
declarations (ISO 14050:2009, 8.5) for one or more product categories
Note 1 to entry: PCR include quantification rules compliant with ISO 14044.
[SOURCE: ISO/DIS 14067:–, 3.4.11]

TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E) – 11 –
3.23
product system
collection of unit processes with elementary and product flows, performing one or more
defined functions and which models the life cycle of a product
[SOURCE: ISO 14044:2006, 3.28]
3.24
reference flow
measure of the outputs from processes in a given product system required to fulfil the function
expressed by the functional unit
Note 1 to entry: GHG Protocol Product Standard uses the term in a slightly different way: “The reference flow is
the amount of studied product needed to fulfil the function defined in the unit of analysis.” However, GHG Protocol
regards that these are meant to be the same.
[SOURCE: ISO 14040:2006, 3.29]
3.25
secondary data
process data that are not from specific processes in the studied product’s life cycle.
[SOURCE: GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting & Reporting Standard: 2011]
3.26
uncertainty
parameter associated with the result of quantification which characterizes the dispersion of
the values that could be reasonably attributed to the quantified amount
Note 1 to entry: Uncertainty information typically specifies quantitative estimates of the likely dispersion of values
and a qualitative description of the likely causes of the dispersion.
[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2006, 2.37]
3.27
verification
systematic, independent and documented process for the assessment of a greenhouse gas
assertion against agreed validation criteria.
[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2006, 2.35]
4 Principles
4.1 General
The following principles should be applied in the quantification, documentation and reporting
of product GHG emissions of EE product’s under assessment.
4.2 Life Cycle Thinking (LCT)
In the development of methodology to quantify the GHG emissions throughout EE product’s
life cycle, take all stages of the life cycle of a product into consideration.
4.3 Relevance
Select and use data, methods, criteria and assumptions that are appropriate to the
assessment of GHG emissions and removals from the goal and scope definition being studied.

– 12 – TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E)
4.4 Completeness
Include all GHG emissions and removals that provide a significant contribution to the
assessment of GHG emissions and removals arising from the goal and scope definition being
studied.
4.5 Consistency
Apply assumptions, methods and data in the same way throughout the GHG emissions for EE
product’s life cycle to arrive at conclusions in accordance with the goal and scope definition.
4.6 Accuracy
Reduce bias and uncertainties as far as is practical.
4.7 Transparency
Address and document all relevant issues in an open, comprehensive and understandable
presentation of information. Fully disclose any relevant assumptions and limitations and make
appropriate references to the methodologies and data sources used. Clearly explain any
estimates and avoid bias so that the GHG emissions throughout EE product’s life cycle study
report faithfully represent what it purports to represent.
NOTE The above principles (4.3 to 4.7) are adapted from ISO 14064-1:2006, Clause 3 with modification.
5 Comparative study on the existing relevant documents
Annex B summarizes the results of a comparative study on existing relevant documents
including International Standards and regional and national initiatives which specify the
methodology of CFP study and LCA, and which are referred to widely around the world.
A basic and generic methodology relevant to a CFP study is under development in
ISO/DIS 14067. It specifies principles and requirements for studies to quantify Carbon
Footprint of Products and GHG emissions assessments respectively, based on the
methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA) as specified in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.
ISO/DIS 14067 also sets rules related to use of CFP study for different purposes and related
communication.
GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting & Reporting Standard (hereinafter GHG Protocol
Product Standard), which is a forum/industry standard, was developed in parallel with the
GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting & Reporting Standard
(hereinafter GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard). The GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard is written
as a supplement to GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting & Reporting Standard. It accounts for
value chain emissions at the corporate level, whereas the GHG Protocol Product Standard
accounts for life cycle GHG emissions at the individual product level. The CFP study specified
in the GHG Protocol Product Standard is for the most part based on the life cycle assessment
methods specified in ISO 14044 and the communication requirements specified in the ISO
14020 series of standards.
Methodologies for environmental impact assessment specific to ICT sector are developed by
ITU-T. Among them is ITU-T L.1410 which specifies methodologies for ICT goods, networks
and services (GNS) and provides practical guidance for a CFP study in the sector. ITU-T
L.1410 is composed of a framework and guidance for life cycle assessment based on the
methodology specified in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. It is organized in two parts, part 1 deals
with the LCA methodology applied to ICT GNS and part 2 deals with comparative analysis
based on LCA results of an ICT GNS product system and a referenced product system.
Annex B of this TR also presents compiled summaries of regional standards/initiatives such
as EC Product Environmental Footprint and ETSI EE TS 103 199, national ones such as

TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E) – 13 –
PAS 2050 (UK), TS-Q 0010 (Japan) and Korean CFP guidance, etc., in addition to the
standards and draft standards discussed above.
All the existing relevant documents and initiatives adopt a life cycle approach for calculating
GHG emissions. Most of them base their calculation methodologies on ISO 14040 and
ISO 14044, including ISO/DIS 14067 which was described above. ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 allow
for LCA studies of GHG emissions and practitioners are encouraged to carefully consider the
representativeness of results in the interpretation phase.
In a CFP study of a product, treatment of the comparative analysis between products needs
attention. ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 are stringent regarding product comparisons. In contrast,
CFP related assessments of GHG emissions according to ISO/DIS 14067 are often expected
to deliver single values to be used as a basis for product comparisons. However, such values
are only representative of the preconditions of the study and will provide limited information
about the actual GHG emissions due to the complexities of many EE products, their value
chains and uses. ISO/DIS 14067 acknowledges the need for CFP-PCRs to achieve
comparability. This Technical Report can therefore not be used as a sole basis for product
comparisons as comparable conditions could not be defined at a sector level with sufficient
level of details.
6 Quantification framework
6.1 General
6.1.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards
CFP and LCA standards provide the following requirements regarding a CFP study:
A CFP study according to this International Standard shall include the four phases of LCA,
i.e. goal and scope definition, LCI, LCIA and life cycle interpretation.
[Source: ISO/DIS 14067, 6.1]
The necessity of a sector specific approach applicable to EE products is recognized by
considering the specific characteristics of EE products which could include a large quantity of
components/materials in a product, dynamic, long and complicated supply chains, rapidly
evolving technology, the complexity of production processes and use/end-of-life scenarios,
etc., which can lead to considerable challenges in performing CFP.
The CFP consists of the GHG emissions and removals in the life cycle of a product (i.e.
product system). The unit processes comprising the product system are grouped into life cycle
stages; e.g., raw material acquisition, production, distribution, use and end-of-life. Accordingly
the data of GHG emission and removals collected over the product’s life cycle are assigned to
the life cycle stages. Partial CFP studies that account for only specific life cycle stages can be
combined to form the full CFP covering the entire life cycle provided that they are performed
according to the same methodology, and the time frame for relevant activities is viewed as
equivalent.
To set specific GHGs to be calculated, this TR recommends considering relevance and
international framework/studies. For example, 6 gases are recognized in the international
framework (Kyoto Protocol): CO , CH , N O, HFCs, PFCs and SF . For gases other than CO ,
2 4 2 6 2
the CO equivalent (CO e) is obtained by multiplying each GHG emissions by the GWP of
2 2
those gases.
In a CFP study, Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) is calculated through the specific processes
outlined in this document.
– 14 – TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E)
At the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) phase of a CFP study, this TR recommends use
of the current 100-year GWP given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), which is used for quantification of each nation’s emission under Kyoto Protocol, for
calculating CO equivalent.
It should be documented which version of IPCC Assessment Report was used for the CFP
Study.
The GHGs to be taken into account should be reviewed periodically, with future international
studies, etc. taken into due consideration. For example, all the gases (more than six, e.g.
NF ) specified in the latest IPCC Assessment Report may be selected for CFP study.
At the interpretation phase of a CFP study, this TR recommends consideration of uncertainty,
identification of allocation method and documentation including their details.
6.1.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance for basic steps of CFP study
The goal of carrying out CFP study on EE products is to quantify the contribution of a product
to global warming expressed in CO e by quantifying the GHG emissions and removals, over
its life cycle. A workable and simple way to conduct CFP study for EE products based on the
analysis of CFP and LCA standards and initiatives is summarized into the following nine steps.
• Step 1 - Defining the goal and scope (See 6.2 “Goal and scope definition” for details)
• Step 2 - Defining the unit of analysis (See 6.3 “Unit of analysis” for details)
• Step 3 - Setting the system boundary (See 6.4 “System boundary” for details)
a) Defining the life cycle stage (See 6.4.1)
b) Developing a process map (See 6.4.1 and 6.4.2)
c) Describing the time boundary (See 6.4.3)
d) Considering specific GHG sources and sinks (See 6.4.4)
e) Defining the options to develop cut-off criteria (See 6.4.5)
• Step 4 – Trial estimation and decision on boundary to be cut-off (See 6.5 “Trial estimation
and decision on boundary to be cut-off” for details)
• Step 5 – Data collection and quality assessment (See 6.6 “Data collection and quality
assessment” for details)
• Step 6 – Calculating GHG emissions (See 6.7 “Calculating GHG emissions”)
• Step 7 – Assessing uncertainty (See 6.8 “Uncertainty”)
• Step 8 – Documentation (See 8 “Documentation”)
• Step 9 – Communication and verification (See 9 “Communication and verification”)
NOTE Figure 1 refers these 9 steps to the widely adopted phases of an LCA study as outlined in ISO 14040 and
ISO 14044.
TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E) – 15 –
Figure 1 – Basic steps of CFP study related to LCA framework
6.2 Goal and scope definition
6.2.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards
CFP and LCA standards provide the following requirements regarding “defining the goal of a
CFP study”:
In defining the goal of a CFP study, the following items shall be unambiguously stated:
– the intended application;
– the reasons for carrying out the study;
– the intended audience, i.e. to whom the results of the study are intended to be
communicated.
NOTE Adapted from ISO 14044:2006, 4.2.2.
[Source: Summary of ISO/DIS 14067]
6.2.2 Electrotechnical industry guidance
In accordance with ISO 14040 provisions for an LCA, ISO/DIS 14067, on CFP study for EE
products identifies the considerations described below. In addition, provisions in the GHG
Protocol Product Standard identify important considerations regarding the choice of the
studied product.
Examples of the goal of the study may include but are not limited to:
• Illustrate performance of the product in terms of GHG emissions for decision making;
• Provide CFP results to the customer upon request;
• Include CFP results into the product declaration on the web page disclosed to the public.

– 16 – TR 62725 © IEC:2013(E)
When determining which product to study, the organization should take the key relevant
considerations into account, for example:
• Design or progress of technology;
• Product function and characteristics;
• User, use/service conditions and site infrastructure;
• Normal duration of use/service time;
• Consumables, other supportive products and maintenance requirements;
• Scheme of end of life.
Grouping of a product series or product family where the impact of GHG emissions can
reasonably be expected to be similar, based on similar function or technology, can be
recognized as one product category. In that case, a CFP study can be implemented for the
group of product series as one product category.
6.3 Unit of analysis
6.3.1 Provisions in CFP and LCA standards
CFP and LCA standards provide the following requirements regarding “functional unit” and
“product unit”:
6.2.3 Functional unit
A CFP study shall clearly specify the functions of the product system being studied. The
functional unit shall be consistent with the goal and scope of the CFP study. […] Therefore
the functional unit shall be clearly defined and measurable.
When PCR or CFP-PCR are adopted, the functional unit used shall be that defined in the
PCR or the CFP PCR and be consistent with the goal and scope.
Having chosen the functional unit, the reference flow shall be defined. Comparisons between
systems shall be made on the basis of the same function(s), quantified by the same functional
unit(s) in the form of their reference flows. If additional functions of any of the systems are not
taken into account in the comparison of functional units, then these omissions shall be
explained and documented.
As an alternative, systems associated with the delivery of these functions may be added to
the boundary of the other system to make the systems more comparable. In these cases, the
processes selected shall be explained and documented.
[…]
Results of the quantification of the CFP shall be documented in the CFP study report in mass
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