The Executive Board of the VDW is committed to improving the environmental performance of machine tools. By developing specific Product Category Rules (PCR), we want to create a standardized basis for calculating the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF). This will ensure greater transparency and comparability of the environmental impact in our industry.

What is the difference?

Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF): Greenhouse gas emissions of a company over a financial year.
Product Carbon Footprint (PCF): Emissions over the entire life cycle of a product.

Why PCRs?
PCRs define the rules according to which the PCF of a product is calculated. Standardized accounting leads to comparable results and increases transparency in the industry.

Our project team
The VDW project team consists of experts from the member companies Chiron, DMG Mori, Grob, Heller, Schuler and United Grinding, scientific support from the Technical University of Cologne and representatives from the VDW office and the VDMA’s Environment and Standardization department.

Next steps
The aim is to create a VDMA standard sheet. This is accepted as a standard and quickly leads to results. Publication is planned for early 2025. In the long term, we are aiming to convert it into an ISO standard.

Why this is important
By establishing uniform rules for the PCF, we improve the transparency and comparability of the environmental performance of our products. This helps our members to improve their climate strategies and meet market requirements.

Contact
If you have any questions, please contact Ralf Reines, VDW Research and Technology,
r.reines@vdw.de