The term carbon footprint was derived at some point from that of the ecological footprint, which goes back to Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees (1994). Although the latter is much broader in scope, considering the total biological capacity used, the greatest attention today is paid to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide due to global warming. As part of HANNOVER MESSE 2023, the SmartFactory KL technology initiative from Kaiserslautern is now presenting a use case for the LIVE determination of the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), i.e. the recording of the total CO2 emissions generated during the manufacture of a product.

The solution, developed in cooperation with the start-up greenable, is based on the so-called product configurator, with the support of which SmartFactory KL will configure a model truck at the trade fair stand. In the course of the actual production, the manufacturer would then determine exactly how much CO2 is produced in the individual steps. This information will be collected in a life cycle file, which will then be evaluated and balanced by greenable. The goal is to provide each product with a QR code that accesses the aforementioned life cycle file, which will then show the exact PCF.

Video