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Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)
Navigate the growing role of Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) in IMDS — shaping compliance, sustainability goals, and supply chain transparency.
Coming soon!
AIAG is developing additional Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) guidance. Check back soon for updates.
Essential Details
As global sustainability requirements and customer expectations evolve, the automotive industry must adopt standardized, auditable methods for carbon tracking. The integration of Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data into the International Material Data System (IMDS) marks a critical shift in how the global supply chain manages environmental compliance. Understanding how PCF data aligns with IMDS reporting requirements is essential for meeting emerging regulations, advancing corporate carbon-reduction goals, and enabling consistent, transparent data exchange across the supply chain.
What should I know about Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) and IMDS?
Regulations worldwide require declarations on PCFs in the near future, either for specific components, like in the EU Battery Regulation (a requirement in 2025), or as part of corporate reporting requirements and company pledges on carbon neutrality.
As the automotive industry needs real PCF data across the full supply chain, including Scope 1-3, the LCA Enhancement R246 was created to introduce PCF into IMDS — fulfilling a top priority for OEMs and supplier associations.
PCF value will not be mandatory for each material/component and every actor in IMDS. Instead, it depends on direct legal requirements on your company and your business-to-business contracts, i.e., if your customer faces legal requirements or PCF is part of their company policies.
PCF will not be a rejection reason for IMDS data sheets. Instead, PCF reporting will follow the new enhanced reporting path, which is decoupled from the acceptance/rejection scheme of the normal, standard IMDS process. To make sure it cannot be misused, the PCF will not be visible before accepting the IMDS data sheet.
The proper calculation of a PCF does require expert knowledge or even an expert tool to do so. A simple summarization in IMDS is not possible because PCF is a lot more complex. PCF requires additional inputs besides the received PCFs from the sub-suppliers, such as internal processing or process waste.
The standard for reporting calculated PCFs in IMDS follows a bottom-up approach, meaning it’s not just about raw data. PCF calculation is defined in the Catena-X Rulebook (V3), which was proposed by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association’s working group on Life Cycle Assessment. As detailed PCF calculation happens outside of IMDS, single PCF values cannot stand on their own — additional values and information are needed.
It’s important to keep updated on the latest developments with PCF and IMDS. Join AIAG’s annual IMDS Conference for updates on this topic and more.