Carbon Footprint
A term used to describe the amount of greenhouse gases, expressed as carbon dioxide, that an activity or product emits during its life cycle. It is also used as an expression for climate labelling or climate declarations.
CO2-equivalents
The concentration of carbon dioxide that would cause the same amount of radiative forcing as a given mixture of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. (IPCC)
EPD
Environmental Product Declaration, the international EPD® system provides a program for certified environmental product declarations according to ISO 14025.
The International EPD® system
A complete programme for organisations to develop and communicate EPDs according to ISO 14025. The programme operator for the International EPD®system is the International EPD Consortium.
GWP (Global Warming Potential)
An index, describing the radiative characteristics of well-mixed greenhouse gases, that represents the combined effect of the differing times these gases remain in the atmosphere and their relative effectiveness in absorbing outgoing infrared radiation. This index approximates the time-integrated warming effect of a unit mass of a given greenhouse gas in today’s atmosphere, relative to that of carbon dioxide. (IPCC)
IEC
International EPD Consortium, the organization which act as the programme operator of the international EPD ® system. For more information visit www.environdec.com.
ISO 14025
An international standard which sets the principles ande procedures for environmental declarations.
ISO 14040 and ISO 14044
Two international standards for life-cycle assessments(LCA). The standards includes requirements and guidance for life-cycle assessments.
LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)
LCA is a method used to show how products or services affect the environment - from extraction of raw material until the product is scrapped or recycled. The method for conducting LCA is standardized according to ISO 14040-14044.
PCR
Product category rules, specific rules for a group of products that complements the general instructions of the EPD programme. EPDs or climate declarations according the same PCR are comparable. Read more about PCRs on www.environdec.com.
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases effectively absorb infrared radiation, emitted by the Earth’s surface, by the atmosphere itself due to the same gases, and by clouds. Atmospheric radiation is emitted to all sides, including downward to the Earth’s surface. Thus greenhouse gases trap heat within the surface-troposphere system. This is called the “natural greenhouse effect.”
Atmospheric radiation is strongly coupled to the temperature of the level at which it is emitted. In the troposphere, the temperature generally decreases with height. Effectively, infrared radiation emitted to space originates from an altitude with a temperature of, on average, -19°C, in balance with the net incoming solar radiation, whereas the Earth’s surface is kept at a much higher temperature of, on average, +14°C. An increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases leads to an increased infrared opacity of the atmosphere, and therefore to an effective radiation into space from a higher altitude at a lower temperature. This causes a radiative forcing, an imbalance that can only be compensated for by an increase of the temperature of the surface-troposphere system. This is the “enhanced greenhouse effect.” (IPCC)