FAQs

No, on the contrary. Our industry-agnostic approach makes PACT unique – we are seeking to bring together different sectors under one joint helm, to ensure collaboration and alignment in a space where everyone must work together to resolve the challenge successfully.

Conformance testing is a voluntary process of verifying if a product or service meets specific standards or specifications. In the context of PACT, this is the process of verifying that a solution or system correctly implements the PACT Technical Specifications. By doing so, Conformance Testing verifies that a solution can exchange PCF data in an interoperable way with any other PACT Conformant Solution for the Tech Specs version being tested.​

‍

Compliance is a legal requirement; Conformance refers to voluntary adherence to standards​​

‍

A PACT Conformant solution has completed the technical interoperability test using the Conformance tool for a specific version of the PACT Technical Specifications. By passing conformance the solution can both share and receive PCF data via API​.

‍

Details of each solution can be found by clicking on a solution card. All PACT Conformant technology solutions have features listed on the respective page and you can visit their website and get in touch for a demo.

Most organizations are already partnering with a technology solution to measure and manage emissions data. We encourage all corporations to invite vendors and solutions you are working with to pursue PACT Conformance testing. This will ensure that the solution can exchange data using the PACT data model.

Evaluating the calculation engine is significantly higher complexity than the exchange, and therefore deemed out of scope. We plan to expand conformance testing to the PCF calculation engine in the future.

‍

No, PACT Conformance testing is completely free. We have a peer-to-peer testing process with the community through which we test for conformance.

‍

PACT does not provide any certifications for aligning with the standard. Hence, we do not use the terminology 'PACT Certified' or 'PACT Compliant' since it is not a legal requirement. We use 'PACT Conformant' to highlight voluntary adherence to the standard

‍

PACT is not building a product or a platform that stores any centralised data. PACT Technology is fundamentally an API that enable standardized emissions data exchange which is done in a peer-to-peer manner by individual host systems

‍

1. Solution has implemented all mandatory aspects of a specific version of the PACT Technical Specifications​
2. Solution can both share and receive PCF data via API​
3. Once a solution has passed all mandatory tests using the Conformance tool then it is declared PACT Conformant

‍

‍

‍

1. Any aspect of the calculation engine (i.e. PCF calculation according to PACT Methodology)​
2. User Interface and/or front-end user experience ​

‍

Yes, conformance is relative to a specific version. Solutions must re-test to become conformant to major versions of the Technical Specifications (i.e. v1, v2, v3). You may only test conformance to a stable released version (not to a draft version). For the list of releases, see here​

‍

Yes! We invite you to retest as you identify issues and bugs with your implementation, as this is an intended outcome of the Conformance Testing process.​

‍

Evaluating the calculation engine is significantly higher complexity than the exchange, and therefore deemed out of scope. We plan to expand conformance testing to the PCF calculation engine in the future.

‍

We do plan to extend conformance testing to Data Model Extensions ​once these become more widely available and adopted by solutions.​

‍

No, currently the requirement for PACT Conformance is a given solution must be able to implement all mandatory functionality of the Technical Specifications which includes both send and receive API functionality.​ The above said, you are invited to nevertheless participate in Conformance Testing and may contribute test results for other solutions as well as evaluate (partially) your solution.

‍

No, the interoperability test needs to be conducted by solutions built on the same version. For example, a v3 solution cannot be tested with a v2.

‍

If you are a consultancy supporting companies on their sustainability journey you are welcome to contact our team for more information about becoming a PACT implementation partner.

PACT is an initiative launched in 2020 by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to support companies in their supply chain decarbonization efforts.

PACT consists of three core pillars:

1. Methodology - A calculation methodology for Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data, enabling consistent measurement across companies and sectors.
2. Network - A community of solutions designed for peer-to-peer exchange of PCF data, so companies can receive data from suppliers or share with customers.
3. Adoption Accelerator - Support to help companies implement PACT-conformant practices and integrate PCF data into their operations.

Together, these enable any company to calculate a PCF, exchange data with trading partners, and drive measurable supply chain decarbonization.

‍

The PACT Methodology (previously known as the Pathfinder Framework) provides industry-agnostic methodological guidance for the calculation of product-level emissions data. It also defines which data elements are exchanged within value chains.

No, PACT is neither a platform nor a software tool and strongly endorses a “no-vendor-lock-in” approach for PCF calculation and exchange. PACT maintains a Technical Specification that any organization globally may implement within their platform and/or tool.

The Methodology leverages and builds on existing standards and guidelines, including the GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard, the Scope 3 Standard or applicable ISO standards. The PACT Methodology provides specific calculation and allocation requirements to increase methodological consistency and hence comparability of data. PACT also encourages more detailed product or sectoral rules to be developed to address the needs of particular industries.

No, PACT does not store any supplier emission data. By following the PACT approach, PCF data is exchanged directly between supplier and customer.

The Methodology is developed in a multi-stakeholder process, including WBCSD member organizations, industry initiatives, LCA experts, standard-setting and reporting bodies as well as governments and non-governmental organizations. PACT facilitates and leads this process.

While PACT does not provide direct, tailored support for engaging with suppliers, it does offer implementation programs for member companies. These programs help companies incorporate PACT into their operations, which includes requesting PCF data from suppliers, supporting the calculation of PCFs by suppliers, validating it, and finally and most importantly, utilizing it effectively. These programs also offer valuable opportunities to exchange with other companies undergoing the same journey, and have access to the PACT team, who can answer any questions from your company or its suppliers.

For more information on the PACT Implementation Program 2025, please contact us by submitting a form!

The PACT Methodology’s cradle-to-gate boundary contains product storage and shipping processes, including transportation within and between the life cycle stages. Outbound logistics (i.e. transportation and storage from the production gate to the customer gate) should be calculated and reported separately up to the point where another company takes over responsibility for the product (i.e. owns or pays for outbound logistics). In other words, the gate is the “production-gate".

To calculate a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) using the PACT methodology, your company can start by downloading the PACT PCF how-to guide. This guide offers a simple introduction to PCF calculation in alignment with the PACT methodology, making it an ideal resource for companies calculating PCFs for the first time.

Another valuable resource is the PACT Simplified Data Model, which provides clear details about each data attribute required by the methodology. While not a calculation tool, the model lists all mandatory and optional attributes that must be included as part of PCF exchanges under PACT.

PACT recommends beginning with a small selection of products to familiarize yourself with the process. Once the methodology is understood, your company can consider leveraging IT solutions to scale up PCF calculation and data exchange.

For companies that have previously calculated LCAs (Life Cycle Assessments) or PCFs using other approaches, a checklist is available to help assess alignment with PACT.

We expect the PACT Technical Specifications data attributes to provide sufficient transparency to data receivers to ensure they can get clarity on the PCFs being calculated consistently. Further down the line, third-party verification of the PCF calculation model or PCF system (i.e. the system governing how a company generates and manages PCFs) will further enhance trust in the calculation consistency and comparability.

PACT does not store or host Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs) from companies. Instead, it provides a framework to harmonize how PCFs are calculated and exchanged. This harmonization improves the accuracy of the data that companies receive while reducing the burden on suppliers, who often face a multitude of differing data requests from their customers.

To use PACT for accessing PCF data, your company can request that suppliers calculate their PCFs following the PACT methodology (Version 3) and exchange the data using PACT-conformant solutions. By aligning with this approach, you ensure consistent, reliable data while streamlining the process for your suppliers.

PACT provides an accounting methodology building on the GHG Protocol which focuses on product carbon footprints which can in turn be incorporated into corporate carbon footprints, which is what is then included in SBTi target submission forms. So in short, yes it is!

To partner with PACT as a software solution provider is to align with the PACT Technical Specifications through our conformance testing process. By passing conformance testing, the rapidly growing number of companies looking to both calculate and exchange Product Carbon Footprint data per the PACT standard will be able to trust that your solution can be used to accomplish their goals of carbon transparency.

PACT will not be substituting CDP, it will enhance the usability and accuracy of the information shared via CDP by providing a consistent approach to calculate product carbon footprints. To reduce the burden on data providers, CDP’s PCF calculation tool became PACT conformant to ensure companies were able to directly upload their PCFs to the CDP platform.

PACT has a community-driven process to validate conformance to the PACT standard. To be listed as PACT Conformant, please follow the 5-step PACT Conformance Testing Process Guide You can find all the necessary resources at the end of each step.

While both are looking at GHG emissions, PCFs and Corporate Carbon Footprints differ primarily in the scope and categorization of GHGs.Corporate Carbon Footprints are structured into Scopes 1, 2, and 3 - with Scope 1 representing the direct emissions that a company owns or controls, Scope 2 the indirect emissions resulting from energy purchased by a company and Scope 3 the emissions from sources not owned or controlled by the company (upstream and downstream of their own operations). Product Carbon Footprints (PCF) are specific to the lifecycle of a product and therefore include the emissions associated to raw materials acquisition (including packaging), direct and indirect emissions from production, logistics, use and end-of-life of a given product (considering a cradle-to-grave boundary).Although PCFs and Corporate Carbon Footprints differ in the scope and categorization of GHGs, they are very much intertwined, as cradle-to-gate PCFs (i.e. excluding the use and end-of-life stages) from suppliers can be incorporated into the Scope 3 upstream categories of their customers, improving the granularity and accuracy of their Scope 3 data and enhancing their ability to track their performance against their decarbonization objectives.

‍