PEF builds on life-cycle assessment (LCA) but constrains it: the method, the impact categories, and the calculation rules are fixed, and for many product groups a Product Environmental Footprint Category Rule (PEFCR) pins down exactly how a study must be run. That standardisation is the point — it makes one product's footprint comparable to another's instead of relying on incomparable self-declared LCAs.
A full PEF study is data-intensive and usually a paid, expert-led exercise. For a Digital Product Passport, a completed PEF (or a PEFCR-aligned carbon footprint figure) is a reusable input: the verified impact result can populate the DPP's environmental-footprint fields rather than being recalculated. PEF is a method; an EPD is a verified declaration that often reports PEF- or LCA-based results.
Frequently asked
Is PEF the same as a carbon footprint?
No. Carbon footprint (climate-change impact) is one of the categories a PEF measures; PEF covers a broader set — water use, resource depletion, eutrophication and more. A product's carbon footprint can be a single output of a fuller PEF study.
Does a DPP require a PEF study?
Not universally. ESPR delegated acts set the environmental-footprint requirements per product group, and some will draw on PEF or PEFCR methods. Where a PEF or LCA already exists, TracePass can reuse its verified results to populate the relevant DPP fields with source attribution rather than commissioning a new study.