Abstract

In October 2008, the British Standards Institute (BSI) together with the UK Department of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Carbon Trust published a specification, known as “PAS 2050”, for calculating the emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) associated with consumer products and services. The PAS 2050 approach is already being taken up in many countries around the world. This talk, presented by a member of the technical steering committee for drafting PAS 2050 , will explain the background and objectives of the approach, the methodological basis for the specification, and the ways in which “carbon labels” are likely to affect the management of supply chains.

Roland Clift is an Emeritus Professor of Environmental Technology and founding Director of the Centre for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey; previously Head of the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Surrey. He is Visiting Professor in Environmental System Analysis at Chalmers University, Göteborg , Sweden, Adjunct Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, President of the International Society for Industrial Ecology, and a Vice President of Environmental Protection UK. He is a non-executive Director of the Blackrock New Energy Investment Trust, a member of Rolls-Royce’ Environmental Advisory Board and of the International Expert Group on application of Life Cycle Assessment to waste management. From 1996 to 2005 he was a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP). In 2004-5, he acted as Expert Adviser to a House of Lords enquiry into energy efficiency. He is a past member of the UK Eco-labelling Board and of the Royal Society/Royal Academy Working Group set up at the instigation of DTI to examine the risk and regulatory issues raised by nanotechnology. His research is concerned with system approaches to environmental management and industrial ecology, including life cycle assessment and energy systems.