With CONTACT Elements, companies can determine the environmental footprint of their products early in the development phase. Calculating the Product Carbon Footprint helps them make sustainable decisions in development and production.
Guidelines such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) require companies to act resource-efficiently and provide proof of their actions. The Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is a crucial first step for lifecycle assessment and reducing industrial CO2 emissions (Corporate Carbon Footprint). CONTACT Software's solution for its PLM system CIM Database helps calculate and document environmental data during the design phase. It is based on guidelines such as ISO 14067 for PCF and the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol.
80 percent of manufacturing and environmental costs are already determined during development. CONTACT Elements allows companies to assess the PCF in the early design stages. “Companies need to be able to develop verifiably sustainable products,” says Patrick Müller, Director Innovation Strategy at CONTACT Software. “We support Design for Sustainability and Design to Cost in PLM through application modules that elevate data and process management to a new level.”
CONTACT has expanded its PLM application Product Costing to include the calculation of the CO2 equivalent for materials used, work plans, and production processes, as well as information on recyclability. Users can incorporate data from material data management or connected environmental databases like ProBas and make design decisions in favor of the circular economy. These can be transparently documented via the CIM Database audit trail. In addition to CO2 emissions, CONTACT's PCF solution calculates other relevant metrics like land use and water consumption.
In addition, the PCF solution helps to determine the emissions of individual components and variants in different development phases and scenarios while also taking cost factors into account. The PCF can be broken down into GHG Scopes 1-3 and shared within supply chains through the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) of the Digital Twin.
Companies that also use CONTACT Elements for Asset and Shopfloor Management benefit from additional eco-related synergies. Analyzing operational data enables them to optimize production processes and systems, reduce waste, and lower electricity and water consumption. With CONTACT's PLM and IoT applications, they are well-prepared for the Digital Product Passport, which will gradually require companies to provide information on the origin, manufacturing, and sustainability of their products starting in 2026.
