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MetricProduct life-cycle greenhouse gas inventory

Product contained carbon at cradle-to-gate

Measurement answer

What this metric measures

Mass of fossil and biogenic carbon contained in a product at the end of the cradle-to-gate stage, reported by carbon origin.

Specification

Metric specification

Result format
Structured table
Unit
mass of carbon (e.g., kg C) — source-defined reporting unit
Reporting basis
Inventory period for the reported product inventory
Aggregation
Reported separately as fossil carbon and biogenic carbon contained in the product; total contained carbon may be reported as their sum.
Pillar
Environmental
Topic
Product life-cycle greenhouse gas inventory
Controlled domain
Products and life-cycle assessment
Entity type
Metric

Reporting boundary

Cradle-to-gate product boundary, measured in the product at the end of the cradle-to-gate stage.

Verified source occurrences

Framework coverage

This is one canonical metric. The bindings below show every verified framework occurrence without creating duplicate metric pages. Edition, disclosure, role, and relationship remain source-specific.

  • Measurement Authority

    GHG Protocol

    Source evidence
    Publisher
    GHG Protocol
    Edition
    September 2011 publication
    Requirement
    Not Specified
    Relationship
    Defines Measurement
    Mapping outcome
    Direct Evidence
    Source locator
    p. 93, DuPont Sorona® example
    Open official framework source
  • Measurement Authority

    GHG Protocol

    005195517e8fe4334a0a
    Publisher
    GHG Protocol
    Edition
    September 2011 publication
    Requirement
    Not Specified
    Relationship
    Maps Source Identity
    Mapping outcome
    Published
    Source locator
    p. 93, DuPont Sorona® example
    Open official framework source
  • Measurement Authority

    PACT Product Carbon Footprint Methodology

    CarbonFootprint.biogenicCarbonContent
    Publisher
    WBCSD / Partnership for Carbon Transparency
    Edition
    PACT Methodology 3.0.1 and Technical Specifications 3.0.3
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    Technical Specifications 3.0.3, Section 4.7, CarbonFootprint.biogenicCarbonContent
    Open official framework source
  • Measurement Authority

    PACT Product Carbon Footprint Methodology

    CarbonFootprint.fossilCarbonContent
    Publisher
    WBCSD / Partnership for Carbon Transparency
    Edition
    PACT Methodology 3.0.1 and Technical Specifications 3.0.3
    Requirement
    Mandatory
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    Technical Specifications 3.0.3, Section 4.7, CarbonFootprint.fossilCarbonContent
    Open official framework source

Value structure

Dimensions and units

Unit
mass of carbon (e.g., kg C) — source-defined reporting unit
Reporting basis
Inventory period for the reported product inventory

Unit meaning: Values use mass of carbon (e.g., kg C) under the disclosed GHG Protocol Product Standard method, product boundary and reporting period.

Table fields and units

  • Product
  • Unit of analysis / functional unit / reference flow
  • Boundary type
  • Carbon origin
  • Contained carbon mass
  • Inventory period
  • Allocation method
  • Recycling method

Published dimensions

  • product
  • unit of analysis
  • functional unit or reference flow
  • boundary type
  • carbon origin (fossil or biogenic)
  • inventory period
  • allocation method
  • recycling method

Calculation method

Formula information

Status
Specified
Formula type
Sum

Formula

C_contained,total = C_contained,fossil + C_contained,biogenic

Apply the source-defined GHG Protocol Product Standard method only within the disclosed product, unit-of-analysis and life-cycle boundary. The source example explicitly identifies reporting the amount of fossil and biogenic carbon contained in the product at cradle-to-gate. This is a standalone, product-level structured reporting result, distinct from product GHG emissions and removals. It does not match the shortlisted product-carbon-storage construct because the source specifies contained fossil and biogenic carbon at a cradle-to-gate endpoint rather than storage pools or storage status.

Variables

SymbolVariableDefinitionUnit
C_contained,totalTotal contained carbonTotal mass of fossil and biogenic carbon contained in the product at the end of the cradle-to-gate stage.mass of carbon (e.g., kg C)
C_contained,fossilFossil contained carbonMass of fossil carbon contained in the product at the end of the cradle-to-gate stage.mass of carbon (e.g., kg C)
C_contained,biogenicBiogenic contained carbonMass of biogenic carbon contained in the product at the end of the cradle-to-gate stage.mass of carbon (e.g., kg C)

Verified sources

Evidence and status sources

Sustopedia checked each record-specific claim directly against primary publisher material. Labels distinguish current measurement authority from future compatibility and corroborative, legal, edition, or method status context. Corroborative evidence can support a stated limitation but cannot establish the core measurement by itself.

Measurement evidence

  • Measurement evidenceChecked 28 August 2026

    Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard

    Publisher
    GHG Protocol
    Edition
    September 2011 publication
    Locator
    p. 93, DuPont Sorona® example

    Supports: The official GHG Protocol Product Standard source supports the identity, boundary and method basis of “Product contained carbon at cradle-to-gate”.

    Open official source

Use with context

Interpretation boundaries

Method disclosures required

Source-edition basis: Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard, September 2011 publication.

  • Identify the reported product and unit of analysis, functional unit, or reference flow.
  • State that the boundary is cradle-to-gate and that the amount is measured in product at the end of that stage.
  • Disclose separate fossil-carbon and biogenic-carbon quantities.
  • Disclose the inventory period and applicable allocation and recycling methods.

Record-specific limitations

  • Contained carbon is a mass-in-product profile, not a greenhouse-gas emissions or removals result.
  • It must not be treated as carbon storage, an offset, avoided emissions, or netted against the product inventory total.
  • The reported quantity supports downstream assessment but does not itself represent cradle-to-grave climate impact.

Interpret this metric with the stated reporting boundary, period convention, value shape, and unit. Results prepared with different boundaries or conventions may not be directly comparable.

Measurement evidence supports the core record-specific claims described above. Corroborative evidence can support limitations, while compatibility and status sources provide their separately labelled context. None of these cards by itself determines an organisation's legal applicability, filing readiness, assurance status, or compliance conclusion.