Managing your carbon footprint is no longer optional—it’s an essential part of sustainable product development and corporate responsibility. In Makersite, our Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) workflow helps you understand and improve the environmental impact of your purchased goods and supply chain, especially under Scope 3 emissions reporting.

This article walks you through the PCF process in Makersite: from importing data to validating it with your suppliers.

What is PCF and how does it work?

A Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) measures the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the lifecycle of a product—from raw material extraction to manufacturing. In Makersite, the PCF workflow is tied to Scope 3 emissions, which cover indirect emissions related to your supply chain and purchased goods.

Step 1: Import Your Transactions

Begin by uploading your transaction data using the Transaction Importer. Each record represents a material or product purchased, along with available information like weight, cost, or description.

Makersite intelligently maps each transaction to the best available environmental data using a hierarchy of data enrichment methods:

For example, if a transaction only says "1.5L plastic jar, 1kg", our AI will analyze the description, assume it’s injection-molded plastic, and generate a realistic estimate of its carbon footprint.

Step 2: Run the Site Impact Report

Once your transactions are imported, run a Site Impact Report to view the environmental impact of your purchases.

This report includes:

• Site and product names
• Quantities and spend
• Calculated carbon impacts
• The source of each impact (spend-based, AI, BOM, or primary)

You’ll get a clear, product-by-product overview of what drives your emissions and how confident the data is.

Step 3: Request Primary Data from Suppliers

CO₂ Footprint – A direct value: e.g., "This product emits 2.3kg CO₂e."

Material Breakdown – A recipe of how the product is made, which Makersite uses to calculate the footprint more precisely.

You can send these requests in two ways:

Step 4: Accept & Use Supplier Data

Once suppliers respond:

1. Review the submitted data
2. Accept it in Makersite
3. It will automatically update your Site Impact Report with primary PCF values

These verified values override earlier estimates and give you the most accurate and auditable carbon reporting possible.

Where Do Results Appear?

Accepted supplier data is reflected in:

• The Site Impact Report
• The Scope 3 Dashboard (if enabled)

This gives you a centralized view of your emissions with increasing accuracy over time as more supplier data is collected.

Why This Matters

Using Makersite’s PCF workflow helps you:

• Improve the quality of your Scope 3 reporting
• Reduce reliance on rough estimates
• Engage your supply chain in sustainability
• Build transparency and compliance into procurement

Ready to start?
Log in to Makersite, head to the Transaction Importer, and begin mapping your supply chain’s environmental impact today.

If you have questions about supplier campaigns or PCF reporting, our support team is happy to help.