Scope 3 emissions are the indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur across a company's value chain, both upstream (purchased materials, transport, capital goods) and downstream (use and end-of-life of sold products), but outside its own operations and energy use. Defined by the GHG Protocol, they sit alongside Scope 1 (direct emissions from owned sources) and Scope 2 (emissions from purchased energy). For most industrial and manufacturing companies, Scope 3 is by far the largest share of the total footprint, often 70 to 90%.

A carbon performance class is a grade assigned to a battery based on its declared lifecycle carbon footprint, introduced under the EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. Batteries are ranked into bands — from Class A (the lowest carbon footprint) downwards — relative to the spread of footprints declared across the market. The system works like the energy-efficiency labels on household appliances, but measures embodied carbon per kWh of energy delivered over the battery's life rather than energy consumption in use.

A Data Quality Rating (DQR) is a semi-quantitative score that measures how reliable the data used in a life cycle assessment is, under the EU's Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method. It assesses each dataset against four criteria: technological representativeness, geographical representativeness, time-related representativeness, and precision, each scored from 1 (excellent) to 5 (very poor). The four scores are averaged to produce the DQR for that dataset, and a lower number means higher quality.

A Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a structured, machine-readable digital record that holds a product's key lifecycle information: its materials, origin, environmental impact, repairability, and end-of-life instructions, accessible through a data carrier such as a QR code attached to the product. It is mandated under the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, and is being rolled out by product category through individual delegated acts between 2026 and 2030.

A Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with a single product across its life cycle, expressed in kilograms or tonnes of CO₂-equivalent. It is a focused form of life cycle assessment that looks only at climate impact, quantifying emissions from raw material extraction, processing, manufacturing, transport, and, depending on the scope, use and end-of-life. A PCF is typically calculated to ISO 14067, the international standard for the carbon footprint of products.

A system boundary in life cycle assessment defines which processes and life cycle stages are included in, and excluded from, the assessment. It determines whether an LCA covers, for example, only raw material extraction through to the factory gate (cradle-to-gate), or the full life including use and disposal (cradle-to-grave). Set during the goal and scope phase under ISO 14040/14044, the system boundary is one of the most consequential decisions in an LCA, because it directly shapes what the final result represents.

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a standardised, independently verified document that reports the environmental impacts of a product across its life cycle, based on an underlying LCA. Often described as a "nutrition label for products," an EPD presents results in a consistent format defined by product category rules (PCRs) and standards such as ISO 14025 and, for construction products, EN 15804. Because the format is standardised and third-party verified, EPDs allow buyers to compare the environmental performance of competing products on a like-for-like basis.

CBAM, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, is an EU regulation that puts a carbon price on certain carbon-intensive goods imported into the European Union: currently cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity, and hydrogen. Established by Regulation (EU) 2023/956, it requires EU importers to report the embedded greenhouse gas emissions of in-scope goods and, in its definitive phase from 1 January 2026, to buy and surrender CBAM certificates covering those emissions. Its purpose is to prevent "carbon leakage" by aligning the carbon cost of imports with that paid by EU producers under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

EF 3.1 is version 3.1 of the European Commission's Environmental Footprint method, the EU's official, science-based methodology for calculating the lifecycle environmental impact of products and organisations. It defines a standard set of impact categories and the characterisation factors used to quantify them, so that environmental results across Europe are comparable, reproducible, and reliable. EF 3.1 sits beneath the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF) approaches and is the methodological basis for EU Battery Regulation carbon footprints, EPDs, and forthcoming Digital Product Passports.

ISO 14040 is the international standard that sets out the principles and framework for life cycle assessment. Published by the International Organization for Standardization, it defines the four phases of an LCA, the core concepts, and the methodological principles every credible assessment must follow. It works hand in hand with ISO 14044, which provides the detailed requirements and guidelines. Together they form the foundation for virtually all standardised LCA work.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a standardised scientific method for quantifying the environmental impacts of a product, material, or service across its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction through processing, manufacturing, and transport, to use and end-of-life. It is governed by the international standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, and it measures not just carbon but a range of impacts including water use, acidification, resource depletion, and ecotoxicity. The result is a structured, comparable picture of where a product's environmental burden actually sits.

Life Cycle Costing (LCC) is a method for assessing the total cost of a product, process, or asset across its entire life cycle, from raw materials and production through operation, maintenance, and end-of-life. Structured to mirror the stages of a life cycle assessment, LCC answers the economic counterpart to LCA's environmental question: not just what a product's footprint is, but what it truly costs over its lifetime, including costs that a simple purchase price ignores.

Primary data in life cycle assessment is information collected directly from the specific processes, sites, and suppliers being assessed: actual measured energy use, material inputs, emissions, and production figures from the real supply chain. It contrasts with secondary data, which comes from generic databases, literature, or industry averages. Primary data is also called activity data or foreground data, and using it for the processes that matter most is what separates a defensible LCA from a generic estimate.

Prospective LCA, also called anticipatory LCA, is a life cycle assessment that models the future environmental impact of a product, technology, or process that is not yet operating at commercial scale. Instead of assessing a system as it exists today, it projects how impacts will look once a technology matures, production scales up, and the surrounding energy system and supply chains evolve. It is used heavily for emerging technologies in the energy transition, where today's pilot-scale footprint is a poor guide to tomorrow's industrial reality.

The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, is the EU law aimed at securing a reliable, sustainable supply of the strategic and critical raw materials essential to Europe's energy transition and industry, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements, and other minerals used in batteries, magnets, and clean technologies. It entered into force in 2024 and sets benchmarks for domestic extraction, processing, recycling, and supply diversification, alongside traceability and transparency obligations for certain products.

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is the EU law requiring large companies to report standardised, audited information about their environmental and social impacts, risks, and opportunities. Companies report against the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and apply "double materiality," disclosing both how sustainability issues affect the company and how the company affects people and the environment. Following the EU's Omnibus simplification reforms, adopted as Directive (EU) 2026/470 in February 2026, the CSRD's scope has been significantly narrowed.

The Environmental Footprint (EF) method is the European Commission's harmonised, science-based methodology for measuring and communicating the life cycle environmental performance of products and organisations. It comprises two strands, the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) for products and the Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF) for organisations, and it defines a common set of impact categories, characterisation factors, and data quality rules. Its purpose is to make environmental claims across the EU comparable and reliable, rather than dependent on which method a company happened to choose.

The EU Battery Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, is the European Union law governing the entire life cycle of batteries placed on the EU market. It covers their carbon footprint, responsible sourcing, recycled content, performance, safety, labelling, and end-of-life. It entered into force in August 2023 and applies to all batteries sold in the EU regardless of where they are made. Its most technically demanding obligations, under Article 7, require manufacturers to calculate and declare the carbon footprint of EV, industrial, and light-means-of-transport (LMT) batteries.