Every emission factor named. Every source traced. PromoTrace cites public, peer-reviewed datasets by name — Idemat 2024 (TU Delft), worldstainless 2025, GLEC Framework v3, IEA grid intensity, WRAP end-of-life data — never “our proprietary database”. The methodology is versioned like software; every PDF carries the revision stamp; every historical calculation stays locked to the revision it was run under.
PromoTrace's calculation engine implements the four phases of ISO 14044 life-cycle assessment: goal & scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation. For promotional products specifically, "cradle-to-gate" means from raw material extraction through to the finished, decorated, packaged unit leaving the producer. We then add transport to the destination region and an end-of-life stage based on regional disposal mixes.
We don't claim ISO 14067 product-level verification — that requires an accredited third-party audit per SKU, which doesn't scale to the long-tail catalog of promotional product distributors. What we do offer is a defensible, reproducible screening LCA you can stand behind in a tender response.
Outputs are deterministic. Given the same inputs and the same methodology revision, the calculator returns the same number every time. The audit trail is per-row.
Scope 3 carbon disclosure is moving from voluntary to mandatory. Brand-side procurement teams are pushing the questionnaires down to their promotional-product suppliers. The ones with defensible data win the brief. The ones with “eco-friendly” claims and no number behind them lose it.
Large EU companies must report Scope 3 emissions — including the carbon footprint of every promotional gift they order. Suppliers without per-product data make their brand client’s report harder to file. The questionnaire lands on your desk in Q1; you answer in days, not weeks.
Environmental claims on products sold in France must be substantiated with verifiable lifecycle data. “Eco-friendly” without a CO₂e number is no longer enough — and the fines are real. Any UK distributor exporting to a French client is in scope.
Packaging carbon intensity becomes part of the procurement decision — including the box, polybag, and mailer around your promotional gifts. PromoTrace splits packaging out as a dedicated lifecycle stage on every PDF, ready for the supplier questionnaire.
£200/tonne tax on UK packaging with <30% recycled content (already live). EU CBAM phases in 2026 and adds border-carbon costs on imports — including the FOB shipping leg of your CHN→GBR tote run. Distributors who can quote the carbon-adjusted cost win procurement.
The calculator walks all six stages on every product. Zero-impact stages render at low opacity so reviewers see they were considered.
Raw material EF (per kg) × mass per unit, weighted by country-of-origin grid mix where the input matters (steels, plastics).
Energy consumption per process × grid carbon intensity of the production country. Includes injection moulding, weaving, sewing, etc.
Per-unit mass × material EF for the packaging system (polybag, kraft, corrugated, mailer). Default per product family, overridable.
Tonne-kilometres on the resolved origin-destination lane × mode-specific EF. Sea / air / road, auto-selected per lane.
Per-cm² coverage × technique-specific EF (screen, pad, UV, laser engrave, embroidery). Includes ink and thermal cure energy.
Regional disposal mix (recycle / incineration / landfill) × EOL EF per material. Defaults to destination-region averages.
We don't sell access to a secret database. The full library of factors and the sources behind them are open to inspection.
| Stage | Source | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | Idemat 2024 (TU Delft) + manufacturer EPDs | Cradle-to-gate factors per material × mass, country-of-origin grid mix |
| Stainless steel | worldstainless 2025 | Sector-specific factors per grade (304, 316L, etc.) |
| Aluminium | International Aluminium Institute 2023 | Primary vs recycled mix, country-of-origin grid mix |
| Production | Idemat 2024 + ecoinvent-aligned process data | Energy use per process × grid carbon intensity |
| Decoration | Decoration-specific Idemat factors + ink + thermal-cure data | Per-cm² coverage × technique × thermal cycles |
| Packaging | Idemat 2024 (corrugated, polybag, kraft, mailer) | Per-unit mass × material EF, end-of-life by region |
| Transport | GLEC Framework v3 | Tonne-km × mode-specific EF (sea, air, road) |
| Electricity | IEA 2024 grid carbon intensity by country | Used wherever energy is involved (production, decoration) |
| End-of-life | WRAP EoL 2023 + EU Joint Research Centre data | Region-specific recycling / incineration / landfill mix |
The Sustainability Hub uses a parallel methodology stack to track year-round operational data — energy, water, waste, suppliers, policies, targets. Same standards corporate sustainability reviewers expect, same versioning discipline as the LCA side.
Scope 1 (natural gas, diesel, petrol, LPG, biomass, fugitive refrigerants) uses the latest DEFRA Government GHG Conversion Factors 2024. Scope 2 electricity uses IEA 2024 country grid intensity across 37 ISO-3 country codes — from France 0.057 (nuclear) to South Africa 0.860 (coal). Renewable share (REGOs / RECs / PPAs) reduces emissions linearly under the GHG Protocol market-based method.
Fugitive emissions from cooling systems and heat pumps are converted to CO₂e using IPCC AR5 GWP100 factors — R-410A (2 088), R-32 (675), R-134a (1 430), R-744 / CO₂ (1), R-717 / ammonia (0). Per-leakage-event entry, with refrigerant type attribution on the supplier register.
The Hub’s reporting boundary follows ISO 14064-1 (Specification with guidance at the organisation level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals) and the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard for Scope 1 / 2 / 3 categorisation. Output maps cleanly onto common sustainability ratings and scope-3 disclosure formats.
Every Hub row (year data, supplier, policy, action, target, training event, verification record) is snapshotted on save with the full input set, the auto-calculated outputs, the methodology revision in effect, the actor, IP and user-agent. Historical numbers are immutable. When v1.3.0 ships, you choose which rows recompute — preview shows old vs new before commit.
Each release is dated, the changes summarised, and your historical calculations stay locked to the revision they were calculated under. Recompute selectively when an auditor asks.
Multi-country Scope 2 grid factors — 37 IEA 2024 country codes for the Sustainability Hub (replaced single UK-only constant). Renewable share still applies under GHG Protocol market-based method.
Bio-based materials added (PLA, Bio-PP, PHA-PHB, PBS, PBAT). Sustainability Hub Module A: company operations methodology stack (DEFRA 2024 + IPCC AR5 GWP100).
Updated stainless EF to worldstainless 2025; added Idemat 2024 RPET grades.
Refined GLEC v3 road-freight EF for intra-EU lanes; corrected USA-domestic distances.
Initial public release after beta. Locked schema for emission-factor library.
Screening LCA at this granularity is appropriate for sustainability reporting, client conversations, and procurement decisions. It is not a substitute for the items listed opposite.
We say this on the methodology page so it never comes as a surprise during a tender process — and so you can use PromoTrace's outputs honestly with your own clients.
Requires an accredited third-party audit per SKU. PromoTrace does not provide this.
If your supplier publishes a product-specific Environmental Product Declaration, that EPD overrides our screening estimate.
This is your own operations (offices, vehicles, energy). PromoTrace covers Scope 3 category 1 (purchased goods) only.
Niche materials, unusual decoration techniques, or supplier-specific processes return a clear "data gap" flag — we don't invent factors.
