Major Firms Drive Product Carbon Accounting: Amy Brachio Explains
TL;DR: A new business coalition aims to standardize product-level carbon accounting to drive profitable low-carbon solutions and investment.
- Carbon Measures seeks to standardize product carbon intensity.
- The goal is to enable profitable sales of low-carbon products.
- This incentivizes business investment in sustainable solutions.
- Collaboration with existing standard bodies is underway.
- Diverse global companies are backing this initiative.
- Focus on market-driven emission reduction strategies.
Why it matters: Standardizing carbon accounting at the product level can create transparency, empowering consumers and businesses to choose lower-carbon options and foster innovation in sustainable practices.
Do this next: Explore how product-level carbon accounting could impact your industry or consumption choices.
Recommended for: Business leaders, sustainability professionals, and investors interested in market-based approaches to climate action.
Carbon Measures, a business-led coalition established in 2025, is focused on developing standardized product-level carbon intensity measurements and a ledger-based carbon accounting system. The organization's CEO, Amy Brachio, highlights that the primary objective is to facilitate market-driven solutions for emission reduction in the most cost-effective manner. The initiative aims to stimulate demand for products with lower carbon footprints, such as steel, fuels, and cement, by enabling their profitable sale. This profitability, in turn, is expected to encourage continued investment and scaling of low-carbon solutions by businesses.
The coalition's strategy involves creating a framework that allows for the precise measurement of carbon emissions associated with individual products. This granular approach is intended to provide transparency and enable consumers and businesses to make informed choices that favor lower-carbon alternatives. By establishing consistent standards, Carbon Measures seeks to create a level playing field where companies are incentivized to innovate and reduce their environmental impact.
Carbon Measures is actively engaging with existing standard-setting bodies, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, to foster dialogue and collaboration. The organization's roadmap includes plans for growth and expansion, indicating a commitment to broadening its influence and impact across various industries and geographies.
The coalition boasts a membership of prominent global companies, reflecting a diverse range of sectors. These members include major players from the oil and gas industry, such as ExxonMobil; financial services, represented by the Spanish bank Santander; the automotive sector, with Toyota; and the mining industry, through Vale. According to Brachio, these member organizations have already made substantial investments in developing low-carbon emission solutions. Their participation in Carbon Measures is mutually beneficial, as it helps to generate demand for the products and technologies they have invested in, thereby validating their efforts and encouraging further innovation.
The underlying principle is that by clearly differentiating products based on their carbon intensity, a "carbon-differentiated market" can emerge. In such a market, products with lower embedded carbon would gain a competitive advantage, driving a systemic shift towards more sustainable production and consumption patterns. This approach aims to leverage market forces to accelerate the transition to a lower-carbon economy, providing a tangible incentive for businesses to prioritize environmental sustainability in their operations and product development.