Equate, a global producer of petrochemicals, collaborated with us to develop third-party-certified Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs) for seven products.

In this interview, we sat down with NAME, to discuss EQUATE's experience developing third-party-certified Product Carbon Footprints, the challenges of modeling complex petrochemical production, and the value of working with Carbon Minds.

Could you briefly introduce your company and describe the specific goals you aimed to achieve?

EQUATE is a global producer of petrochemicals and the world’s second-largest producer of ethylene glycol. With an annual production capacity of more than six million tonnes, we manufacture a broad portfolio of products, including ethylene, ethylene glycol, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), styrene monomer, paraxylene, heavy aromatics, and benzene. We serve customers across Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Our goal was to develop third-party-certified Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs) for seven products across four regions, in alignment with the Together for Sustainability (TfS) PCF Guideline. Beyond obtaining certified PCFs, we also wanted to strengthen our internal understanding of PCF methodology and establish a consistent foundation for communicating product-level carbon footprint information to our customers.

What barriers did you face?

One of the biggest challenges was the complexity of our production setup. EQUATE operates highly integrated petrochemical sites, where material flows, energy use, and heat integration are closely interconnected. This makes it technically challenging to accurately track environmental impacts and allocate them consistently across multiple products and production processes.

 

Another challenge was ensuring the consistent treatment of data gaps, non-harmonized inputs, and supporting background datasets. We therefore looked for a partner with deep expertise in life cycle assessment (LCA), strong experience in petrochemical value chains, and the capability to support a rigorous third-party certification process.

How did you overcome these barriers?

We addressed these barriers by partnering with Carbon Minds to support the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) modeling for selected products and regions. Their support covered methodological guidance, PCF modeling, the integration of relevant background data, preparation for third-party review and certification, and a benchmarking workshop based on industry and market data.

Carbon Minds helped us translate complex production data into a structured PCF approach aligned with recognized industry requirements. Their  LCA expertise, background data, and modeling experience ensured that assumptions were applied consistently across the project while helping us manage data gaps and methodological complexity.

In addition, the third-party review and certification strengthened the credibility of the results for customer communication. The benchmarking workshop also provided valuable insights by helping our teams better understand methodological choices, compare our approach with current industry practice, and identify opportunities for future improvements.

What did you achieve in the end?

The key outcome was the successful third-party certification of Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs) for seven products across four regions, in alignment with the Together for Sustainability (TfS) PCF Guideline.

This provides EQUATE with a stronger and more consistent foundation for communicating product-level carbon footprint information to customers. The project also deepened our internal understanding of PCF methodology, improved our confidence in interpreting and communicating the results, and highlighted opportunities to further enhance data quality and prepare for future PCF updates.

How would you describe your collaboration with Carbon Minds?

Carbon Minds supported us throughout the entire project by combining deep LCA expertise with a practical understanding of complex petrochemical operations.

The team worked closely with our subject-matter experts to understand our integrated production setup and to translate complex production data into a structured PCF approach aligned with recognized industry requirements. They also provided relevant background data, modeling expertise, and methodological guidance, helping us apply datasets and assumptions consistently across the project.

In addition, Carbon Minds supported us in preparing for the third-party review and certification process, contributing to the successful certification of our Product Carbon Footprints.

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