Assessment of the product carbon footprint of office equipment across the entire life cycle

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the article is to publicise the issue of carbon footprint emission from office equipment because this problem is not yet widely recognised in the ICT industry.  Methodology/approach: The product carbon footprint (PCF) of various information and communication technologies (ICT) was assessed - 196 products of 12 groups representing a broad spectrum of office equipment - covering the entire life cycle (LCA) from production to disposal. Findings: The level of carbon footprint of a given office device depends on its size, including its energy demand. It should be noted that although smaller devices individually have a smaller carbon footprint, due to their common use (many pieces), they may generate emissions similar to larger ones. Originality/value: The results of the carbon footprint statistics of ICT devices included in the result section may constitute valuable input for companies to calculate the carbon footprint in offices. They can also be used as a data set for the carbon footprint calculator of ICT devices.