With the carbon footprint concept the goal is simple – to get the footprint to close to zero; but with handprints there is essentially no limit to the positive impacts that can be achieved. The purpose of carbon handprint assessment is to calculate the beneficial greenhouse gas impacts of a product when used by a (potential) customer.
The carbon handprint approach is built on the principle that reducing one’s own footprint is not a handprint. Instead, the handprint achieved by improving the performance of another actor – by reducing their carbon footprint. The rules for defining the baseline against which the positive impact can be assessed create another fundamental basis of the handprint approach.
The carbon handprint of a product is achieved by comparing the carbon footprint of the baseline solution with that of the carbon handprint solution when used by a customer.
The goal of carbon handprinting is to assess the positive greenhouse gas impacts that would be achieved when a product is used by a known or potential customer. This can be used for
- Marketing and communications
- Informing and advising decision-makers and other stakeholders
- Identifying opportunities to improve the climate performance of products used by customers.
More information can be found from Carbon Handprint Guide.