CFIT launches first Recommendation: Leveraging EPDs to improve Scope 3 emissions reporting in ICT procurement

With the publication of its first Recommendation, the Circular and Fair ICT Pact takes a further step in strengthening and harmonising sustainable ICT procurement. Building on years of collaboration and shared practical experience, this Recommendation translates collective insight into focused, implementation-oriented guidance. The first Recommendation, Leveraging Environmental Product Declarations to Improve Scope 3 Emissions Reporting in ICT Procurement, addresses a structural challenge in public sector climate action: the quality of Scope 3 emissions data linked to purchased ICT hardware.

For most public organisations, Scope 3 emissions represent the largest share of their carbon footprint. In ICT, upstream emissions associated with production can be significantly higher than emissions from the use phase. Yet many organisations continue to rely on spend-based calculation methods. While these provide an initial overview, they do not reflect the actual carbon performance of specific products and therefore limit the precision of reporting and reduction strategies.

The Recommendation calls on procuring organisations to require suppliers to provide third party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for ICT hardware. EPDs are standardised documents based on life cycle assessments and independently verified under recognised international standards. They provide transparent data on environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions expressed as CO₂ equivalents, across the full product lifecycle.

Embedding EPD requirements at tender stage, and verifying them during contract management, strengthens the quality of Scope 3 data used for monitoring and reporting. It also increases transparency in the ICT supply chain and encourages manufacturers to measure and disclose product level environmental impacts.

CFIT Recommendations are developed by and for CFIT participants. They consolidate shared experience into harmonised guidance across the procurement cycle, supporting public organizations in using procurement as a lever for circularity, fairness, and climate action.

The full Recommendation is available in the box on the right.