Product carbon footprint (PCF) assessment of Dell laptop - Results and recommendations

The product carbon footprint (PCF) of a mainstream Dell laptop, including raw materials consumption, manufacturing, logistics, product use and end-of-life management was assessed in order to determine environmental “hot spots” across the life cycle. Product bill of material (BOM), supply chain logistics, product energy use and end-of-life scenario data were utilized to model the carbon footprint using generic data found in the GaBi database. The total PCF for three target markets and a life time of four years has been determined to be between 300 and 400 kg CO2eq, comparable to driving ca. 1200 km in an SUV or drinking ca. 2401 of orange juice. The distribution between manufacturing and use is nearly equal, suggesting that an increased focus is needed on improvements within the manufacturing supply chain.