The International Carbon Black Association (ICBA) has announced its first-ever industry-average Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) for furnace carbon black. The milestone was unveiled during the Carbon Black World conference held on May 12–13, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas.
A Milestone for Sustainability in Carbon Black
Furnace carbon black accounts for approximately 95% of production volumes among ICBA members and serves as the industry’s primary technology. By publishing a cradle-to-gate average PCF for this dominant manufacturing process, the ICBA significantly advances transparency and sustainability. This benchmark supports downstream industries in pursuing their decarbonization strategies and eco-design initiatives.
With this move, the ICBA offers a scientifically grounded, standardized reference point for PCF calculations—enabling customers across the value chain to align with consistent and credible sustainability reporting practices.
Standardizing Carbon Footprints Across the Industry
Recognizing the variability in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results based on modeling assumptions and system boundaries, the ICBA launched an initiative in 2024 to develop a Product Category Rule (PCR). This PCR aims to harmonize the methodology used to calculate PCFs, ensuring it remains neutral with respect to carbon black production technologies.
By creating a unified standard, the ICBA seeks to ensure that LCA and PCF data disclosed across the industry are both credible and comparable—helping to eliminate confusion and drive industry-wide environmental accountability.
Industry Leaders Endorse the Move
Jennifer Chittick, President of the ICBA, emphasized, “The ICBA’s initiative to standardize product carbon footprints and develop category rules marks a critical advancement in promoting transparency and consistency across the carbon black industry. By establishing clear and reliable metrics, we empower stakeholders to better understand and reduce environmental impacts. I am proud to support this important work, which reflects our shared commitment to decarbonization and responsible industry practices. This effort sets a new benchmark as we collectively pursue a more sustainable future.”
Verified to International Standards
The new industry-average LCA has been independently verified in accordance with ISO 14044/14067 and ISO 14071 standards. The official carbon footprint data will be published on the ICBA website following the conference. Additionally, both the verification and summary reports will be available upon request. As per the press release, this development marks a critical step toward unifying the carbon black industry’s sustainability efforts—paving the way for more transparent, comparable, and actionable environmental data.
