The Prospects of Product Carbon Footprints in ERP Systems

Abstract

With the help of product-related carbon footprints each product and each service can be allocated the amount of greenhouse gases that occur during its product lifecycle. As part of a research project at the Leuphana University Lüneburg, a prototype of an ERP component is being developed that would enable ERP systems, when companies communicate with their customers, e.g. by sending them invoices, to specify the carbon footprint of products and services. This paper summarizes the state of research into carbon footprints and selected research projects into ERP/EMIS integration that have provided the groundwork for this project. Finally we discuss the main research questions and limits to this project.