I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3543 

To direct the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a product carbon 

disclosure program to facilitate carbon content labeling, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 

Ms. BALDWIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Environmental Protection Agency to establish 

a product carbon disclosure program to facilitate carbon 

content labeling, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. PRODUCT CARBON DISCLOSURE PROGRAM. 

4 (a) EPA STUDY.—The Administrator of the Environ5 mental Protection Agency shall conduct a study to deter6 mine the feasibility of establishing a national program for 

7 measuring, reporting, publicly disclosing, and labeling 

8 products or materials sold in the United States for their 

9 carbon content, and shall, not later than 18 months after 


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1 the date of enactment of this Act, transmit a report to 

2 Congress which shall include the following: 

3 (1) A determination of whether a national prod4 uct carbon disclosure program and labeling program 

5 would be effective in achieving the intended goals of 

6 achieving greenhouse gas reductions and an exam7 ination of existing programs globally and their 

8 strengths and weaknesses. 

9 (2) Criteria for identifying and prioritizing sec10 tors and products and processes that should be cov11 ered in such program or programs. 

12 (3) An identification of products, processes, or 

13 sectors whose inclusion could have a substantial car14 bon impact (prioritizing industrial products such as 

15 iron and steel, aluminum, cement, chemicals, and 

16 paper products, and also including food, beverage, 

17 hygiene, cleaning, household cleaners, construction, 

18 metals, clothing, semiconductor, and consumer elec19 tronics). 

20 (4) Suggested methodology and protocols for 

21 measuring the carbon content of the products across 

22 the entire carbon lifecycle of such products for use 

23 in a carbon disclosure program and labeling pro24 gram. 


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1 (5) A review of existing greenhouse gas product 

2 accounting standards, methodologies, and practices 

3 including the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, ISO 14040/ 

4 44, ISO 14067, and Publically Available Specifica5 tion 2050, and including a review of the strengths 

6 and weaknesses of each. 

7 (6) A survey of secondary databases including 

8 the Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey and 

9 evaluate the quality of data for use in a product car10 bon disclosure program and product carbon labeling 

11 program and an identification of gaps in the data 

12 relative to the potential purposes of a national prod13 uct carbon disclosure program and product carbon 

14 labeling program and development of recommenda15 tions for addressing these data gaps. 

16 (7) An assessment of the utility of comparing 

17 products and the appropriateness of product carbon 

18 standards. 

19 (8) An evaluation of the information needed on 

20 a label for clear and accurate communication, in21 cluding what pieces of quantitative and qualitative 

22 information needs to be disclosed. 

23 (9) An evaluation of the appropriate boundaries 

24 of the carbon lifecycle analysis for different sectors 

25 and products. 


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1 (10) An analysis of whether default values 

2 should be developed for products whose producer 

3 does not participate in the program or does not have 

4 data to support a disclosure or label and determine 

5 best ways to develop such default values. 

6 (11) A recommendation of certification and 

7 verification options necessary to assure the quality 

8 of the information and avoid greenwashing or the 

9 use of insubstantial or meaningless environmental 

10 claims to promote a product. 

11 (12) An assessment of options for educating 

12 consumers about product carbon content and the 

13 product carbon disclosure program and product car14 bon labeling program. 

15 (13) An analysis of the costs and timelines as16 sociated with establishing a national product carbon 

17 disclosure program and product carbon labeling pro18 gram, including options for a phased approach. 

19 Costs should include those for businesses associated 

20 with the measurement of carbon footprints and 

21 those associated with creating a product carbon label 

22 and managing and operating a product carbon label23 ing program, and options for minimizing these costs. 

24 (14) An evaluation of incentives (such as finan25 cial incentives, brand reputation, and brand loyalty) 


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1 to determine whether reductions in emissions can be 

2 accelerated through encouraging more efficient man3 ufacturing or by encouraging preferences for lower4 emissions products to substitute for higher-emissions 

5 products whose level of performance is no better. 

6 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL CARBON DISCLO7 SURE PROGRAM.—Upon conclusion of the study, and not 

8 more than 36 months after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act, the Administrator shall establish a national product 

10 carbon disclosure program, participation in which shall be 

11 voluntary, and which may involve a product carbon label 

12 with broad applicability to the wholesale and consumer 

13 markets to enable and encourage knowledge about carbon 

14 content by producers and consumers and to inform efforts 

15 to reduce energy consumption (carbon dioxide equivalent 

16 emissions) nationwide. In developing such a program, the 

17 Administrator shall— 

18 (1) consider the results of the study conducted 

19 under subsection (a); 

20 (2) consider existing and planned programs and 

21 proposals and measurement standards (including the 

22 Publicly Available Specification 2050, standards to 

23 be developed by the World Resource Institute/World 

24 Business Council for Sustainable Development, the 


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1 International Standards Organization, and the bill 

2 AB19 pending in the California legislature); 

3 (3) consider the compatibility of a national 

4 product carbon disclosure program with existing pro5 grams; 

6 (4) utilize incentives and other means to spur 

7 the adoption of product carbon disclosure and prod8 uct carbon labeling; 

9 (5) develop protocols and parameters for a 

10 product carbon disclosure program, including a 

11 methodology and formula for assessing, verifying, 

12 and potentially labeling a product’s greenhouse gas 

13 content, and for data quality requirements to allow 

14 for product comparison; 

15 (6) create a means to— 

16 (A) document best practices; 

17 (B) ensure clarity and consistency; 

18 (C) work with suppliers, manufacturers, 

19 and retailers to encourage participation; 

20 (D) ensure that protocols are consistent 

21 and comparable across like products; and 

22 (E) evaluate the effectiveness of the pro23 gram; 

24 (7) make publicly available information on 

25 product carbon content to ensure transparency; 


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1 (8) provide for public outreach, including a con2 sumer education program to increase awareness; 

3 (9) develop training and education programs to 

4 help businesses learn how to measure and commu5 nicate their carbon footprint and easy tools and tem6 plates for businesses to use to reduce cost and time 

7 to measure their products’ carbon lifecycle; 

8 (10) consult with the Secretary of Energy, the 

9 Secretary of Commerce, the Federal Trade Commis10 sion, and other Federal agencies, as necessary; 

11 (11) gather input from stakeholders through 

12 consultations, public workshops or hearings with 

13 representatives of consumer product manufacturers, 

14 consumer groups, and environmental groups; 

15 (12) utilize systems for verification and product 

16 certification that will ensure that claims manufactur17 ers make about their products are valid; 

18 (13) create a process for reviewing the accuracy 

19 of product carbon label information and protecting 

20 the product carbon label in the case of a change in 

21 the product’s energy source, supply chain, ingredi22 ents, or other factors, and specify the frequency to 

23 which data should be updated; and 

24 (14) develop a standardized, easily understand25 able carbon label, if appropriate, and create a procVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:30 Sep 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3543.IH H3543

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1 ess for responding to inaccuracies and misuses of 

2 such a label. 

3 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years 

4 after the program is established pursuant to subsection 

5 (b), the Administrator shall report to Congress on the ef6 fectiveness and impact of the program, the level of vol7 untary participation, and any recommendations for addi8 tional measures. 

9 (d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act— 

10 (1) the term ‘‘carbon content’’ means the 

11 amount of greenhouse gas emissions and their 

12 warming impact on the atmosphere expressed in car13 bon dioxide equivalent associated with a product’s 

14 value chain; 

15 (2) the term ‘‘carbon footprint’’ means the level 

16 of greenhouse gas emissions produced by a par17 ticular activity, service, or entity; and 

18 (3) the term ‘‘carbon lifecycle’’ means the 

19 greenhouse gas emissions that are released as part 

20 of the processes of creating, producing, processing or 

21 manufacturing, modifying, transporting, distrib22 uting, storing, using, recycling, or disposing of goods 

23 and services. 

24 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 


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1 $5,000,000 for the study required by subsection (a) and 

2 $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2025 

3 for the program required under subsection (b). 

Æ 


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