My buyer wants our PACT product footprint verified. What exactly does the verifier check?

Until 2030, not each footprint. PACT Methodology v3.0 asks an independent third party to verify your PCF Calculation Model, the method inside whatever software or spreadsheet makes your footprints, at limited assurance. From 2030 your whole PCF programme is certified. A statement lasts up to three years, or until the model's method or system changes.

The minimum a verifier reviews

• Boundary: cradle-to-gate, with an inventory of every GHG source and its activity data, broken down by site.
• Standards: a checklist of the requirements of each standard followed, such as the GHG Protocol Product Standard, ISO 14067 and ISO 14044.
• Warming potentials: 100-year GWPs from the latest IPCC assessment report, and which report you used.
• Unit of analysis, such as kg, litre, kWh, piece or tonne-kilometre.
• Exclusions: no more than 3% of total cradle-to-gate emissions, with a list of what was left out.
• Data quality: how primary data share and data quality ratings are calculated, and a full list of primary and secondary data sources.
• Calculation steps for each life cycle stage, then a test: the model is run on a set of fixed inputs and the results checked, and sample footprints it produced are reviewed.

Who can verify

• An independent third party. Your own quality or internal audit checks do not count.
• Independent means no part in preparing the footprint or building the calculation model.
• PACT expects evidence such as CVs, at least three comparable projects in the last three years, and a signed impartiality declaration.
• The conclusion is limited assurance: the verifier found no evidence of material misstatement.

When it applies to a small supplier

Every requirement applies to SMEs two years after larger companies, so the 2025 to 2030 requirements apply to SMEs from 2027. PACT uses the EU definition: fewer than 250 staff and turnover up to EUR 50 million or a balance sheet up to EUR 43 million. Verification starts after the footprint is calculated and before you exchange it.

What the statement must show

Send the verification details with every footprint you exchange. A verification you already hold for another purpose can count if it meets these requirements.

• The verifier's assertion and the level of verification.
• The provider's name, the people who did the work and their expertise.
• A summary of the work, the scope, the standard applied and the criteria evaluated.
• Any potential conflicts of interest.

How long it lasts

Up to three years, or until the model's method or system build changes, for example new software or an updated calculation method. Plan any tool change around your verification date, or you verify again.

What Senseible does here

Senseible is not a verifier and does not claim PACT conformance. It gives your verifier what it samples first: every energy and fuel figure tied to the bill or invoice it came from, with the factor and its source.

• Supplier evidence for buyers
• Third-party verified footprint for a small supplier
• PACT Pathfinder Framework explained

Sources: PACT Methodology v3.0, section 5: Verification (Partnership for Carbon Transparency)

Last reviewed 2026-11-03. PACT says details of the 2030 certification scheme will follow; check before 2030.