Beyond Carbon: Why Your ‘Green’ Choices Might Be Missing 15 Environmental Impacts

In this eye-opening episode of GreenTech Pulse, host Peter Banigo speaks with Christophe Girardier, EU policy advisor and CEO of Glimpact, about why carbon footprints tell only a fraction of the environmental impact story and how businesses and consumers can make truly sustainable choices.

The Dangerous Carbon-Only Focus in Sustainability

When most organisations talk about sustainability today, they focus almost exclusively on carbon emissions. But as Christophe Girardier reveals in our latest episode, carbon is merely “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to environmental impact.

“If the humanity will achieve this big stake to stop the elevation of the temperature, the worldwide temperature will be under the 1.7 degree which is in conformity with the Paris agreement, the humanity will not be saved,” Girardier explains. “Because the environmental crisis is a lot of different aspects.”

As an advisor to the European Commission and co-founder of Glimpact, Girardier has spent years helping shape the EU’s approach to measuring environmental impact. Through his work on the “Single Market for Green Products” initiative, he helped develop a comprehensive framework that looks beyond carbon to assess the true environmental footprint of products and organizations.

The 16 Environmental Impact Categories You’re Probably Ignoring

The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method developed by the EU identifies 16 distinct impact categories that contribute to our overall environmental footprint:

Carbon footprint (greenhouse gas emissions)
Water use
Use of fossil resources
Use of mineral resources
Land use
Air pollution (non-climate related)
Water pollution
Ocean pollution
Human toxicity
Eco-toxicity (toxicity affecting ecosystems)
Soil pollution
Ozone depletion
Acidification
Eutrophication
Ionizing radiation
Photochemical ozone formation

“The environmental crisis is not climate only, it’s systemic,” Girardier emphasizes. “And if humans don’t take into account all these 16 impact categories, we will not survive in the future. The planet will survive, but without us.”

The “Organic” Myth: When Green Labels Miss the Full Picture

One of the most striking examples Girardier shared involves organic food production. While organic certification ensures products are grown without synthetic pesticides, it doesn’t account for other critical environmental factors.

“Organic food is great but is not enough to define the environmental footprint of any vegetable or fruit,” Girardier explains. “If I take two tomatoes that are organic, if one uses hot places to make the agricultural practice or uses more water, those aspects are not taken into account in the organic label.”

This can lead to what scientists call “impact transfer” – where improving one environmental metric inadvertently worsens another. A product might be pesticide-free but consume excessive water or land resources, resulting in a worse overall environmental footprint.

Surprising Revelations: The Real Environmental Impact of Your Clothes

When Lacoste, a major fashion brand and Glimpact client, began measuring their products using the PEF method, they made surprising discoveries about their supply chain:

Transport from manufacturing sites to retail locations represents less than 10% of a clothing item’s environmental impact – far less than commonly believed
The dyeing process alone can account for 30-40% of an apparel item’s total environmental footprint
Their “organic cotton” sourcing, which they had assumed was environmentally friendly, was actually problematic due to water-intensive agricultural practices
The geographic origin of raw materials (like cotton) matters far more than where the final garment is assembled

These insights allowed Lacoste to make targeted improvements where they would have the greatest environmental benefit – focusing on cotton sourcing and dyeing processes rather than transport optimization.

New EU Regulations Will Transform Global Markets

Girardier also discussed two major EU regulations that will force companies worldwide to adopt more comprehensive environmental assessments:

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) – Requires detailed environmental reporting from companies operating in the EU
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) – Sets mandatory ecodesign requirements for products sold in the EU market, starting with textiles, furniture, and cosmetics in 2026

“This regulation will change the world of industry,” Girardier notes. “It defines ecodesign requirements that all industries have to respect if they want to have access to the European Union market… If you don’t meet these requirements, you will not be allowed to sell your product in Europe.”

Importantly, these regulations affect companies worldwide – not just those based in Europe. Any business wanting to sell products in the EU market will need to comply.

Take Action: Measuring Your Personal Environmental Footprint

For individuals wanting to understand their own environmental impact, Glimpact has developed a free mobile application called “My Glimpact” (available on Apple and Google Play stores). The app calculates your environmental footprint across the 16 impact categories and expresses it in terms of “how many planets would be needed if everyone lived like you.”

“When I first checked my impact, I had six planets,” Girardier shares. “One of the origins of my six planets was that I had a car in Paris, and I realized it was stupid to have a car in Paris. So I sold my car and now I use a bicycle, sometimes a taxi if I’m late, but mainly common transport. Now I’ve reduced from six to 2.7 planets.”

While Girardier acknowledges that personal choices are only part of the solution (responsibility also lies with governments and businesses), he emphasizes that everyone should “make what they could make without changing their life.”

The Business Case for Comprehensive Sustainability

Companies that have begun measuring their broader environmental impact are discovering unexpected benefits. By identifying the true “hotspots” in their value chains, they can make more targeted investments that yield better environmental results at lower costs.

Girardier believes that embracing this more comprehensive approach to sustainability isn’t just an ethical imperative but a business necessity: “I think that the future success of companies will be for those who will put the environmental performance at the heart of their economic model. Making the ecological transition is not only a constraint, is not only a society obligation, it’s a real condition for future success.”

Listen to the Full Episode

Want to hear more insights from Christophe Girardier on how to measure and reduce your true environmental footprint? Listen to the full episode of GreenTech Pulse wherever you get your podcasts.

Download the free Glimpact app mentioned in this episode to measure your personal environmental footprint and discover practical ways to reduce your impact beyond just carbon emissions. Visit glimpact.com to learn more about implementing the PEF method in your organization.

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