Glossary term

cut-off criteria

A regulatory term referring to specification of the amount of material or energy flow or the level of significance of GHG emissions (3.1.2.5) associate.

1 official sourcessingle_source

What does cut-off criteria mean?

Cut-off criteria specify when material flows, energy flows, or insignificant greenhouse-gas emissions can be excluded from a CFP study.

Official definitions by source

ISO 14067:2018

ISO 14067:2018 - Greenhouse gases — Carbon footprint of products

specification of the amount of material or energy flow or the level of significance of GHG emissions (3.1.2.5) associated with unit processes (3.1.3.6) or the product system (3.1.3.2) to be excluded from a CFP study (3.1.1.4)

Reference: 3.1.4.1

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Regulatory context

This term originates in ISO 14067:2018 and/or ISO 14044 LCA methodology. It is used in EU product regulation — particularly under the EU Battery Regulation (PEF method for carbon footprint) and ESPR (environmental footprint) — because both regulations require lifecycle-based quantification of environmental impacts. Practitioners applying these regulations should be familiar with these LCA/PEF concepts to correctly scope, conduct, and verify product-level environmental assessments.

Practical application

This term matters when teams decide what is small enough to leave out without undermining the integrity of the footprint boundary.

Minespider commentary

For Minespider, cut-off criteria are boundary-discipline rules for footprint datasets.

Common confusions

Assuming the everyday meaning of cut-off criteria is enough without checking the official source definition.
Using cut-off criteria as a loose generic label rather than the narrower meaning used in the source text.
Assuming cut-off criteria can be interpreted without understanding methodology, scope, or lifecycle context.