OPERATE IN THE SUCCESS ZONE

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT

FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
INCREASINGLY SIGNIFICANT of your products or services and production to transport,
IN SHOWCASING YOUR throughout the entire maintenance and recycling.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT lifespan; from raw material It’s advantageous that you
Drawing up a life cycle extraction up to the waste can publish the result of the
assessment (LCA) is phase. You know exactly LCA as an Environmental
becoming more and more which environmental Product Declaration (EPD).
important. Customers, impacts occur at every And keep in mind: the
clients and consumers specific moment in results of an LCA are also
simply want to know all the chain. The energy the basis for transparent
about the environmental and material consumption communication to the
performance of products. and the emissions are market about the carbon
With an LCA, you determine inventoried in every phase: footprint of your product.
the environmental impact from raw material extraction
FOUR-STEP LCA PROCESS
The LCA is drawn up based on the standards of ISO 14040 (“Principles and framework of
LCA”) and ISO 14044 (“Requirements and guidelines for LCA standards”). When setting
up a carbon footprint of a product, the ISO 14067 (“Greenhouse gases, carbon footprint of
products, requirements and guidelines for quantification”) is also used.
Drawing up an LCA consists of four steps:

1. GOAL AND SCOPE DEFINITION

Determining the purpose and scope of the LCA process,
as well as identifying the functional unit. The functional
or product unit is the unit of measure in which the
environmental impacts are calculated and in which they can
be compared with similar products. For example a running
meter, square meter, mass in kilograms or cubic meter.

2. INVENTORY ANALYSES
Inventory of the required data, including used (recycled)
raw materials, energy, water and transport distances.
We execute this step in collaboration with the producers/
manufacturers, suppliers and an LCA expert.

3. IMPACT ASSESSMENT
During the “characterization step” the collected data
is entered into LCA software and converted into the
environmental impacts.

4. INTERPRETATION
The results of the previous phases are now interpreted and
checked. We determine which processes are dominant and
which phases and processes have the most effect on the
environmental impact during the entire lifecycle. Sensitivity
analysis is used to check the influence of assumptions.
AN EPD IS JUST OBJECTIVE INSIGHT INTO ENVIRONMENTAL
AROUND THE CORNER PERFORMANCES OF CEILING PANELS
Of course, you can use the Armstrong World Industries is a global leader in the design
results of an LCA to inform and manufacturer of innovative, commercial ceiling,
your customers and clients suspension system and wall solutions. Worldwide there are
about the environmental more than 26 production facilities, including one in Germany,
impact and the carbon which largely supplies production for Europe. ‘We focus on
footprint of your product. top clients. Clients who are designing and building the most
It’s customary to have an innovative and sustainable buildings worldwide. We owe it
Environmental Product to our reputation to provide insight into our environmental
Declaration (EPD) drawn up performance,’ Jeremy Sumeray states about the why of
for this. An EPD is based on the LCA’s.
the ISO standard 14025 and SGS Search visited the factory in Germany as a starting
is validated by an point, and then analyzed the different types and series
external expert. of ceiling panels in a time frame of around a month.
The energy and material Harry van Ewijk, Sustainability Advisor at SGS Search:
consumption and the ‘We are talking an intensive process. We provide insight
emissions are inventoried into the environmental effects at every stage of the life
in every phase: from raw cycle, resulting in EPD’s and inclusion in the National
material extraction and Environmental Database. Armstrong now has all the
production to transport, environmental information available and gives objective
maintenance and recycling. insight into the environmental performance.’
It’s advantageous that you ‘For us, it was important that we could complete this
can publish the result of the process effortlessly,’ Jeremy Sumeray adds. ‘The European
LCA as an Environmental market is fundamentally different from, for example, the
Product Declaration (EPD). American one. We wanted to work with a party that knows
And keep in mind: the this market. Via the LCA’s of SGS Search, we provide
results of an LCA are also accountability in a reliable manner. Everything has been
the basis for transparent analyzed in detail. When it comes to our environmental
communication to the impact, we have a clear answer for our customers
market about the carbon in advance.’
footprint of your product.

“As an innovative player, we strive for a leading market

position. That’s why we are committed to providing insight
into the environmental performances of our ceiling panels
through life cycle analysis”

JEREMY SUMERAY, ARMSTRONG’S

MARKETING MANAGER SUSTAINABILITY.
MAKING YOUR PRODUCTS SUSTAINABLE AND CIRCULAR IN MANY WAYS
More and more companies are actively engaged in making their products sustainable and
circular. An LCA is a good baseline measurement: it gives insight in which raw materials and
production processes cause the most environmental impact within the supply chain in and
after use. An LCA adds value in many ways. Take into account that there are more benefits
than described below, but with this overview we just want to give you an impression.

1. Gateway to a truly sustainable product

Sustainability is about inclusiveness: who are the chain partners of your product? Make
them aware of their impact on the environmental performance. In short: an LCA makes
Ecodesign possible! In addition, involving your chain partners offers them the opportunity
to realize cost reduction in the chain.
2. Direct insight into your CSR efforts
The outcome of an LCA is presented in a standardized unit: “single score”. This allows
your customers to make a direct comparison between your product and the product of the
competition or the national average. Your efforts are immediately visible. And while you
are at it; why not communicate your outstanding CSR performance to customers via an
appealing brochure?
3. Perfectly in line with sustainable purchasing policy of governments and large companies
Purchasing processes increasingly include environmental aspects of the products. To give
shape to this, environmental criteria have been drawn up, for example that the purchaser
must have insight into the entire life cycle of a product or service. Your LCA will surely
come in handy.
4. Extra credits for Cradle to Cradle, BREEAM and LEED
With above-mentioned certifications it’s often possible to achieve higher levels or score
extra credits if the origin and environmental impacts of a product are known. An LCA is the
ideal instrument to give clear and undeniable insight into these topics.
 LCA: IDEAL TOOL FOR MAKING PRODUCTS MORE
“Nowadays, circularity and SUSTAINABLE
sustainable construction are Prysmian Group is the worldwide market leader in the
a concept. The government production of cables and cable systems. They produce
has played an important role various cables for infrastructure, industrial companies and
in stimulating this and we construction, but also for energy and telecom companies.
want to be frontrunner,” Frank Middel: ‘Our clients are increasingly asking for an
FRANK MIDDEL, SUSTAINABILITY Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI) for our products, so they
OFFICER AT PRYSMIAN can calculate the environmental performance of the total
NETHERLANDS building or infrastructure project. The lower the ECI value,
the more durable the cable and the lower the
CO2 emissions.’
During an LCA, all parts of the cable are viewed and
assessed. Harry van Ewijk, Senior Consultant at SGS
Search, explains: “We explore where the specific cable
comes from and what it consists of. For example, take one
meter cable; how much copper, PVC and plastic does it
contain and what are the environmental performances? Not
to be forgotten: we also turn to the suppliers, so we can
research their raw materials.’
According to Frank Middel, the results of the study were
in line with the expectations of Prysmian Group. That does
not mean their sustainable journey stops here. ‘The report
describes the ECI value for the customer, but it also helps
us improve our cables. We are explicitly looking at the
elements of our products and how we can make them more
sustainable. For example, by replacing raw materials with
other materials or by using copper with more recyclate.’
‘The LCA process is really rewarding,’ says Frank Middel.
‘We have learned a lot and are inspired to keep innovating.
Moreover, we can communicate transparently and validated
by a third party about the environmental impact of
our products.’
RENOWED LCA SERVICES
With our specialized consultants, we offer you the one-
stop-shop for your organizational advice on sustainable
entrepreneurship. That’s why we are often the first choice
of developers and government organizations worldwide.
Moreover, we are always up to date when it comes to the
latest environmental and sustainability regulations and LCA
methods.
• Our LCA services include:
• Preparation of Life Cycle Assessment
• Comparison of your product to similar products on
the market
• Drawing up an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
• Calculating the Circular Product Footprint
• Optimization of reuse and recycling SGS: A LEADING
• Policy research INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATION
• Product and process innovation
Our specialized consultants
offer you more than twenty
OUR VALUE TO SOCIETY years of experience SGS
provides the best possible
OPERATE IN THE SUCCESS ZONE solutions on durability and
Responding to global drivers, sustainability. SGS is the
our services add significant value to our customers world’s leading inspection,
and stakeholders, so they can add exponential value to verification, testing and
theirs. We do this by empowering smarter certification company and
long-term decision-making throughout entire is recognized as the global
supply chains. benchmark for quality
and integrity.
Present in every region around the globe, we provide
With more than 80,000
innovative solutions for every part of the environmental
employees, SGS operates
industry. Our dedicated network of global and local
a network of over 1,650
offices is highly flexible and focused on meeting our
offices and laboratories
customers’ needs irrespective
around the world. This
of the scale of the project.
makes us a powerful
We have won a number of awards for our own partner, whether at home
sustainability performance, as we try to lead by or abroad.
example and demonstrate our deeply-held belief that
business success and creating value to society go We are happy to help,
hand-in-hand. so please contact us for
We can help you achieve the same double positive more information.
transformation, giving you a competitive advantage and +31 (0)88 - 214 66 00
helping you get, and stay, in the Success Zone.
www.sgssearch.com
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SGS ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH
AND SAFETY SERVICES VISIT WWW.SGS.COM/EHS info@sgssearch.nl
© SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA – 2020 – All rights reserved - SGS is a registered trademark of SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA

WWW.SGSSEARCH.COM