How will enterprise sustainability solutions evolve?

The leading analyst firm Gartner has recently published a report which provides useful insight into aspects of the rapidly evolving sustainable business software landscape.


The report entitled “PE INTERNATIONAL Emerges as a One‐Stop Enterprise Sustainability Vendor” identifies some key trends in Carbon‐Reporting:

• Supply chain carbon‐reporting trends and client RFPs for sustainability solutions are increasingly looking for organizational and product‐based tools for assessing sustainable performance.

• The number of respondents (U.S. manufacturing companies) required to provide both operational and embedded carbon data has more than doubled from 2008 to 2010.

“The disclosure, reporting and management of sustainability data is evolving rapidly.” writes Gartner analyst Stephen Stokes who is a research vice president in the Supply Chain Leaders group and coordinates sustainability and green technology research. “Emissions data (or embodied energy or environmental data) has potentially significant utility for product innovation and process improvement”.

The report recommends companies ensure the full spectrum of emissions and sustainability is considered when scoping products and services for sustainability. And also consider the extent to which vendors are able to provide sustainability consulting to support software tools. According to Gartner real domain expertise in sustainable production, sustainable design and sustainable business remain rare commodities in the marketplace. 

Read the full Gartner report here

LCA study confirms positive impact of glass packaging and recycling

The North American glass container industry has taken a pioneering step in producing the first complete and thorough cradle to- cradle life cycle assessment (LCA) ever conducted for this industry.

The LCA, coordinated by the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) and conducted by PE Americas, reaffirms the benefits of glass container recycling for the environment. PE Americas was examining each step from raw material extraction to end-use. The closed-looped cradle-to-cradle LCA collected data from 105 furnaces representing 75 percent of North American glass container production.

The use of recycled glass (cullet) in manufacturing results in a decrease in primary energy demand and reduces carbon emissions. A “cradle-to-cradle” LCA includes the entire cradle-to-grave life cycle of a product while factoring in the recycling of the used product back to its original purpose.

“The study shows increased cullet helps reducing energy emissions, conserve raw materials, extend the life of glass manufacturing furnaces, and save energy.” said Joseph Cattaneo, president of the Glass Packaging Institute  

While other industries claim that the transportation of glass bottles has more of an environmental impact because of the weight of the containers, a key finding of the LCA dismisses this claim. The transportation of raw materials and cullet used in glass production represents less than 4 to 5 percent of the total energy used in the production of container glass.

While each glass container has its own carbon profile, on average, existing recycle rates offset the CO2 burden when shipping foods and beverages across America. The 50 percent recycled content rate will only serve to further reduce carbon emissions.

“The North American glass container industry purposely conducted a cradle-to-cradle LCA to obtain a total picture of our industry’s environmental impact,” said Mr. Cattaneo. “We knew that for an LCA to be useful and to serve as an appropriate benchmark, it had to be cradle-to-cradle. For consumers and retailers to be able to compare the environmental impact of one packaging material to another, all industries should consider conducting complete life cycle analyses. Only then will we have clarity.”

To download the complete report enter our resource section on www.pe-international.com

For more information on the North American glass container industry LCA, please visit www.gpi.org/LCA.

Boom of renewable raw materials - New presentation!

The use of renewable raw materials has seen a boom during the last years. There has been an increasing shift from an economy based on fossil resources towards a sustainable way of using resources from fields and forests. Due to the manifold ways of applications in packaging, half-finished products or formed components, bio-based plastics have a high potential in the field of renewable raw materials.

The new presentation “Life Cycle Assessment as a part of a successful market integration” (german language) from Dr. Sabine Deimling and Torsten Rehl shows the environmental specifications relevant for the introduction of new and innovative products based on renewable raw materials on the market. Opportunities and chances given by environmental assessment using LCAs or Carbon Footprints for your company will be presented by a use of renewable raw materials in material use.

PE INTERNATIONAL can help you in offering approved and well-engineered tools for managing environmental potentials and risks – for instance the Life Cycle Assessment according to DIN ISO 14040, Carbon Footprint calculations according to PAS 2050 or preparation of environmental product declarations (EPDs).

Download

To download the presentation please register in our Resources section.

New! Whitepaper Recycling Lightweight Automobiles

Lightweight design is an important pillar of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the automotive sector. But using lighter materials does not lower emissions in general. Lighter materials need more energy in manufacturing. So, only a life cycle analysis can show, whether a special lightweight design has an environmental benefit or not.

Read more about it in PE’s new whitepaper.

Update of PE´s iPhone app "iCarbonCalc"

The update of PE´s  iPhone application "iCarbonCalc" is now available in the App Store. This app allows tracking of the personal carbon footprint by adding a variety of activities (Car/Train/Flight/Life) in different time ranges. The results can be shown either in a 2D Bar or a Table and specific personals goals can be set.  The app increases public awareness of personal carbon footprints and the personal estimate provided by the app can help individuals identify the aspects of their lifestyles that contribute most to global warming.  

The updated “iCarbonCalc” is available for free and can be downloaded here

GaBi 4.4 released

GaBi 4.4 was released on the 21^st of September. The new GaBi 4.4 provides assistance in documenting your processes according to the ILCD format and in preparing the documentation for Environmental Product Declaration certification.  It also takes into account social aspects with the ‘Life Cycle Working Environment’ approach and considers the effects of land use. This update was the first to be delivered completely electronically in the GaBi 4 software family and makes the update procedure much quicker, more reliable and much easier for the user. Find out more about these exciting developments here

Climate effects of rail and road

Rail and waterway transport are commonly considered better environmental performers than road transport in the carriage of goods. But the validity of such general statements is limited, as a new study of PE INTERNATIONAL shows. Considering the national combined transport road transport is comparable with rail and in some cases even better.
Read more and download the study

LCA in Design Conference

Pete Girard, Senior Consultant with PE Americas will speak at the Life Cycle Assessment Sustainable Product Design Conference occurring October 26 and 27 in Miami, FL, USA. His presentation will be part of a panel discussion on: Prioritizing Design Efforts. The session is intended to discuss assessing strategies to prioritize sustainability efforts in the product design process to get the best portfolio of green products.

Pete will address several topics with regards to LCA as part of the design process including: Establishing sustainability into the product development process, material considerations, prioritizing environmental impacts and eco-labeling.

PE Academy – Workshops & Seminars addressing the hot topics of sustainability

As part of our Symposium “sustainability 2.0 – from green to blue” to be held on October 27, 2010 the PE Academy is offering a two day workshop and seminar programme.  This will be on Oct. 26 and 28 and will address the ‘hot topics’ in sustainability.

Water Footprint, Corporate Carbon Footprint in the Context of Scope 3, Carbon Management, and Environmental Product Declarations are only some of the topics that will be covered by the PE Academy on these two days. These informative and interactive workshops and seminars will be conducted in conjunction with experts from companies such as Amcor, Corus, Masdar City, Siemens, SCA and Unilever. This will provide a practical approach to issues complete with case studies and encourage direct exchange between participants.

Join the PE Academy and learn about best practices from sustainability leaders across the whole value chain in different industries. Be exposed to cutting edge ideas, know-how and concrete solutions to future challenges.

Space is limited – reserve your seat today!

PE Americas joined the Sustainability Consortium

PE Americas has joined the Sustainability Consortium, a group of independent scientists and engineers working to develop a global database of information on the lifecycle of products.

Managed by the University of Arkansas Applied Sustainability Center and the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University, the Sustainability Consortium will attempt to quantify the lifecycle of various consumer goods. These findings will identify sustainability hotspots throughout the value chain, helping retailers and suppliers move forward on the path to sustainability.

As the first Life Cycle Assessment /Sustainability consulting firm to join the Sustainability Consortium, PEA will be on the steering committee with involvement in the Sustainability Consortium’s working groups.
To quantify product impacts, the Sustainability Consortium will be using our GaBi software that supports the collection, organization, analysis, and monitoring of the environmental performance of products and processes.

sustainability 2.0 - from green to blue - Registration is open!

Register for the symposium 2010 before Sept, 15 and receive an early bird discount of 30%. Participants from Universities and non-OECD-countries get a discount of 50% (can not be combined with the early bird discount).

More information and registration

GaBi Software - User Forum Back!

After being temporarily unavailable, during the move to the new website, the GaBi User Forum is back!

The User Forum is designed to allow registered GaBi users to ask each other questions, share experiences and learn from each other.

Check out the forum topics now; perhaps you’ll be able to answer someone’s question.

Go to the GaBi User Forum now!

Carbon neutral travel in Australia

PE Australia, in collaboration with Northern Territory Government’s Tourism NT, has developed and implemented an innovative framework to enable Small to Medium Enterprises in the Northern Territory tourism industry to publish statements of claims about their greenhouse gas emissions and offsets.

The system, called Outback Offsets  was based around completion of a Greenhouse Gas Emission Life Cycle Assessment compliant with ISO standards and third party verified offsets.

The solution has been supported by the WWF. The Chief Executive Officer of WWF Australia, Greg Bourne, congratulated Tourism NT, on the “independent, transparent and credible programme for small and medium businesses to reduce their greenhouse emissions”. The scheme has the potential to be applied to many other industry sectors keen to become involved in accredited climate change initiatives.

www.pe-international.com 

French Environmental Product Declaration (FDES) requirements

The French National Department of Health and Environment is planning that during 2010 50% of construction products put on the French market have an FDES (Fiche de Déclaration Environnementale et Sanitaire.) The new GaBi-tool FDES-CREATOR now enables you to automatically generate  LCI and LCIA tables in one click, as well as the FDES report as requested by the standard NF P 01-010 and in compliance with the AIMCC official format of 2005, format 9.7.

Outcomes of the GHG Protocol workshops

WRI hosted a workshop for companies’ road testing the drafts of the product and scope 3 standards for GHG accounting and reporting. These standards will be finalized by the end of 2010 and publicly available by the beginning of 2011. Read the summary of the workshops here.

Summary of the workshop on the Scope 3 standard

The scope 3 standard will be an extension to the current GHG Protocol – Corporate Standard (revised edition 2004) and will cover all indirect emissions from a company including their supply chains and downstream emissions. About 60 companies representing a diverse range of industries have volunteered to ‘road test’ the draft. As expected there were a variety of preferences and individual agendas howeverconsensus was able to be achieved on many issues:

The most divergent views surfaced on questions about the essential strategy behind the standard, i.e. whether it should be a standard that is primarily about good and complete emissions accounting practice along a corporation’s value chain, or a standard focused on supplier engagement and driving change through this. It was suggested that the standard may be both, and that companies should declare which strategy they are pursuing for carbon accounting and reporting.

Another interesting topic was the setting of boundaries i.e., how much of the scope 3 emissions should the standard require to be reported. The current draft suggests an 80% threshold. Many companies said that in order to do this they will have to determine how much 100% is anyway, and that in this case they may as well report 100% provided it is acceptable to have a higher variance/uncertainty attached to the remaining 20%. 

One positive development was in relation to data types and quality: The current draft requires separate reporting of emissions from primary and secondary data where primary data includes supplier supplied data and secondary data includes sources such as literature, LCA data bases and I/O data bases.  The next version of the standard however, may not require separate reporting of primary and secondary data. Instead, it may just require “reporting the emission totals for each category (16), together with an indication as to what percentage of emissions is based on ‘physical relationships”. This – in our view - increases the accuracy of reporting plus it increases the likelihood of scope 3 reporters using LCA data for their emissions calculations.

Summary of the workshop on the product standard

In contrast to the companies involved in the Scope 3 workshop, there was a broad consensus among road testers on the application, interpretation and optimizations required in the current draft of the product standard:

All road testers confirmed that attributional Life Cycle Assessment was the adequate approach for the accounting of product GHG emissions. It was therefore recommended the section on consequentional LCA be erased in the current draft of the standard.

All road testers confirmed that capital goods were insignificant within the life cycle of the products under investigation. As a result of this, deletion of capital goods from the analysis is being considered. Alternatively, the investigation of capital goods may be limited to facilities owned or controlled by the company performing the carbon footprint analysis. In summary, it was concluded that there is no absolute need for inclusion of capital goods in all upstream and downstream processes.

Most road testing companies did not agree that primary data should have priority, as outlined in the current draft of the standard.. The quality of the Data is the key to identifying preferred data sources. In the current draft of the standard, data quality is only referred to in the reporting phase. It was recommended to change this to using data quality as a criterion to identify the most representative/appropriate data to be used in the analysis.

As many road testers had already undertaken numerous, recent LCA studies, it was concluded that a specific chapter on how to convert an ISO 14044 LCA into the GHG Protocol Product standard, should be included in the standard.

It was emphasized that the standard will provide the building blocks for standardization. However some areas may be not finally standardized, e.g. allocation. Fine tuning of the specifications and choices could occur within the framework of a program or industry specific standards based on the GHG Protocol Initiative. It is likely that the standard will contain a section on how to set up/ write PCRs based on the GHG Protocol standard.

Many road testers expressed their desire for more guidance for tracking biogenic carbon storage (the need for a case study was mentioned). There was disagreement on the PAS 2050 approach to carbon storage credits, however no alternative was available at present.

If you are interested in the ongoing developments of the GHG Protocol initiatives and/or other ongoing standardization such as ISO 14067, PAS 2050, French Grenelle, etc. PE INTERNATIONAL can provide customized workshops and seminars.

GaBi 4.4 update release

We are happy to announce that the GaBi 4.4 update will soon be released. This update includes a number of new features and functionality in response to changes in the Life Cycle Assessment industry.

We’ve implemented the ILCD format, and added a number of features that should make documenting process information, and preparing documentation for EPD certification, much easier. We’ve also updated and extended database content by adding life cycle working environment and land use data, adding the complete ELCD database and splitting the existing carbon dioxide flows into CO2 from fossil resources and CO2 from biotic resources. These changes should improve your modelling flexibility and improve your analysis. For those using GaBi’s automatic update function, the software will update automatically. Others will receive the update via email or post. Once successfully updated, you will have the opportunity to view a short video explaining the improvements in more detail. We look forward to the release!

www.gabi-software.com

Who will take the lead? - Trends from the GRI Conference 2010

Although the Copenhagen negotiations in 2009 did not deliver on the much anticipated “Hopenhagen” and governments are still slow to implement mandatory requirements, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announced ambitious goals at this year’s Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency.

The GRI would like to see all large and medium-sized companies – about 80,000 firms worldwide – reporting on their material environmental, social and governance performance (also called ESG performance) by 2015. Indeed the number of organizations issuing GRI reports has risen by 46% from 2007 to 2008, with about half of the reports coming from Europe and North America in second place.

Notably, Asia and Latin America are catching-up as interest in social and environmental reporting in these regions is growing fast. One obvious sign was in evidence at the GRI’s 2010 READER’s CHOICE awards ceremony when three Brazilian companies swept the awards which recognized the sustainability reports that best meet the needs of the readers.

Along with these encouraging developments, some would like to see governments more active in setting minimum standards and encouraging voluntary disclosure. According to a report on global approaches to sustainability reporting by UNEP, KPMG and others; 142 mandatory and voluntary country standards are currently in place. Next to regulation, additional forms of successful government involvement were discussed including leading by example and further implementing sustainability reporting in public agencies.

Voluntary reporting standards are equally evolving. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) plans to release the new ISO 26000 Social Responsibility Standard at the end of 2010. The new standard defines fundamental expectations of a company that claims to operate under the concept of sustainable development and is intended to complement existing international agreements. However, ISO’s Deputy Secretary-General, Kevin McKinley, emphasized that the standard provides guidance only and companies cannot be certified against it.

The business community has embraced sustainability reporting as much more than just a boiler plate to promote the company in public. Reporting has become a management tool that helps to improve corporate ESG performance. As Barbara Kux, Siemens' Chief Procurement Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer put it:”What gets measured gets done”.

The increased focus on performance is necessary to improve the credibility of sustainability reports among stakeholders. Just ticking boxes and business as usual are not enough according to Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International. BP’s recent oil-spill-disaster illustrates that outstanding sustainability reporting measured by current standards does not necessarily reflect the whole picture of environmental, health and safety performance of a company.

A much discussed topic at the conference was the need to give investors a clearer sense of a company’s financial risks and opportunities. The combination of financial reporting and ESG reporting and the development of one global standard for such integrated reporting by 2010 was one of the GRI propositions. The International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC), an initiative of Prince Charles' Accounting for Sustainability Project, seeks to develop guidance for integrated reporting with strong involvement from the investor community.

Standardizing sustainability reporting need to be addressed urgently. How can stakeholders compare the ESG performance of companies whose businesses are` diverse and who are facing varying environmental issues because they operate in different  geographical contexts? How can a single report satisfy the needs of different stakeholder groups and how can stakeholders be more engaged in the process? Ultimately, collaboration and partnerships between government, business, NGOs, financial markets and consumers will need to be expanded, so that a global standard for sustainability/ integrated reporting can emerge.

PE INTERNATIONAL confirms the advantages of the disposal system for agricultural packaging

The disposal system for agricultural packaging PAMIRA is not only more profitable than alternative ones; it also causes the least ecological damage in the overall perspective. This is certified by a comprehensive eco-efficiency analysis, whose result was reviewed by PE INTERNATIONAL.

“The results of this analysis demonstrate that we are following the right way with PAMIRA. The German plant protection industry considers itself responsible for its products and the disposal of the packages is an important aspect in this regard”, comments Volker Koch-Achelpöhler, chief executive officer of the industrial association Agrar, on the survey.

The eco-efficiency analysis on PAMIRA was ordered to evaluate possibilities of system improvement and estimate alternative approaches concerning logistics and further processing. In the course of this analysis, six hypothetical alternative models were compared with the actually realised collections of the years 2007 and 2008 and were examined by BASF SE with regards to costs and environmental impact. Afterwards, the results were reviewed by PE INTERNATIONAL.

The actually applied PAMIRA system includes the possibility for farmers to return their packages to the 273 collection points, which are established within the trade sector, once a year for four days. Within the eco-efficiency analysis, the data which was collected in the course of these collections was compared with alternative scenarios, such as two collection dates in a year, collections throughout the year and two models which contain that disposal companies fetch the packages from the farmers, etc. But the eco-efficiency analysis revealed that, by applying these alternative models, not only the system costs would almost increase fivefold due to a great number of additional trips, but that the environmental impacts would seriously aggravate as well.

PAMIRA is a voluntary redemption system which is successfully applied nationwide by the German plant protection industry in collaboration with the trade sector since 1996. Through PAMIRA, the industry wants to ensure that its packages only get into controlled disposal channels. In this way, in 2009, a total amount of 2400 tons of package material was redeemed through the system and led to further processing. The rate of return of the packages sold accounted for approximately 75 percent.

Infinitely recyclable aluminum can more sustainable than ever, shows LCA

New life-cycle analyses from PE Americas for the Aluminum Association shows a carbon footprint reduction of 44% over the last 17 years.

PE Americas has recently completed “one of the most comprehensive and transparent life-cycle analyses (LCA) ever conducted by an industry group for the Aluminum Association.” The independent study of aluminum cans, carried out by PE Americas, part of strategic consultancy PE INTERNATIONAL, was undertaken in part to respond to Walmart’s packaging scorecard, which calls for its suppliers in all sectors to reduce their carbon footprint.

The results confirm major reductions in the aluminum can’s product carbon footprint and energy use over the last 17 years and have been provided to both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Walmart. Major findings include:
• Reduction in overall carbon footprint of the aluminum can by 44%
• 30% less energy usage
• Reduction in package weight of 15%
• 68% total recycled content, the highest of any beverage package material

“The data shows that we are using significantly less material and less energy to produce same-size beverage cans as compared with 17 years ago,” says Steve Larkin, president of The Aluminum Association. “The aluminum industry has made tremendous gains in sustainability. The aluminum can is more sustainable than ever.”

The comprehensive life-cycle study analyzes the entire production process—from bauxite mining to can manufacturing. The study incorporates the latest available information on energy and material consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental releases. The study examines the can manufacturing process using both the cradle-to-cradle closed-loop approach and the recycled-content approach. It conformed to ISO methodology and was peer-reviewed by experts from the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the EPA.

Says Larkin, “The aluminum industry has made every effort to ensure the integrity and transparency of this important project.” In addition to being posted on the association’s website, the results and supporting data have been provided to the EPA, where they will be used to update the existing Life-Cycle Inventory database and the agency’s Waste Reduction Model.

“The study also confirmed our belief that the key to continuing to improve the carbon footprint of the aluminum can is to increase recycling rates,” says Pat Persico, manager of corporate communications for Novelis and chair of The Aluminum Association’s Can Committee. She notes that the aluminum industry is committed to a goal to increase the recycling rate to 75% by 2015, up from it’s current rate of 54. %.

The study is publicly available at www.aluminum.org/lca.

Sustainable buildings awarded for the first time in Austria

The first real estate projects received the DGNB-certificate for sustainable building in Austria. The The Austrian society for sustainable real estate economics (ÖGNI) prices nine office and trade buildings and one kindergarten. In four projects the ÖGNI founding member PE Central and Eastern Europe carried out the audit for the certification.

With the help of the detailed planning, PE accomplished a pre-certification of the „SPAR climate protection supermarket“ (Murau), which reached the gold status. PE continues to conduct the project and after completion, PE is going to examine the SPAR climate protection market again, according to the sustainability criteria of the DGNB certification. Furthermore, PE CEE audited the kindergarten Guntramsdorf as well as the two Viennese office buildings BIZ ZWEI and RUND VIER of the IC project development, which all has been certified or pre-certified with silver.

With the DGNB certificate, buildings are examined and assessed for their sustainable method of construction according to about 50 criteria in six topics (ecology, economy, socio-cultural and functional aspects, technology, processes and location). ÖGNI took over the proven system of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) and adapted it to the Austrian market.