New generation of million-selling VW Golf

© Volkswagen

VW’s seventh generation Golf will soon hit the market. The new model has a weight reduction of up to 100 kg, and is 23 per cent more fuel efficient than previous models.

Volkswagen, a long-term GaBi customer, uses GaBi LCA Software to reduce their cars’ environmental impacts across the entire life cycle – from production to use on the road through recycling and disposal. For the new Golf VII, the company reports a significant improvement in the environmental profile over the entire life cycle compared with the predecessor model. The new VW Golf now weighs up to 100 kilos less. Depending on the weight reduction, better engines and standard equipped fuel and energy saving technologies, the new Golf has reduced its overall Life-Cycle CO2-e emissions by 13 percent for the diesel model and 11 percent for the petrol version.

With every new car model VW publishes a so-called environmental commendation, verified and certified by the TÜV technical inspection authority. It serves to inform consumers about the environmental performance of the cars, and to compare it to the performance of the previous model.

>> Read the environmental commendation of the Golf 7 here.

Update Product Environmental Footprint : French developments

Household consumption of goods and services represents a major challenge in reducing our impact on the environment, in terms of combating the greenhouse effect and moving towards a more energy and resource efficient economy. The development and display of an environmental footprint will result in the gradual availability to consumers of the information on the carbon footprint and other environmental impacts of their purchases. The dual purpose is to include an environmental component in consumer purchasing choices and to provide the entire production and distribution chain with new indicators to promote and intensify their efforts to better eco-design products.

As provided by the Grenelle II law, France is currently conducting a national experimentation on consumer product environmental information that has started on 1 July 2011 to last one year. The trial covers the quantification of environmental impacts and the communication of environmental footprints to the consumer. 230 companies applied 168 of them have been selected. All sectors are represented, with about one third from the food and beverage area. Several foreign companies – from Chile, Colombia, Sweden etc. – are part of the selection as well as French branches of multinationals.

In the meantime, since 2008, the ADEME-AFNOR stakeholder platform has been developing a general environmental footprinting methodology (BPX 30-323) and product category rules (PCRs) – twelve PCRs to date. ADEME is also constructing a public generic product life cycle database, as well as calculators. These tools aim to facilitate a general implementation.

The national experiment on consumer product environmental footprinting and communication continues until July this year. 

You can find additional information about the assessment of the national experiment on the right hand side.
http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/Product-Environmental-Footprint.html

Life Cycle Assessment moves Green IT into the future

A successful Life Cycle Assessment pilot study moves Wincor Nixdorf’s Green IT program forward.

The study builds the foundation for the pioneering concept of the green ATM, with lower energy consumption and reduced emissions, and contributes to the company’s eco-design guideline optimization. Wincor Nixdorf can now declare a valid environmental impact of their products.

Read the full case study

Choosing an artificial or real christmas tree? LCA study gives the answer

The first ISO-compliant third-party peer reviewed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparing the most common artificial Christmas tree sold in the United States to the most common real Christmas tree sold in the United States, found that the choice of either tree has a negligible impact on the environment.

However, the study’s findings show that length of ownership, disposal method and “tree miles” can make a difference on which tree is environmentally preferable.

The study, conducted by PE INTERNATIONAL and peer reviewed by an independent third party panel, took into consideration five key environmental indicators to determine which tree type is environmentally preferable. 

The environmental impact of Christmas trees

The study was sponsored by the American Christmas Tree Association (ACTA) a non-profit organization representing artificial Christmas tree retailers and real Christmas tree retailers, to clear up common misperceptions about the environmental impacts of Christmas trees.

If you purchase an artificial tree, keep it in use for at least nine years

The study also highlights an “Eight Christmas Environmental Payback Period” between the two tree products based on the study’s five environmental indicators. The study found that the environmental impacts of one artificial tree used for more than eight Christmas’ is environmentally friendlier than purchasing eight or more live cut trees over eight years. "ACTA encourages responsible consumerism," said Jami Warner, Executive Director of ACTA. "Consumers should consider the impact on the environment for every item they purchase, not just Christmas trees."

Read the full final report here

Global Guidance Principles for Life Cycle Assessment Databases released

The document provides guidance principles for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) databases; this includes how to collect raw data, how to develop datasets and how to manage databases.

The publication also addresses questions concerning data documentation and review, coordination among databases, capacity building and future scenarios.

 

The bridge between data users and data providers

LCA databases provide fundamental energy, materials, land, water consumption data and emissions data into water, air and soil for a wide range of processes, products and materials. In this way the publication provides the bridge between the data users and the data providers, making basic information easily accessible for computing the environmental footprints of materials and products that are key to make and judge green claims and to allow institutional and individual consumers to make informed consumption choices.

 

The ‘Shonan Guidance Principles’ workshop and PE's  contribution

The document is the output of the UNEP/SETAC “Global Guidance for LCA Databases” workshop, (30th January – 4th February 2011, Shonan, Japan), also known as the ‘Shonan Guidance Principles’ workshop. Martin Baitz and Jim Fava from PE INTERNATIONAL took part in the workshop and were part of the worldwide authors team.

 

Download

The full document is available here

Environmental Product Declaration for the International Committee of the Decorative Laminates Industry (ICDLI)

Since the beginning of this year the International Committee of the Decorative Laminates Industry (ICDLI) is compiling a Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) together with PE INTERNATIONAL. This EPD describes all important average environmental information of decorative laminates „from cradle to grave“. It supports architects and processors in chosing their material and assists the producers in improving the sustainability of their product. In all probability the EPD of the ICDLI will be issued at the beginning of 2012.

Draft version of the EU environmental footprinting methodology released

The European Commission has released a draft version of the EU environmental footprinting methodology currently under development.

DG ENV is now working together with the Commission’s JRC IES and other European Commission services towards the development of a harmonised methodology for the calculation of the environmental footprint of products (including carbon footprint).

This methodology will be developed building on the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook as well as other existing methodological standards and guidance documents (ISO 14040-44, PAS 2050, BP X30, WRI/WBCSD GHG protocol, Sustainability Consortium, ISO 14025, Ecological Footprint, etc).


You can find more information and the draft methodology here

InSinkErator – How to dispose 34 mio tons of food waste?

Food waste is a large component of our solid waste problem. And the question of what to do with it is a challenge for communities worldwide. Most of the food waste ends up in landfill, contributing to greenhouse gases.

PE INTERNATIONAL Inc. conducted a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to help InSinkErator, a North American producer of disposers, to better understand the environmental impact of different food waste disposal systems.

The study examines various methods of transferring and disposing of organic food waste while measuring the global warming potential and primary energy demand of each process.

Read the summary of the study

For more information please contact Laura Mar

Truck Freight vs. Rail Freight – the next round

Environmental studies usually came to the conclusion that rail is generally the better and preferable environmental transport solution. In our recent study we demonstrated that a general statement, i.e. that rail is more environmentally friendly than road, cannot be made.

In the upcoming update focusing on Germany, we took into account most recent data available from rail companies. The results of the update confirm the findings of our previous study. A new case study, investigating the shift from road to rail of long-distance freight transport over distances beyond 300 kilometres, as proposed in the EU White Paper, revealed that CO2 emissions of rail and truck are in the same magnitude.

Depending on specific case parameter such as load factor, empty trips, precarriage and oncarriage either truck or rail performs better. This is a fact underlining our claim that a case-to-case investigation is required. 

Read the summary of the study 

For more information please contact Michael Spielmann

Australian Dairy study to establish industry´s carbon-cred

The Australian subsidiary of PE  is conducting a Life Cycle Assessment to establish the Australian dairy industry´s carbon footprint. The study aims to quantitatively evaluate the carbon footprint from a systems analysis point of view, i.e. farm-to-distributor´s warehouse or export harbour and focuses on the major dairy products produced for export and retail. Once completed in 2012, the assessment will identify the life-cycle phases with the highest environmental impact and highlight areas of potential improvement along the supply chain.

In the magazine Food & Drink Business, Neil van Buuren, the project leader, states “The study will generate a reliable basis for carbon footprinting, environmental product reporting and product labelling, for example environmental product declarations and carbon-reduction labels. It will enable benchmarking at both the farm and the corporate level to help drive best practice.”

More widely, it will support strategic decision-making to promote a more competitive Australian dairy industry and build the basis for sustainable leadership.

Australia is being told that it needs to increase its food supply by 50% by 2050 without increasing the amount of resources it uses. “All food production comes at an environmental cost and CO2 emissions arise at all points of supply chain,” van Buuren says.” This study is part of the dairy industry´s response to that challenge.”

For more information please contact Barbara Nebel

Forbo Flooring: GaBi i-report pushes product development and process improvements

“PE’s Life Cycle Assessment software is the base for our green development and evaluating our environmental impacts with our focus on reducing the CO2 emissions and the related irreversible climate change caused by global warming.”

Forbo Flooring, one of the world’s leading flooring system manufacturers, has long been committed to improving environmental performance and has commissioned many peer reviewed LCA and benchmark studies. Forbo recently decided to form an internal LCA team to take on the role of building knowledge in house and allowing more individuals, within the organisation, to get involved with the LCA process.

Fred Seifert states: “GaBi software will enable us to further drive down the environmental impacts associated with the entire life cycle of our products and processes by providing us with the information that we need to identify areas for improvement. The GaBi i-report in particular will allow us to push product development and innovation based on environmental performance information.”