Looking for sustainability data?

The GaBi databases consist of more than 5,000 different datasets. To make finding the specific data you want even quicker and easier, we are pleased to announce our new search function for LCI datasets.

This will make finding the right data you want considerably faster and easier. You can search not only for text but also for other attributes like CAS number or formula. Several filters allow you to refine your search, e.g. by country, data source, or data type.

Should you still not find what you are looking for you can always contact our content team, there is a very good chance that we have what you need, and can deliver it to you quickly.

And did you know? GaBi software not only comes with GaBi databases, but operates with other commercial databases and regional content such as ecoinvent, US LCI, ELCD and others as well.

  

>> Check it out here!

Companies improve sustainability with a product life cycle approach

Leading firms move beyond the enterprise view to take a product life cycle approach to improve their sustainability.

The challenges that this presents is driving sustainability experts to work closely with non-sustainability colleagues – because the decisions that determine product sustainability are made by R&D, product design, procurement, marketing and sales teams. The recently published report by analyst firm Verdantix explains how PE INTERNATIONAL’s product Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software, GaBi, can support different business functions to incorporate sustainability considerations into relevant processes; decision-making at the product design and procurement stages, and to facilitate engaging sustainability communications by marketing and sales teams.

Click here to download the report

Life Cycle Assessment in de-risking and improving supply chains

We asked Nigel Topping, Chuck Grindstuff and Harald Floring how they see the role of Life Cycle Assessment in de-risking and improving supply chains?

Nigel Topping, CIO, Carbon Disclosure Project.
“The vast majority of companies do not have a good understanding of their entire value chain. Everything is connected, things change so quickly and we are at or beyond limits with so many resources that without proper LCA to understand risk, it can be devastating to business. There is a definite need to both understand the risks through LCA and put in place a sound strategy to address the risks throughout the supply chain. With this preparedness, a company has foresight into potential problem areas and can respond by making changes to a product over time throughout the supply chain. This will prevent the devastating impact of getting blind sighted, and help to assure the health of the business.”

Chuck Grindstaff, CEO, Siemens PLM Software.
“The high degree of standardization in material selection and LCA reduces design risks and creates a basis for innovation along the supply chain. It is imperative that the supply chain stay in sync as environmentally-minded design practices evolve from conformance to substantial regulations, to multi-domain optimization.”

Harald Florin, Director of Product Sustainability, PE INTERNATIONAL
“LCA is the proven method to bring complete transparency into product life cycles on every level. It helps to offer an understanding of a changing world, changing technologie and their implications. One of the biggest supply chain risks is a failure to think through decisions and understand risks at every level. With LCA, businesses have a tried and tested approach that will provide the visibility needed to effectively manage and improve their supply chain. “

Environmental Footprint

One of the potential hot topics for the near future is the Environmental Footprint. Do you think that this is becoming a game changer in sustainability? How are companies preparing for this?

Ramon Arratia, Sustainability Director EMEAI, Interface.
“As written in my book Full Product Transparency, I think environmental product declarations are the biggest changer in sustainability because they link the entire value chain. You can influence demand, you can redesign products, you can transmit priorities through your supply chain, and legislators can reward sustainable products or punish products with higher environmental impact. At Interface, we produce EPDs for all of our products and are heavily redesigning each one so that the embodied impacts are reduced.”

Michael Spielmann, Principal Consultant, PE INTERNATIONAL
“In my view, it may tackle one critical issue: Green Washing. By developing sector and product group specific guidelines that should guarantee the improvements claimed by producers are consistent, solid, and reproducible. This will avoid the risk of green washing which could jeopardize the entire sustainability issue. I think having a set of product category rules will be a critical component to the impact of this initiative in the future.”

Michele Galatola, Policy Officer, EU Commission DG Environment.
“Absolutely. There is growing pressure on companies to show they produce in an environmentally friendly way – both at the level of individual products and as organizations. Information on environmental performance can be used in the management of supply chains as an efficient indicator of how resource- efficient a company is. At the same time, it serves to show how green a product or organization is, because consumers increasingly want to better understand the environmental impacts of their consumption. The commission will soon adopt and publish consistent methodologies for the calculation of the life cycle environmental performance of products and organisations. Named PEF (Product Environmental Footprint) and OEF (Organization Environmental Footprint), we believe these will become more and more used in public and private initiatives, providing a more consistent and reliable way to communicate environmental information both in B2B and B2C contexts.”

Michael Betz, CEO, PE INTERNATIONAL.
“The Environmental Footprint Initiative as driven by the EU Commission might indeed become a game changer. Irrespective of that, sooner or later corporate and product footprints, declarations or LCAs will definitively become mainstream. Our key clients prepare for that by bringing manual and not integrated approaches to the next level. Our role is to help them automate and rationalize sustainability and compliance data collection, transfer, decision making and communication. In this context, LCA data collection and transfer in supply chains will achieve the critical importance it deserves.”

Guidance for the Development of Product Category Rules

The draft version of the Guidance for the Development of Product Category Rules is now available for public comment.

This guidance document is a response to a widely recognized need for additional instruction on the development of rules specific to a category of products for making claims based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The purpose is to supplement existing standards for LCA-based claims that require the development of product category rules (PCRs) or their equivalents. The aim is that PCRs can be developed in a consistent manner and used to support claims based on multiple standards.

PE is a member of the Product Category Rule Guidance Development Initiative

This document embodies the efforts of individuals with expertise in LCA and LCA-based product claims from more over 40 organizations including PE INTERNATIONAL under the name of The Product Category Rule Guidance Development Initiative.

Review the draft and provide comments

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is hosting the draft, and comments are to be made through the CSA website.

Click here to review the draft and provide comments

Only comments received through the CSA online system will be accepted. Comments are due by Friday, March 1, 2013, 11:59 PM GMT

PE INTERNATIONAL announce speaker & programme details – Symposium 2013

PE announce speaker & programme details – Symposium 2013

It’s still not too late to register for this year’s PE Symposium which, we’re delighted to say, has already generated record registrations from leading sustainability practitioners and experts across the World.

Why attend?
Building on previous events, this year we have brought together a number of prominent speakers from leading organisations including; Verdantix, Siemens PLM, Ritter Group, Rio Tinto Alcan, British American Tobacco, Interface, Arla Foods and Thyssen Krupp Elevator. Each will give presentations and offer insights around our central theme of "Sustaining business success in a resource constrained world".

     Click here for full speaker & programme details

The speakers will also be joined by our own recognized panel of sustainability experts and there will be plenty of opportunities during and after the planned sessions and workshops to share ideas and ask questions.

Network with the experts
The Symposium concludes with a panel discussion moderated by Nigel Topping from the Carbon Disclosure Project and will be followed by our evening drinks and networking event. This will bring a further opportunity to mingle with experts and other delegates whist enjoying some refreshments.

Attend sustainability workshops
As a reminder, the day after the main Symposium we are also hosting a number of further half-day sustainability workshops in order to provide a deeper look into some of the key sustainability topics:

• Environmental Footprint

• Sustainability Strategies

• Water Management & Footprinting

• Life Cycle Assessment – getting started

• Unlock the value of Sustainable Buildings

     Choose a workshop and register!

Please remember places are now limited so we encourage you to register as soon as possible.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the Symposium

Life Cycle Assessment Software GaBi 6 launched

The new GaBi 6 from +PE INTERNATIONAL comes with a market-leading ‘mountain’ of supporting industry relevant data and expertise.

The answer to environmental sustainability is constantly updated data mountain – a huge resource of encyclopaedic, high quality industry relevant data, which is indispensible to users. Reliable data is the key element of the latest version of GaBi 6, and Databases ’12.

No other company can provide customers with access to such regularly updated, high quality and consistent data which includes Life Cycle Inventories (LCI’s) of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases (like waste and carbon emissions). The data is based on twenty one years of sustainability experience, industry collaboration and expertise. Access to it is essential to help manufacturers make the best decisions with regards to designing products that are optimised for sustainability throughout the entire product lifecycle – from cradle to grave.

What’s new in GaBi 6? Read more

Australia – Major Life Cycle Assessment study helps dairy farmers aim for GHG emissions reduction

Dairy Australia worked closely with the Australian dairy industry to measure the carbon footprint of producing a number of dairy foods. This initiative was one of the first carbon footprinting projects to report the emissions of dairy farming on a country level and following the International Dairy Federation sector specific guidelines “A common carbon footprint approach for dairy” (IDF, 2010).

This major Life Cycle Assessment study, carried out by PE INTERNATIONAL, measured the GHG emissions emitted from the production of a number of dairy products to identify the industry’s overall carbon footprint.  An industry cross section of primary data has been analysed from 140 farms across Australia, the life cycle inventory data collection for this project was extensive. A key project objective was to develop a customised software platform which ensures transparency and high data quality during data collection and modelling, which is auditable and can be used by the industry and expanded in future.

This was achieved by developing a linked software platform, combining the benefits of PE’s  SoFi software system including web-based data collection functionality, and the GaBi Life Cycle Assessment software and database package.


Dairy farmers and processors in Australia have a strong track record of working to improve financial, environmental and social outcomes. They understand that sustainability and industry profitability are interdependent. The large number of sustainability initiatives the industry currently undertakes demonstrates this. Dairy Australia invests in a number of key programs and initiatives aimed at helping farmers and processors with GHG emission reduction strategies. One of these initiatives is the Life Cycle Assessment study.

A summary of the final project report is available for download here

Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics & Life Cycle Assessment

Greenpeace recently published the 18th edition of its Guide to Greener Electronics, which evaluates leading consumer electronics companies based on their commitment and progress in three environmental criteria: Energy and Climate, Greener Products and Sustainable Operations.

It coincides with the publication of PE INTERNATIONAL’s whitepaper ‘Calculating the carbon footprint of electronic products,’ which presents an approach to quantify the environmental impacts of electronic products. Both publications aim to contribute to greener electronics.

The Guide to Greener Electronics by Greenpeace scores companies on overall policies and practices (not on specific products), aiming to provide consumers with a snapshot of the corporate sustainability of the biggest names in the industry.

PE INTERNATIONAL’s whitepaper, on the other hand, has its focus on providing the industry with a framework to quantify and reduce the environmental profile of products. Based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), it presents a methodology for calculating Product Carbon Footprints of electronic products. LCA is a widely-used approach which allows assessing a product’s environmental profile across its entire life-cycle, considering environmental impacts such as global warming potential and resource depletion, as well as other environmental aspects like energy consumption and material efficiency.


An LCA study can help to find out:
1) How a product is currently performing,
2) Where to focus potential improvements and how to measure them,
and 3) How to report product sustainability according to standards.

This framework helps companies to design better products, for example by discarding harmful materials and replacing them with more environmentally friendly ones, or replacing parts and materials which are difficult to recycle (Ecodesign). Besides, companies can use the LCA results to reliably communicate their products’ performance and improvements.

Download your free copy of our whitepaper ‘Calculating the carbon footprint of electronic products’

or contact PE’s Electronics Team: electronics@pe-international.com

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.

Credible and Commercial: the success factors of eco-labelling

Eco-labelling schemes are on the rise – customers and environmental experts alike are confused with the booming “industry”. The difference between the two groups is that the customers’ decision for or against a label is the fateful one: it decides the ultimate success or failure of the label.

At the same time the judgment of an environmental expert – the one faithful to some aspect of sustainability – carries the responsibility of steering private and public opinion in the right direction. The presentation discusses a stepwise protocol on “how to create a successful label” using the case study of the EU-funded Life+ project “HAproWine” (EU - LIFE08 ENV/E/000143) aimed at developing an eco-label for wine produced in the Spanish region Castilla y León.

Through the evaluation of some key existing examples and the case study of developing a new label in the food industry based on LCA, the presentation identifies underlying factors of success and failure.

>> Get the full presentation and read more

Sustainable package design

Companies have a vast number of different package design options available. But today the important question is how sustainable they are? Should they use paper or plastic? When does it make sense to use material combinations and what are their environmental impacts?

Answers to these questions are provided in a Life Cycle Assessment study (LCA) that PE INTERNATIONAL has conducted for Wipak. The Wipak Group is part of the Finland-based Wihuri Group and holds a leading rank in the development and manufacture of multilayer films (in particular barrier films) and high-end packaging solutions in Europe

LCA compared film packages with paper composite solutions

“Energy consumption, ozone production or global warming – material combinations based on paper and plastics can be more sustainable than plastics solutions”, Dr. Annett Kaeding-Koppers, the Wipak Group’s Sustainability Representative explains. On behalf of Wipak, the PE INTERNATIONAL sustainability experts compared film packages, such as used in Germany for sausage and cheese, with paper composite solutions offering identical functionality, including different amounts of paper in the top web and in the tray web.


One result: The use of paper in general has a positive influence on the reduction of carbon emissions. This means that the impact on the greenhouse effect is smaller than it is for the reference systems made of pure plastics that were also examined in the study. There were also clear improvements in terms of ozone production, i.e. the reduction of summer smog.
 

Paper cannot replace plastics

There is no silver bullet. Paper cannot fully replace plastics since it does not meet the high demands in terms of optimum product protection. The ideal material mix depends on the food products to be packaged as well as on the functions to be provided by a package.

Broad range of packaging solutions

Consumers expect a responsive use of resources. This expectation also influences package development. Using paper composites, the Wipak Group has responded to the trend towards sustainability at an early stage, complementing the product range of high-quality multilayer and barrier films with more innovative paper composites later on. A selection of composite concepts will be presented by Wipak at the FachPack exhibition. The “Paper Top“ version e.g. replaces paper polyester as a print carrier. The amount of renewable resources reaches approximately 35 percent so that the use of fossil raw materials has been reduced by about 30 percent. With the “Paper Bottom“ version, the amount of paper can reach more than 50 percent, depending on the composite structure.

New marketing approaches

While paper composite solutions are still niche products, their market share grows constantly. Paper composites offer new unique selling propositions at the POS. Using the knowledge of how sustainable a packaging really is, companies are able to differentiate themselves from the competition, assuming a more credible position in the customer’s view. It is therefore worthwhile taking a closer look even just for the marketing aspects alone.

Forged aluminum wheels cut carbon footprint - Life Cycle Assessment for Alcoa

PE INTERNATIONAL conducted a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study for Alcoa that concludes that aluminum wheels substantially cut the carbon footprint of commercial vehicles.

In North America, the study found that substituting 18 conventional steel truck wheels with Alcoa aluminum wheels cut carbon emissions by 16.3 metric tons over the lifetime of the wheels. In Europe, replacing 12 steel wheels with aluminum cut 13.3 metric tons of carbon emissions. In addition, the study found that the use of Alcoa forged aluminum wheels over steel wheels can be viewed as an active and highly efficient investment into the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the commercial vehicle sector.

Dr. Christoph Koffler from PE stated "Our findings are based on the full life cycle of Alcoa forged aluminum wheels—from the raw materials, through the production, distribution, use, disposal, and recycling of the product."

Most comprehensive LCA ever conducted on aluminium and steel truck wheels

This analysis is the most comprehensive and transparent comparative Life Cycle Assessment ever conducted on aluminum and steel truck wheels. It analyzed the entire “cradle-to-grave” production process of commercial vehicle wheels—from bauxite mining to wheel manufacturing, through a truck wheel’s use phase and end-of-life, including recycling and land filling.

The study incorporated the latest available information on energy and material consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental releases. Alcoa provided primary data for aluminum wheel production from five facilities: two in the United States (Cleveland and Barberton, OH), one in Mexico, Hungary, and Japan. PE INTERNATIONAL provided upstream data for fuels, raw materials, and steel wheel manufacturing processes, including primary metals and chemicals. The study conformed to ISO methodology and was peer reviewed by respected professionals in the LCA community, including experts from the world-renowned Technische Universitat Berlin and the University of Michigan.

Major findings presented at the LCA XII

Alcoa and PE INTERNATIONAL will present the findings of the LCA at the 12th Annual American Center for Life Cycle Assessment Conference in Tacoma, Washington on Tuesday, September 25, 2012.

>> Download the full study and read more

The theory and practice of LCA - Like ebony and ivory living in perfect harmony?

A newly published editorial in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment is seeking to promote cooperation in the development and application of life cycle assessment (LCA) across both academia and business.

Bringing together the collective experience and expertise of 22 contributing authors from universities, commercial enterprises, industry groups, and research organizations, the work addresses both the scientific underpinnings of the practice and the business process value.

The editorial, “LCA’s theory and practice: like ebony and ivory living in perfect harmony? , provides the context for framing the discussion on LCA applications in business practice and develops a cogent and comprehensive business case for the use of LCA.  The paper concludes with an invitation to both academia and business practitioners to work collaboratively and learn from each other in pursuit of improved LCA methodologies.

 >> Download the article and read more

Sustainable Products with Life Cycle Assessment

You want to deliver more sustainable products to match your customers expectations and become more resource efficient in a world of price rises and legislative obligations? Check out our free LCA software demo and contact us!

 GaBi - the market leading Life Cycle Assessment software makes it easy for your business to carry out Life Cycle Assessments (LCA). GaBi 5 even helps your business to cut costs and make your production and supply chains more efficient.

So what does GaBi 5 do?

GaBi 5 models every element of a product or system from a life cycle perspective, equipping businesses to make the best informed decisions on the manufacture and lifecycle of any manufactured product, everything from a hand-held mobile phone to a match-stick to an airport.

It also provides an easily accessible content database detailing the energy and environmental impact of sourcing and refining every raw or processed element of a manufactured item.

In addition, it looks at the impact on the environment and presents alternative options for manufacturing, distribution, recyclability, pollution and sustainability.

Get your free software demo of the leading life cycle assessment tool for product sustainability!

Nokia publishes sustainability report 2011

Our customer Nokia published its sustainability report for 2011. Nokia uses life cycle assessment to calculate the environmental impact of their products and processes. LCAs help them identify and focus on the areas where they can make the biggest reductions.

You can find the full sustainability report here

New Video – Unlock the Value of Product Sustainability in Manufacturing

Missed our latest webinar? Watch the video to gain valuable insight into the latest trends surrounding product life cycle thinking in the industrial manufacturing sector and learn from real-life leadership examples for radically increasing the business value of sustainability programs:

• Develop innovative products and generate more revenue

• Realize cost savings while becoming greener

• Improve the quality of your products and processes 

Find out how industry leaders are…

…Driving top-line revenue growth by becoming the preferred supplier to corporate customers

…Reducing costs by understanding environmental impacts and eliminating waste

…Managing risk by identifying environmental “hotspots” and mitigating the impact of sub-optimal materials or processes

…Enhancing brand value through improved transparency and communicating with customers about progress in environmental performance

…Creating innovative products that offer both better utility and lower environmental impact

     Watch the video

New Zealand LCA conference – Review

The 2nd New Zealand Life Cycle Assessment Conference “LCA: A Business Compass for Sustainability,” was held in Auckland on 28-29 March 2012. The conference focused on the application of LCA and Life Cycle Management in business to express the increasingly important role of LCA in guiding and shaping business operations, management practices and strategies.

The conference attracted close to 100 participants from NZ, Australia and five other countries across Europe, Asia and Africa.  The final program can be viewed here: www.lcaconference.org.nz  “The number and high quality of papers submitted was overwhelming,” commented Barbara Nebel, Chair of the Scientific Committee.

Industry and user needs with regard to LCA were a key focus in all presentations. Keynote speakers included Prof. Matthias Finkbeiner (Technical University Berlin), Clare Broadbent (worldsteel), Dave Maslen (NZ Merino) and Dr. Alastair Woodard (Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society).

The conference was organised jointly by the Life Cycle Association New Zealand (LCANZ) and the New Zealand Centre for Life Cycle Management.

Trans-Tasman collaboration on development of an EPD scheme

Life Cycle Association New Zealand (LCANZ) and Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (ALCAS) are currently working on the development of an Australasian EPD scheme based on the well-established German IBU EPD system.

Global markets increasingly demand science-based, verified and comparable information about the environmental performance of products and services. Environmental Product Declarations, or EPDs, provide a standardized report on the environmental impacts linked to a product or service over its entire life cycle. However, there is currently no standardized internationally-recognised EPD programme in place.

LCANZ and its Australian counterpart, ALCAS, are currently looking to fill this gap for Australasia. The two not-for-profit associations are partnering to investigate the development of an Australasian scheme similar to the well-established European scheme run by the Institute for Construction and Environment (IBU).

Barbara Nebel, President of LCANZ, is excited to work together with ALCAS to establish a cross-Tasman EPD scheme: “It makes most sense for New Zealand and Australia to have one scheme across the Tasman, making it a lot more efficient for companies to develop their EPDs.”

The impetus to examine IBU’s EPD scheme was that 25 European organizations recently signed a MoU to establish a Pan-EU EPD platform. “The European ECO-EPD platform with 17 countries and numerous GBC is the leading one in the world”, says Barbara Nebel, President of LCANZ.

David Baggs, ALCAS President, underlines the goal, “This initiative that the Board of ALCAS and LCANZ are undertaking, it will ensure that all EPDs performed in Australia and New Zealand will be compatible with those in the EU will facilitate the export of Australasian manufactured goods into the EU - the largest single marketplace in the world with a GDP of nearly USD$18 trillion.”

The German EPD scheme, administered by IBU, is a leading force in the ECO-EPD platform and has offered their support to developing an Australasian scheme.

Free Whitepaper - Transparency and the Role of Environmental Product Declarations

As the world’s consumption of natural resources continues to grow at an ever increasing rate, the design and manufacture of environmentally responsible products is no longer a luxury but a necessity. From electronics to textiles to food production, producers are giving increased attention to the environmental impact of their products across the entire product life cycle. These considerations span design and manufacturing through actual use to end-of-life. Such efforts from producers are now leading towards the collection and compilation of relevant environmental data. This data helps identify opportunities for improvement along the supply chain, often taking the form of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, there are many ways to
distribute this data.

Everyone benefits when a product’s claim of environmental sustainability is easily validated against objective and transparent criteria, thereby simplifying the process of making informed direct comparisons among similar products. An environmental product declaration (EPD) is a validation tool that offers manufacturers a standard approach for assessing the environmental impact of their products and provides buyers with an effective framework for making direct product comparisons. As such, an EPD addresses the needs of both manufacturers and buyers seeking clear, credible and precise information.

This UL white paper discusses the use and importance of EPDs in the validation and certification of life cycle-based product environmental impacts. The paper then reviews the steps in creating EPDs consistent with the requirements of ISO 14025 2006, Environmental labels and declarations—Type III environmental declarations— Principles and procedures, and discusses the important role of an EPD program operator in developing and running an effective EPD program. The report concludes with a look at potential developments regarding the use of EPDs in support of product environmental claims.

Open publication - Free publishing - More building

Find more studies, whitepapers and presentations in our resource section on www.pe-international.com