In the last post about the Life Cycle Analysis calculator for our products, we talked about the input data that needs to be entered into the tool (raw materials, consumption, final packaging, transport to the customer and waste) to obtain concrete and reliable results about the 18 environmental impacts that we analyze.
What are the most relevant output results for ZFoam?
It must be said that, due to the properties of the raw materials we use (whose weight is between 1.5% and 10% compared to plastic or rigid cardboard), the very nature of our activity and our internal recycling at ZFoam, some environmental impacts are more important than others.
The four impacts detailed below are the most relevant according to our activity and in which, therefore, we can intervene to a greater extent to reduce or even reverse them:
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- Climate change or carbon footprint:this measure quantifies all CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases (GHG) that are emitted into the atmosphere during the life cycle of the products. These emissions represent an increase in average temperatures on land and in the oceans.
- Soil acidification:it is the loss of the neutralizing capacity of soil and water, as a consequence of the return to the surface of the earth, in the form of acids, of sulfur and nitrogen oxides discharged into the atmosphere.
- Use of fossil fuels:refers to the consumption of resources of fossil origin that, at ZFoam, we strive daily to reduce as much as possible. An example of this is the firm commitment we are making to the use of bio based foams.
- Water use:refers to the consumption of water resources, also known as the “water footprint”.
Other environmental impacts that we take into account
The rest of the environmental impacts have a much lesser relationship with our activity, so we have little influence over them but we also quantify them. These are:
- Destruction of the ozone layer
- Ionizing radiation
- Photochemical ozone formation, human health / terrestrial ecosystems
- Particle formation
- Eutrophication of freshwater / marine / soil
- Freshwater / marine ecotoxicity
- Carcinogenic / non-carcinogenic human toxicity
- Transformation of natural soil
- Use of mineral resources
So far, we have explained “on paper” how the LCA calculator works. In order to offer you a more complete view of it, in our next publication we will share a case study that we are sure you will find very interesting.
