We recently spoke about the strong commitment we have made to develop, together with the CIRCE Foundation, a specific tool to know the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of our products, in order to provide numerical and objective information on the environmental impact derived of these foams.
In order to perform this calculation, the tool needs a series of input data that, after being processed, offers the output results that we want, that is: the quantification of the environmental impact of a specific product that can also be compared with to other alternative materials such as cardboard or plastic.
Life Cycle Analysis, Input data
We will need 5 basic data to calculate the LCA:
- Raw Materials: we can choose between the different types of foam that we have in our portfolio. In addition, we will include whether or not the piece has an adhesive layer. In this section we will make the difference between the net quantity (including the proportional part of waste, cuts, inserts, etc.) and the total quantity used to manufacture the final product.
In this way we can assess the impacts generated by the final piece itself and also the impacts generated by the inserts, cutouts, skins, etc. proportional to each piece.
- Consumption: We include water and energy consumption used in the manufacturing of each piece.
- Final Packaging: the weight of each box full of product and the weight of an empty box is established.
- Transport to customer: estimated distance from ZFoam’s facilities to our client’s facilities.
- Waste: These are those generated during the manufacturing process. Mainly cardboard, since the rest of the waste we generate (foams, skins, pallets, etc.) is recycled internally.
LCA calculator Output results
After entering the data that we have explained, the LCA calculator shows a numerical value for each of the 18 environmental impacts that we list below, although it is true that, due to the very nature of our activity and type of product, some of them are more relevant than others.
Thus, the 18 environmental impacts that make up the output results are:
- Climate change, carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions
- Ozone depletion
- Ionizing radiation
- Photochemical formation of ozone, human health
- Photochemical formation of ozone, terrestrial ecosystems
- Particle formation
- Soil acidification
- Fresh water eutrophication
- Eutrophication of seawater
- Soil ecotoxicity
- Fresh water ecotoxicity
- Marine water ecotoxicity
- Carcinogenic human toxicity
- Non carcinogenic human toxicity
- Transformation of natural soil
- Use of mineral resources
- Use of fossil fuels
- Use of water
The values obtained can also be seen in graphic form, indicating as well from which part of the life cycle each of them comes from (raw materials, consumption, packaging, waste, end of life or total value), so that the information provided is very detailed and valuable.
LCA calculator by ZFoam
We hope that the LCA calculator that we are presenting to you will be as useful for you as it is to us and an important resource for an increasingly sustainable and environmentally friendly manufacturing.
In the next two posts, we will explain in detail each of the environmental impacts we have listed.
