Flame Retardant Technologies with Defra
GnoSys is currently engaged with Defra to review the available technologies for
achieving flame retardant properties in key product groups, and to determine best
practice in terms of achieving appropriate safety standards with minimal environmental
impact.
Read more here.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) addresses the environmental aspects and potential environmental
impacts of a product or process. It is a holistic approach which examines all stages
of a product’s life cycle, from raw material acquisition through production, end-of-life
treatment, recycling and final disposal.
LCA can assist in:
- Identifying opportunities to improve the environmental performance of products at
various points in their life cycle (o I.e. identifying
hot spots
where optimisation
may aid in reducing the environmental impacts of a process)
- Informing decision-makers in industry, government or non-government organisations
in, for example, strategic planning, priority setting, product or process design
or redesign
- Selection of relevant indicators of environmental performance, including measurement
techniques
- Marketing, for example, implementing an eco-labelling scheme, making an environmental
claim, or producing an environmental product declaration (o This might be used to
identify
greener
technologies or materials)
Standard Method
MDF Case Study
See how LCA can support the assessment of new technology to recycle waste MDF.
MDF case study
The use of LCA is covered in the ISO 14000 environmental management standards: particularly
in ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006, and the method follows four basic stages:
- Goal and Scope - Documentation of the aims of the study, details on how
it is carried out and information on uncertainties or limitations so that a reader
can see clearly how the assessment was done and would be able to reproduce it.
- Inventory - Data collection and modelling of the product system
- Impact Assessment - Evaluation of the contribution to impact categories,
such as global warming, acidification etc, from all of the outputs detailed in the
inventory stage.
- Interpretation - Analysis of the results of both the inventory and impact
assessment stages, bearing in mind the initial question posed. This stage also considers
the sensitivity of elements within the assessment, and uncertainty.
Applications
Sustainable Power Cable Materials Technologies with Improved Whole Life Performance
We have an exciting new project that is making rapid progress in developing new
high voltage cable insulation materials and assessing the environmental benfits
of cable systems using these materials.
Take a look at our Cable Model Project.
Gnosys use the SimaPro software along with their in-house developed tools in life
cycle assessment. The experience Gnosys has built in LCA can be applied to any number
of systems spanning a range of industries. Environmental assessments can be liked
to economic assessments to give a full overview of the outcomes of a study. In order
to create the most representative LCA possible, Gnosys will work closely with the
client to gather appropriate data. This can be used in a formal LCA report, which
can be made available for peer reviewing, or in the production of inventory data
which can be used for other purposes, such as incorporation into investment decision
and project management software tools.
Certification
One of our LCA experts has recently become a Life Cycle Assessment Certified Professional
and joined the ranks of ACLCA certified professionals. There are only around 40
of these certified professionals worldwide and Dr Amy Mitchell is the first within
the UK. (Further information here:
ACLCA)