Environmental requirements are virtually omnipresent today and are finding their way into more and more regulations. Public tenders are changing so that emissions are taken into account as well as price. Initial research results are available and pilot projects are already underway. From 2027, it is expected to become mandatory for manufacturers to declare the global warming potential of construction products. The EU Taxonomy Regulation is also bringing sustainability criteria increasingly into focus for investors in building construction. But do you know the global warming potential of your aggregates or how it is calculated?
85% of the CO₂ emissions of an infrastructure project are related to the use of materials
They arise during mining as well as during the processing and transport of the materials. In order to calculate the CO₂ footprint of aggregates, specific data from business operations must first be systematically recorded and evaluated using the CO₂ equivalents of the various greenhouse gas. Therefore, in this context we speak of the so-called Global Warming Potential, or GWP for short. By using software with intelligent algorithms, this process can be automated, time and cost efficient and quality assured. The calculation is carried out using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method and is based on DIN EN 15804. This so-called life cycle analysis includes various modules: A1-A3 = manufacturing phase, A4 - A5 = construction phase, B1 - B7 = use phase, C1-C4 = disposal phase and D = benefits and burdens outside the system boundaries (reuse, recovery or recycling potential). This makes it clear that this is a holistic approach to analyzing the environmental impact of a product.
Product development with the involvement of experts
In collaboration with the Federal Association of Mineral Resources and CIRAIG, a world-leading LCA research center, ORIS has developed a CO₂ calculator that is specifically tailored to the requirements of the rock industry. The calculation is based on internationally recognized standards, in particular ISO 14067:2018, EN 15804:2012+A2:2019 and ISO 21930:2017, so that the result is scientifically sound. In order to meet industry requirements, selected test users from various producers of mineral raw materials were involved in product development.
In fact, it is only possible to reduce a product's carbon footprint if you first find out exactly where the emissions originate. However, this offers not only ecological but also economic optimization potential.
Niklas Adeberg, Operations Manager Niederwörresbach Quarry at F.L. Juchem & Söhne GmbH & Co. KG, processing of andesite and quartzite for the production of chippings for asphalt and concrete mixing plants, sums it up as follows:
“Efficiency and sustainability go hand in hand. If we structure our data and analyze it systematically, we can achieve equal improvements in both areas. This is the case, for example, when we question and optimize routes within the system, as this reduces costs on the one hand, but also emissions on the other. The CO₂ calculator gave us a good stimulus and showed where we could take a closer look.”
Facing challenges together
“We work in an energy-intensive industry and we should of course be careful to identify savings potential and act as carefully as possible. To do this, we first have to measure and display consumption. This can be a valuable basis for future investment decisions. Nevertheless, due to the very different circumstances in different production facilities, it is difficult to draw comparisons between plants,” continues Niklas Adeberg.
In fact, it is only possible to identify potential for improvement if a systematic analysis has first been carried out. This creates the information basis to reduce energy consumption, emissions and costs. In addition, investments in sustainable technologies such as photovoltaic systems or electric dump trucks are reflected in a reduced CO₂ footprint. Public clients such as the federal government's Autobahn GmbH are currently testing new tender models in which ecological factors are given greater weight than before. A trend that is likely to continue and is accompanied by an increased need for information. In addition, it can be assumed that CO₂ pricing will continue to rise and the economic relevance of this data will be crucial in the future. Susanne Funk, Managing Director of the Federal Association of Mineral Resources e.V., is also of the opinion:
“The CO₂ calculator is an important tool for companies.”
CO₂ calculation is democratized
The scientifically based calculation of a product's CO₂ footprint is complex and SMEs in particular often do not have an LCA engineer in-house. Consulting firms, on the other hand, are very cost-intensive. ORIS wants to democratize CO₂ calculations in order to actively promote decarbonization. Mr. Adeberg reports from his experience: “On the one hand, calculating the CO₂ footprint of our products naturally involves a certain amount of effort in collecting data. On the other hand, it was also a good opportunity to question our data and systematically digitize it. This makes the calculation of other products much easier.” The result is a certificate that shows the CO₂ footprint of the respective product, as well as a detailed background report. Ideally, this is not the end, but rather the beginning of dealing with the topic. Niklas Adeberg describes the result and the collaboration as follows:
“The CO₂ calculator showed us where the most emissions arise in our processes and thus gave us the chance to question them and make them more efficient. The collaboration with the ORIS team was very good and specific requests for special cases in my factory were comprehensively addressed.”
What are you waiting for? Start calculating!
First published in GP 8/2023. Courtesy of Stein-Verlag Baden-Baden GmbH.
