Enperas at Smart Manufacturing Conference - SMAFACC'25 at the Thor Park Community in Genk, Belgium

The Enperas Team Luc Plancke (CEO & Founder), along with Maria Victória Pereira da Luz (LCA Engineer) and Wim Thewissen (Group Manager Sustainability) from Enperas' customer - Vandersanden, successfully participated in the Smart Manufacturing Conference - SMAFACC'25, held at Thor Park Community in Genk, Belgium, on November 20th.

Our team with Wim, presented an insightful Presentation on Case "Vandersanden - the science of sustainability through the LCA Quadrant Tool from enperas". 

Did you know that approximately 80% of environmental impact comes from the production stage and raw materials?

That is why manufacturers are leveraging the science of sustainability through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to assess their environmental footprint from the production design phase onward. This method helps identify the impact of each material used, pinpoint the highest impact categories, and utilise emissions data to drive ecodesign and smart, sustainable manufacturing.

Vandersanden, Europe’s second-largest brick manufacturer, prioritizes sustainable production and CO₂-neutral operations. Under the leadership of Wim, Vandersanden’s Group Sustainability Manager, the company is driving a transformative sustainability journey for the Pirrouet® brick by leveraging Enperas’ LCA Quadrant Tool to support ecodesign, environmental emissions transparency, and compliance, achieving significant environmental objectives. 

During the presentation, with approximately 80 professionals in attendance, Wim from Vandersanden and Luc from Enperas showcased how the LCA Quadrant Tool—our SaaS (Software as a Service) solution—generates reliable LCA results and aligns with the Industry 4.0 ecosystem. Wim showed how they calculated their LCA from Cradle-to-Gate across 19 environmental impact categories, resulting in a 15% reduction in their Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI) by the end of 2023 (compared to 2020) and compliance with Dutch LCA regulations.

Wim highlighted ECI and LCA driving factors and how they integrated LCA towards net-zero goals. They began switching easily to correct calculations according to relevant regulations in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and across Europe (EN15804, B-EPD, NMD/SBK).

After the use case, our team led participants through a presentation on how Enperas' LCA Quadrant Tool results are used by leading manufacturing companies, including:

• How they could self-calculate the LCA and environmental footprint tailored to their target country and its regulations.
  
• How they could identify key LCA stages and highest impact categories.
• How they could use LCA results to aid in ecodesign.
• How they could model manufacturing materials and prepare for tenders & specials, such as TENNET, Enedis, Ikea, and others.
• How to utilize the results of LCA and publish EPDs (Environmental Product Declarations) in major EU EPD program countries.
• How to demonstrate LCA results in CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) sustainability reporting.
• Which standards are being integrated.
  

We also asked our newly joined LCA Engineer Maria for her insights on participating in SMAFACC’25, and here's what she shared with us:

“Our presence at the SMAFACC’25 demonstrated the concrete value of integrating fast, accurate LCA into innovative manufacturing projects”

“At the conference, our team had a light on the conversation on digitalisation, sustainability, and the future of manufacturing. Our presence at the SMAFACC’25 demonstrated the concrete value of integrating fast, accurate LCA into innovative manufacturing projects strengthening our reputation as a key ally for companies developing next-generation sustainable materials and products”

Maria Victória Luz

LCA Engineer at Enperas