LCA specialists working in the industry are rare to find, and we had the pleasure of bringing them together in the second successful edition of our LCA Community Event for representatives from Manufacturing Companies.
๐๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ค ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ค๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฒ๐ฌ!๐
๐ฌ Their willingness to engage with our audience and answer numerous questions has greatly enriched our LCA Community Event. Together, we are committed to collaborating with our customers and participants to promote a Sustainable Built Environment in Belgium, France, Germany and across Europe ๐ช๐บ
๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ค๐๐ซ๐ฌ:
๐๏ธ Ruben Snurawa - Quality & ESG Manager at Aliplast Aluminium Systems NV
โ๏ธ Presentation Topic: "Compliance with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)"
Ruben had the honour of kicking it off and shared his regulatory compliance perspective as the Quality & ESG Manager at Aliplast on LCA and EPDs. Although Ruben finds it incomprehensible that each country implies a slightly different EPD standard for building materials, he does appreciate the transparency and clarity that the environmental data provides. Furthermore, it is an open standard that can be accessed by all and does not exclude any product or business.
๐๏ธ Dieter Schreurs - Sustainability Expert at Pipelife International
โ๏ธ Presentation Topic: "Environmental Product Declarations legislation for infrastructure"
Dieter Schreurs - Sustainability Expert at Pipelife [Steinzeug-Keramo is part of Pipelife], prepared the LCA to book public infrastructure tenders with sustainable requirements and is preparing Product Category Rules (PCRs) for ceramic pipes, competing PCRs for plastic systems, and concrete elements.
๐๏ธ Emna Boukari - Environmental & Sustainability Engineer at Ideal Standard International NV & Villeroy & Boch
โ๏ธ Presentation Topic: "A product variability on 1000SKUโs and EPDs"
Emna proved Ruben's statement with the ambition of Ideal Standard International - Villeroy & Boch to cover their full product range (over 5000 SKUs) with IBU-EPDs and FDES, as it has become a mandatory market requirement. She presented her journey through the challenging variability assessment to bundle SKUs into one EPD according to different programs and the complexity of gathering data in non-EU plants.
๐๏ธ Miguel knockaert - R&D Director at Orac
โ๏ธ Presentation Topic: "Product & technology innovation for decorative 3D elements through Life Cycle Assessment"
Miguel Knockaert - the R&D Director at ORAC incorporated norms into practice and explained how he used LCA for the Double Materiality Assessment, which clearly elevated two significant material topics. This process has already led to a re-prioritization of their sustainable R&D roadmap and the introduction of samples made with sugar beet-based plastic.
๐๏ธ Ben Sieprath - Sustainability Officer at Vandersanden
โ๏ธ Presentation Topic: โCarbon neutral brick and Life Cycle Assessmentโ
Ben Sieprath - Sustainability Officer at Vandersanden introduced their solution for achieving net carbon zero: Pirouette, a carbon-negative brick! Traditionally, in LCA, we move upstream in the value chain, with the focus on a clear product installation and sustainable end-of-life scenario, but Vandersanden also moved downstream.
๐๏ธ Chizya Chibulu - R&D Engineer at Holcim Belgium
โ๏ธ Presentation Topic: "Shared Insights: Navigating the LCA/EPD Landscape"
Chizya Chibulu - the R&D Engineer at Cantillana โ Holcim closed the Event by presenting their EPD roadmap challenge, which involves more than 1,000 products produced in eight plants. They are preparing EPDs for their eco product range, which will soon be launched, thus clearly implementing the Green Claims Directive and joining our manufacturers' club that meets the market demand for building materials contributing to a sustainable built environment.
Luc Plancke - CEO & Founder at Enperas:
โWe could finally meet our LCA peersโ - Luc Plancke. We are happy that on December 5th, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium, we successfully hosted the second edition of our LCA Community Event for manufacturers alongside our customers. We are already in the process of planning next yearโs on-site LCA Community Event for 2025, aimed at manufacturers in the building materials and chemicals sectors, as well as our broader customer base.
Testimonials from the LCA Community Event 2024
๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ค๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ:
Dieter Schreurs - Sustainability Expert at Pipelife International
โItโs very interesting to see how other companies are tackling the challenges with LCAโs & EPDโs. Many seem to face the same challenges: how to deal with a high amount of products, how to deal with LCA data up&downstream, how to cope with the (lack of or abundance of) regulations. I had some great talks on how to tackle product groups for instance.
Also, it was interesting to compare experiences with the LCA Quadrant tool and how other companies use it.
It will be important that EPD programmes in the countries are aligned in order to avoid mass-EPD generation, which will confuse the markets and create high costs for new products. Inclusion of LCA and EPD into the purchase requirements would be a great next step to create incentive for society to invest in better, more eco-friendly productsโ
Ruben Snurawa - Quality & ESG Manager at Aliplast:
โI thought it was very meaningful, especially because we are at the beginning of a very important journey regarding LCAs and EPDs. Therefor an exchange of thoughts during an event as this, helps to put things into perspective but also helps to see the possibilitiesโ
Ben Sieprath - Sustainability Officer at Vandersanden:
โI liked the event and it was very good to hear that many other people have the same issues and struggles concerning the grouping of products and the many different legislations in different countries. I would gladly join next year and I think this was a very good conceptโ
Abderrahim Oulhadj - Project Manager at Nivomix:
โThe atmosphere was relaxed and engaging, fostering a comfortable environment where the group's genuine interest was evident, and the speakers delivered valuable insights.
The most compelling aspect from our perspective was gaining insight into the complexity of LCA challenges across various companies and sectors. Observing the hurdles and progress made by others provided valuable context for understanding our own position. Stepping outside our own framework to explore developments in other industries proved to be highly insightful.
Additionally, the dinner offered an excellent opportunity to connect and exchange ideas with the other participants in an enjoyable and informal settingโ.
Identifying challenges, learning from each other's experiences, and adapting to regulatory changes are essential for achieving success in sustainability.
๐ We are excited to plan the LCA Community Event for 2025 next year๐
If you have any questions related to LCA Community Event or our LCA Quadrant Tool, LCA Consultancy and EPDs services, feel free to reach out at โ๏ธ Luc@enperas.com
Enperasโs LCA Specialist participated in the webinar organized by the German IBU EPD Program
๐ก Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V ( IBU ) is currently the only organisation in Germany ๐ฉ๐ช that...
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