Sustainable and circular products
The plastics industry has set out to make its products more sustainable and recyclable. There are many ways to improve the sustainability of plastic products, from reducing the amount of materials used to “design for recycling”, extending service life and using secondary plastics and renewable raw materials.
With the Sustainable and Circular Products research group, we help companies in the plastics industry to find specific solutions for their products. We are also happy to use our many years of expertise to provide sound evidence of the environmental impact of plastic products.
In research projects and services, we provide support in
- reducing the environmental impact of plastic products
- the preparation of CO2 balances and life cycle assessments
- the development of design for sustainability solutions
- the development of sustainability criteria for products
Services
The carbon footprint determines the sum of all climate-relevant gases emitted by a product (product carbon footprint) over its entire life cycle or by a company (corporate carbon footprint). It is a starting point for developing an effective climate strategy and climate protection-oriented marketing. Our carbon footprints are calculated according to recognized methods and standards, comprehensively documented and thus provide a sound database for climate-specific product and company assessment.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are based on the requirements of a life cycle assessment and document the environmental properties and other specifications of products. We create EPDs according to recognized methods and standards and support the verification process. In addition to the creation of individual EPDs, we also offer the creation of semi-automated EPD calculators to enable simplified EPD production for your products.
Would you like to develop or deepen your company's CO₂ accounting and life cycle assessment skills? Would you like to work with life cycle assessment software in your company and carry out your own sustainability assessments? Then the SKZ can support you with customized training. Thanks to our many years of experience, we can provide your employees with the best possible support in developing their skills, whether they are newcomers or advanced life cycle assessors.
Training topics
- Introduction to life cycle assessment
- Calculate your own CO₂ footprint
- Life cycle assessment with “LCA for Experts” and selection of suitable life cycle assessment data
Thanks to our plastics expertise, we combine general and industry-specific content to create a tailor-made mix. We can teach the basics or support you with your specific LCA projects - learning-by-doing. In this way, we guide you through all phases of life cycle assessment and make you fit for assessing the sustainability of your own products and activities.
In accordance with the applicable standards, we carry out simplified or detailed environmental assessments of your product as required and can compare the results with competing products. Through sensitivity analyses, we can help you to draw valid conclusions from the results. As experienced life cycle assessment experts, we also carry out reviews of life cycle assessment studies.
The creation of carbon footprints and life cycle assessments for extensive product ranges requires fast, scalable and cost-efficient solutions. One such solution can be the use of customized software tools. The SKZ offers you tailor-made calculation tools.
Calculation tools for
- CO₂ balances in accordance with ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol
- Life cycle assessments in accordance with ISO 14040 / 14044
- EPD for building products according to EN 15804 and specifications of the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e. V.
The SKZ tools are based on the latest life cycle assessment methods and data, and are both lean and user-friendly. It is flexible so that it can be adapted to a wide range of requirements. We also provide comprehensive support during the introduction and roll-out of the solutions in your company and offer support as well as regular updates and enhancements - all in a flexible license model that is tailored to your needs.
