End-of-life (EoL) in LCA: Impacts of Waste and Benefits of Recycling

EoL in LCA_Ecochain

The End-of-Life (EoL) is the 5th product life-cycle phase in LCA: it’s the “grave”. Frightful (at first sight) as its name implies, this phase causes emissions and frowning faces alike.  It has two main challenges: 1. How do you find out what happens to your product after it’s discarded? 2. How do you account for […]

Ecodesign Directive for Sustainable Products (ESPR): 2023 Overview

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What is the Ecodesign Directive? The EU’s Ecodesign Directive (2009) prescribes energy-related Ecodesign criteria for certain products and communicates this through energy labels. So far, it saved consumers 120 Billion euros of energy expenditure (!!), and lowered energy consumption of the regulated products by 10% in 2021. The Ecodesign Directive is based on the sustainable […]

Cradle-to-Gate in LCA: What Is It and How Does It Work?

Cradle to gate in LCA

Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) following “Cradle-to-Gate” – measure a product’s environmental footprint up to the point where it leaves the factory gate. This means the environmental footprint results don’t include the footprint of product use by customers and its end-of-life processes (waste/recycling/upcycling).  Cradle-to-gate simplifies and speeds up the LCA process. This is handy in certain […]

Comparison of Top LCA Software: Your Ultimate Guide to LCA Solutions

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the scientific method to measure the environmental footprint of products and services. Sustainability, climate change, the circular economy – they’re all becoming part of everyday business. As a result, the market for LCA tools develops quickly. Companies have an increasing need for LCA software. In this article, we highlight and […]

Guide To Sustainable Product Design (2024 Update)

Sustainable design

The difference between Ecodesign, sustainable design & circular design for products, is that they approach what ‘sustainability’ in product design means – slightly differently. As sustainability becomes part of business, understanding the different sustainable design approaches is crucial for R&D. How do you deliver the most environmentally friendly products? And proof it? When you finish […]

Life Cycle Assessments & The Fashion Industry: The Good, The Bad, The Potential

With the recent increase in greenwashing claims for big names like H&M, Boohoo, Asos, Asda, Life Cycle Assessments (*LCA for short) as a measurement method for the environmental impact of products – has come under quite a lot of critique.  These brands are often accused of showing inaccurate environmental data and untransparent/bad sustainability reporting. Of […]

Primary vs. Secondary Data: What’s The Best In LCA?

Thinking about primary vs secondary data in LCA

To make an LCA of your product(s) you need data. Think of the energy usage for your manufacturing and waste processes, data on your purchased & used raw materials, etc. Much data can be found in your own finance or purchase department. But with supply chain data (e.g. purchased raw materials) it’s trickier. How do you get […]

The Data You Need For a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a scientific method to measure the environmental footprint of a product. The result: 15+ impact outcomes. But before you can measure, you need information on your product. Think of data on your usages & emissions, utilities, transport, materials, etc. That’s why the first step in measuring LCA’s is Data Collection. Data […]

4 Steps To Create the Foundation for Credible Sustainability Reporting

Foundation for sustainability reporting_Ecochain

Sustainability reporting is no joke. Companies often struggle to collect the right data and create concise and focused reporting on their sustainability matters. We teamed up with our implementation partner Nexio Projects on how you can tackle that big pool of sustainability data in your company. And turn it into high-quality sustainability reporting. Step 1. […]

How Moxba-Metrex warms up the metal sector to recycling

moxba-metrex case study header

Turning waste into valuable resources Founded in 1974, Moxba-Metrex is a global specialist in recycling used catalysts* and material residues that contain metals- into new secondary materials. * A catalyst is a substance that speeds up chemical reactions. Examples of catalysts are; Molybdenum, Nickel, Cobalt, Platinum, etc. How does Moxba-Metrex’s recycling work? 1. They collect […]