EasyLCA – Easy
Life Cycle Analysis – is the name given to a new software developed by Henkel
experts in order to make product packaging even more sustainable. Henkel is
pursuing a long-term sustainability strategy through to 2030 aimed at making
its operations three times more efficient. To achieve this ambitious target,
the company is working on improvements along its entire value chain – from raw
material procurement through production and on to disposal. The new EasyLCA
tool is able to make a significant contribution to this process right at the
development stage – by enabling comparison between different packaging types
and analyzing their environmental impact during the individual phases of the
product’s life cycle. The assessment takes in every phase and activity
incorporated in the value chain – purchase and transport of the input
materials, the manufacturing stage, packaging, outbound logistics, industrial
usage or retail sale and consumption, and end-of-life disposal.
Henkel experts
from different departments developed the EasyLCA-Tool.
The principle is
quite simple: Various product packaging options are fed into the system and
their properties – e.g. material or packaging thickness – are varied. The
software then calculates the ensuing effect on the carbon footprint of the
product and identifies the most sustainable option. Previously, these
calculations would have been very time-consuming. Now the tool supplies the
results in a matter of minutes. “EasyLCA is a fast and simple way of making
sustainability analyses available for packaging development. As one of just a
handful of companies, Henkel is thus making rapid progress toward the
integration of life cycle analyses within the innovation process, enabling us
to drive resource efficiency early on in the product development phase,” says Dr.
Nikolaj Otte, a co-developer of the EasyLCA tool.
For more information on Henkel’s sustainable
packaging solutions, visit: http://sustainabilityreport.henkel.com/sustainability-stewardship/packaging/
