Environmental consulting

Life Cycle Assessment

Would you like to measure the environmental impact of products or services?

Would you like to know the ecological and economic consequences of a decision to be made?

Do you need a rational basis for environmentally responsible business management?

 

In our globalised world, we are confronted with the fact that the use of a product in this country can lead to environmental problems elsewhere due to its previous manufacture and delivery. The life cycle assessment has become an established tool for quantifying the overall impact of selected processes, companies, products or services.

A life cycle assessment (LCA) takes into account emissions and resource consumption quantitatively over the entire life cycle. The results can then be combined with economic indicators to create eco-efficiency indicators.

Downloads
Factsheet Life Cycle Analysis (English)
Factsheet Ökobilanzen (Deutsch)

The ScreeningLCA is suitable for the initial, rough analysis of existing data. Our many years of experience show that in many cases the results are already so clear that a decision can be made and a detailed analysis is unnecessary.

 

There are two different approaches:

  • LCAnalysis: Analysing a process or product with regard to its relevant, environmentally harmful sources and other factors
  • LCACompare: Comparison of several products or processes with regard to their environmental impact

 

ScreeningLCA is the ideal entry-level module if internal questions need to be answered in an environmentally friendly and efficient manner.

 

Projects
Contact persons
Gavin Roberts
+41 61 206 95 34
E-Mail
Mareike Weiner
+41 61 206 95 38
E-Mail

As an extension of the ScreeningLCA, the CustomLCA is the right tool for complex questions that cannot be fully answered with the existing principles. It is used when detailed data collection and modelling need to be carried out or the assessment methods need to be expanded. This requires an in-depth technical understanding of the analysed systems and detailed knowledge of the fundamentals of assessment methods – knowledge that our employees bring to the table.

 

CustomLCA is also ideal if the results of the assessment are to be published.

Projects
Contact persons
Fabian Elsener
+41 44 552 43 24
E-Mail
Tanja Laube
+41 44 552 43 21
E-Mail

Every organisation uses resources and generates emissions and waste. These factors lead to environmental impacts such as climate change, soil and water pollution and the depletion of natural resources.

More and more companies are motivated to minimise these impacts because it reflects their values, it’s demanded by their customers or is required by law.

The first step towards minimising these impacts is to draw up a corporate carbon footprint. It analyses an organisation’s activities in terms of their impact on the environment and helps to identify the hotspots. In other words, those activities that contribute the most to pollution and where the greatest leverage is available to achieve an improvement.

In addition to recording Scope 1 and 2 emissions (direct and indirect emissions from energy requirements), we specialise in recording Scope 3 emissions in particular. Scope 3 emissions occur in the upstream and downstream value chain, for example in the entire procurement or logistics process. Thanks to our many years of work in life cycle assessment, we have the necessary experience and tools to efficiently record and report Scope 3 emissions.

We support companies in creating a reduction pathway and in participating in the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). We have a framework agreement with the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) to support qualified companies in applying for funding from SwissEnergy.

We are also happy to review your existing operating balance sheet or your existing reduction path.

Projects
Contact persons
Stefanie Conrad
+41 44 444 20 12
E-Mail
Tanja Laube
+41 44 552 43 21
E-Mail

Would you like to analyse a parameter for which there is little data?
Are you planning to produce your products sustainably?
Do you want to make an informed decision despite uncertainty?

 

Nature and our economy have one thing in common: they are complex, dynamic systems in which undesirable and unforeseen side effects can sometimes occur after a decision has been made. With the help of our system modelling, we show you different variants with all their consequences in a model. We visualise interrelationships and show how a single factor can change the entire system.

 

Better results through fuzzy logic

The imprecise is difficult to understand. For example, there may be a lot of expert knowledge about a topic, but no quantitative data is available. The fuzzy logic method helps to describe qualitative knowledge with mathematical precision and to offset it against measurement data. In this way, even imprecise data can be precisely recorded.

Experience from various projects on air quality or biodiversity has shown this: Fuzzy logic helps to achieve better results with less effort.

 

The material flow analysis

Material flow analysis analyses specific material and energy flows. This enables us to record and visualise technical, economic or ecological systems. This is an important competence for determining the climate-relevant emissions of a region and utilising resources efficiently, for example. The material flow analysis shows which substances enter a cycle and where, and how long they remain in it. This enables us to provide a basis for planning and show you how a system can be improved.

 

System and uncertainty analyses

The Monte Carlo method makes it possible to use assumptions and estimates in system modelling to calculate how variable the results of a decision can be. This allows the risk of a project or system to be quantified. The Monte Carlo method is also suitable for sensitivity analyses and the calculation of confidence limits. It is also used, for example, in life cycle assessments to determine the significance of the results.

If required, we work with our client to model the system under consideration with all relevant assumptions and the associated uncertainties. We use this to calculate the variability of the result, or we limit ourselves to calculating the variability of the results of a model created by the client.

Projects
Contact persons
Mischa Zschokke
+41 44 444 20 15
E-Mail
Cornelia Stettler
+41 61 206 95 33
E-Mail
Flora Conte
+41 44 444 20 18
E-Mail

Products use resources. In their development, manufacture, use and disposal. Ecodesign aims to develop products from the outset in such a way that resources are used in the best possible way throughout the entire life cycle, while at the same time maximising the benefits for everyone involved.

Our approach begins with a life cycle assessment. This identifies ecological weaknesses from an environmentally orientated analysis, a stakeholder analysis and benchmarking. To ensure that nothing is overlooked, we not only look at your activities, but also at the upstream and downstream processes – such as the raw material purchasing associated with the production process and the upstream and downstream logistics.

Based on this data, we work with you to develop improvement strategies and measures. Of course, we also support you in the implementation of all the measures devised in product development so that we can bring our expertise into your organisation. In addition, we support the communication of the results both internally and externally.

Projects
Contact persons
Mischa Zschokke
+41 44 444 20 15
E-Mail
Gerrit Hinkel
+41 61 206 95 55
E-Mail

Sustainable solutions should be viable in the long term – ecologically and socially and, in the best case, also financially. It is important to base decisions not only on the purchase price, but also to consider the costs over the entire life cycle of a product or investment. The utilisation costs of long-lasting products in particular can be significantly higher than the acquisition costs.

The aim of life cycle costing (Total Cost of Ownership TCO and Life Cycle Costing LCC) is usually to compare two product alternatives in order to make a purchasing decision. However, it can also be very helpful for budgeting investments in order to estimate future costs.

The calculation of life cycle costs complements the product life cycle assessment if you want to take both ecological and economic criteria into account when deciding between different variants. There are also methods for linking these two types of criteria, e.g. eco-efficiency or the external cost method (in which the environmental impact is expressed in monetary units). In addition, we can take cost changes into account in the model, e.g. through a CO2 tax.

Contact persons
Philipp Bolt
+41 44 552 43 20
E-Mail
Gerrit Hinkel
+41 61 206 95 55
E-Mail

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) in accordance with ISO 14’025 is a type 3 product label that contains the life cycle assessment results of a product in accordance with specified standards. In the building sector in particular, more and more product EPDs are being requested in tenders to declare the environmental impact and are also increasingly being used by planners and architects.

Carbotech AG works with various customers on the creation of EPDs in accordance with EN 15’804+A2 and can draw on a wealth of experience.

EPDs provide a comprehensive list of information, but one difficulty is the evaluation of the large number of indicators. An overall assessment of the environmental impact (environmental footprint) is possible by weighting the results. For this purpose, Carbotech AG has developed an online calculator to compare the environmental footprint of products with a single parameter and to assess the relevance of the indicators given.

Click here for the EPD calculator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

An adapted ILCD Endpoint v1.06 method is used for an initial assessment of the environmental footprint (with the weighting set according to Huppes and van Oers). In some cases, the method was supplemented with simple approximations for an initial assessment of the environmental footprint. Carbotech AG accepts no liability for the analyses created with the calculator and the use of the results.

Projects
Contact persons
Cornelia Stettler
+41 61 206 95 33
E-Mail
Mischa Zschokke
+41 44 444 20 15
E-Mail

Carbotech regularly prepares external expert reports for life cycle assessments and corporate balance sheets. These serve to ensure the quality of life cycle assessments and to check whether the system boundary corresponds to the issue at hand and whether adequate data and methods are used. In particular, we check whether:

  • the methods used comply with international standards
  • the methods used are scientifically and technically valid and applicable
  • the data used are appropriate and reasonable for the objectives of the study
  • the conclusions take into account the objectives and limitations of the study
  • the report is transparent and consistent

Verification by an independent third party increases the credibility of each balance sheet and the measures derived from it, especially if these are communicated externally. We are happy to take on the external review of your study. From simple and pragmatic support and discussion of the relevant aspects through to the ISO 14040/44-compliant review process.

Projects
Contact persons
Mischa Zschokke
+41 44 444 20 15
E-Mail
Cornelia Stettler
+41 61 206 95 33
E-Mail
Thomas Kägi
+41 44 444 20 17
E-Mail