A product life cycle assessment (LCA) is a systematic analysis of the environmental impact of a product throughout its entire life cycle, where the life cycle stages are defined as follows: raw material extraction; product manufacturing; transportation, distribution and packaging; usage; and end-of-life disposal or recycling.
Watch this video for more insight on LCA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuqjWQrHe50.
LCAs help to identify the environmental impact of PPE products at different stages of the life cycle. By understanding which stages generate the most carbon emissions, we can target our sustainability efforts on these stages to make the biggest environmental improvements to our PPE's overall sustainability.
At Ansell, we analyse the life cycle from extraction of natural resources right through to the product’s end-of-life stage, otherwise known as a cradle-to-grave assessment, which is the most rigorous and comprehensive form of LCA.
We calculate our LCAs from cradle-to-grave to gain a complete understanding of the environmental impact of our products throughout their entire life cycle from raw material extraction to disposal. This holistic approach helps us identify opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of our PPE at all stages of a product’s life cycle, including usage and end-of-life.
However, we only share cradle-to-gate information, which covers a product’s environmental impact up to the point where the products leave our warehouses, because cradle-to-gate is where Ansell has the most control over a product and can demonstrate clear sustainability improvements. The different ways products are used and disposed of affects their overall environmental impact but use and disposal methods vary according to our customers, so we can’t always account for these factors.
Additionally, cradle-to-gate results are often more relevant to stakeholders, such as customers and suppliers, who are primarily concerned with purchasing products whose production and supply stages have the lowest environmental impact.
Carbon footprints are calculated by analysing each stage of a product's life cycle using life cycle assessments (LCAs), which measure the energy consumed and quantifying the greenhouse gases emitted. This process typically involves data collection, modelling and validation using recognized standards. Our product carbon footprint assessments are carried out in accordance with ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006 and are critically reviewed by an external party.
No, not all LCA analyses are the same or directly comparable. Differences in goal, scope, functional unit, system boundaries, data sources and methodologies can lead to varying results. These variations mean you must carefully align and standardize these parameters for any meaningful comparison. Without this alignment, comparisons between LCAs can result in misleading conclusions.
Key factors include:
While safety is always our priority, we’re committed to reducing the environmental impact of our PPE through a range of sustainable practices, including:
Although you can use carbon footprint information to choose products which have lower carbon emissions, it’s important to balance this with other factors like safety, durability and waste management.
For example, a product with a slightly higher carbon footprint may still be the more sustainable choice if it’s more durable, reusable or recyclable, because reusable PPE often has a smaller per-use carbon footprint over its lifetime.
Beyond the obvious environmental impact, carbon footprint data can also help you choose more sustainable suppliers, inform your procurement policies, and support your efforts to reduce Scope 3 emissions.
Reusable PPE products can have a lower carbon footprint when used multiple times. However, reusable PPE is not suitable for situations where hygiene and sterility take precedence, such as healthcare.
Unfortunately greenwashing is common in the PPE industry so choose PPE that's genuinely sustainable by looking for: