Sustainability Engineering

Ecodesign aims to minimize negative environmental impacts throughout the entire life cycle of products and systems. The Helbling’s Development Process includes various ecodesign steps to ensure that the highest sustainability performance is achieved through the following key activities.

Environmental Impact Assessment and Target Definition: This phase involves conducting life cycle assessments (LCA) to evaluate the sustainability performance of reference products or systems. Based on the assessment, optimization targets are set to align with the company's overall sustainability goals. This is also used to evaluate new designs and assure that they have the lowest impact before they exist.

System Optimization through ecodesign: This phase encompasses innovative technical development steps and considerations aimed at either creating new systems or enhancing existing ones for improved sustainability performance.

During this process, these questions are addressed:

• What are the key environmental impacts associated with the product or system throughout its life cycle?
• How can we ensure that a product is optimal in terms of sustainability performance ?
• Are there original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers offering more sustainable options?

The scouting and assessment of sustainable technical solutions aims to identify and evaluate environmentally sustainable approaches. The process includes the following steps:

1. Scouting for sustainable technical solutions
Actively seeking innovative solutions that align with sustainability goals. This involves researching existing or new technologies, methods, and practices with proven reduced environmental impacts compared to business as usual.

2. Evaluation of sustainable technical solutions
Comprehensive assessment of identified solutions to determine their performance. Factors considered include sustainability, feasibility, desirability and costs.

During this process, the following questions are addressed:

• How to enhance the sustainability of the next product generation?
• What could be a sustainable alternative to the current system?
• Are the identified solutions economically viable and technically feasible?

By exploring and evaluating sustainable technical solutions using these considerations, companies can make informed decisions and prioritize environmentally responsible options.

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), following the guidelines outlined in ISO 14040/44, is a method used to evaluate and quantify the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service throughout its entire life cycle, aiding in identifying areas for improvement and sustainable decision-making. It involves the following main steps:

1. Goal and Scope Definition
Establishing system boundaries and selecting impact indicators such as CO2, Biodiversity, Water, Human Health, or Resources/Material Circularity Index (by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation).

2. Inventory Analysis
Collecting primary data from the value chain and secondary data from databases like EcoInvent or cm.chemicals.

3. Impact Assessment
Using tools like SimaPro or Brightway to analyze the collected data and assess the environmental impacts in predefined categories.

4. Interpretation
Analyzing the impact assessment results to draw conclusions about the environmental footprint of the considered system.

During this process, the following questions are addressed:

• How should the system boundaries for a LCA be defined?
• Which impact and damage categories are suitable for assessing the environmental footprint?
• What data is necessary to conduct a LCA and how should it be collected?
• What potential emission reduction opportunities were identified during the evaluation? 

Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol – are indirect emissions that occur in a company's value chain, not from sources they directly own or control. They include both upstream activities like the production of purchased materials, and downstream activities like the disposal of sold products. Often representing the largest source of a company's emissions, they are typically the hardest to control and to evaluate.

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a standardized report communicating the environmental impact of a product, based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). It's a transparent way to share data about aspects such as carbon footprint, water use, and waste generation. EPDs are globally recognized and used in sustainable procurement, assisting businesses in making eco-friendly choices. These declarations adhere to the International Standard ISO 14025, which governs the creation and dissemination of such environmental declarations.

Both Scope 3 emissions evaluation (activity-based) and the generation of environmental data for EPDs requires to identify the right granularity in the data collection and environmental impact modeling. Thanks to its combined competences in business operation, production, product development, and environmental impact assessment, Helbling can tailor resource-effective approaches for generating meaningful Scope 3 emissions and EPD data.