Consultancy | Sustainability

A sustainable approach to business development is especially important for companies working with materials, which might harm humans and/or the environment. However, these companies are not the only ones who may benefit from a sustainability check.

To create value for your company, it must also make sense for your core business – the bottom line.

Among other things Bureau Veritas HSE gives advice within the following areas:

CO2 report

A CO2 report can be made at product as well as company level. With a CO2 report, you get an overview of the carbon footprint of each process in your company. This allows you to prioritise initiatives in your company, which will help you reduce the emission of CO2 in your company. You also get documentation so you can communicate your carbon footprint to your clients.

VERIFICATION OF PRODUCTS’ ENVIRONMENTAL OR CLIMATE FOOTPRINT ACCORDING TO THE PEFCR

When products labelled with an environmental footprint are placed on the market, we talk about green marketing. To ensure that your products survive in the market, it is important to increase the credibility of your products. You can do so by having an independent third party verify that figures and calculations are in compliance with the requirements in the PEFCR (Product Environmental Footprint Category Rule).

The EU has issued PEFCR’s for more than 20 product categories covering for instance technical products (batteries, paint, etc.), food (pasta, milk, beer, etc.) and feed for domestic animals and fish. The statements are based on life cycle assessments according to standardized methods. If you cannot find category rules for certain types of products, the EU has drawn up overall requirements for data and calculations, which you can use.

Climate is one of the environmental conditions which companies are highly interested in marketing. Bureau Veritas can offer to verify your climate footprint according to the PEFCR.

Aller Aqua is one of the companies that has had its climate footprint verified according to the so-called Feed PEFCR. Read more about how you get C0₂ verified here.

Sustainable marketing

Most Danish companies want to appear responsible, and marketing of the sustainable approach therefore plays an active role in driving the development of products and services.

Sustainable marketing includes all conceivable ways of communicating your message, and the general rule is that you must be able to present documentation for the conditions you emphasize in your (sustainable) marketing to not misled consumers.

The requirements for sustainable marketing can be difficult to navigate which is why Bureau Veritas has developed a number of services that support the sustainable marketing of companies and organisations.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

With a life cycle assessment (LCA), you focus on the environmental strains a product might have from the cradle to the gate, from the cradle to the grave or from the cradle to the cradle depending on the purpose of the life cycle assessment. A life cycle assessment expresses the entire environmental strain. With a life cycle assessment, the environmental strain is no only expressed as a carbon footprint. An assessment of the environmental footprint in connection with impacts on soil, water and air is also included. A life cycle assessment is based on international standards in the ISO 14040 series.

With a life cycle assessment, you have a real tool for documenting the environmental effect of your product and for prioritising initiatives in your company, which have an effect on the environmental strain of the product.

Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)

An environmental product declaration (EPD) documents a product’s environmental strain and is based on a life cycle assessment. The environmental product declaration is developed according to the recognised European and international standards ISO 14025 and EN 15804 (building materials).

With an environmental product declaration, you are able to inform about environmental conditions in connection with your products, as it is a standardised method to supply information about energy and resource consumption, waste generation and environmental effects from production, use and disposal of the product.

EDP - building material (BVD)

An EDP for building materials (BVD) is a document with detailed information about the chemical components in the product. It also instructs how to handle the product in the building/operational phase and how to dispose of it. We prepare a physical document complying with the requirements in the Swedish Bygvaredeklaration (eBVD).

At large constructions in Scandinavia, developers often request documentation of environmental and health hazards in connection with the used materials. In this connection, an EPD for building materials is useful.

Eco-labelling – The Swan and The EU Flower

Both eco-labels are official eco-labels in Denmark. To obtain one of these eco-labels, the product must meet requirements throughout the entire life cycle. This applies to the used raw materials, the production, the quality of the product and disposal/recycling. In addition to environmental requirements – requirements are also made to the work conditions under which the products are manufactured.

Specific criterions must be documented for each product group before you receive a license for one of the labels.

By documenting the environmental effect, you are able to market your product with a physical label signalling that the product lives up to the criterions of the Swan and/or the EU Flower.