How can chemical life cycle assessments advance chemical organisations sustainability journey?

Life cycle assessments (LCA) provide quantifiable insights on how products impact the environment from extraction through to disposal, enabling organisations to measure, monitor and improve performance in key impact areas. When seeking to deliver on those optimisations, however, organisations need to take measured, strategic, and effective actions, which requires careful consideration of the many options available for each element of the product value chain.

In the first part of this series, we looked at the value in conducting LCA for chemical producing organisations, providing guidance on how best to go about it. In the second instalment, we provide practical insights and guidance on how to reduce the environmental impacts of chemical products following a detailed lifecycle assessment. 

In this guide, we explore some of the many options available to the organisations producing chemical products when seeking to reduce environmental impacts, regulatory compliance risks, and drive innovative products and ingredients with sustainability at their core. 

Commercial and compliance considerations

Reducing the environmental impact of products offers numerous benefits for companies, including:

• Maintaining regulatory compliance – ensuring continued access to markets and minimising any potential penalties for non-compliance.
• Increased business resilience – by allowing companies to think and act strategically, while taking proactive steps to reduce impacts provides time for strategic, commercially minded decisions to be made, increasing business resilience.
• Enhanced competitive advantage – as stakeholders and wider supply chains seek low-carbon solutions and partners to enhance their scope 3 reporting. With the use of Digital Product Passports imminent, sustainability information will be more widely accessible meaning data transparency will become a new standard, where emissions factors may influence purchasing decisions.

Researching alternative substances, reformulating and redesigning products may take a considerable amount of time. Given the widely accepted deadlines of reaching net zero by 2050, organisations should consider their in-house lead times and allow time for specialist external resources to be in high demand.

“The focus on sustainability criteria continues, and the direction of regulatory change is clear,” said Dawn Allan, Chemical sector Lead for Ricardo. “Chemical organisations should reflect on whether they have fully considered all the available options to deliver reductions to the environmental impacts of their products. By providing this guidance, we are hoping that organisations will feel empowered to take the next step on their journey to sustainability and see that sustainability can build long-term business resilience.”

“Implementing comprehensive LCAs in the chemical sector is essential for fostering sustainable industry practices. However, due to their complexity, LCAs can seem daunting,” said Charis McInnes, Sustainability Executive for The Chemical Industries Association (CIA). “This CIA and Ricardo guidance assists chemical companies in driving change and embedding sustainability into their operations. This initiative not only boosts environmental responsibility but also promotes innovation and efficiency, paving the way for a greener future for all.”

Download the free guide

Complete the form below to download the free guide today.